hapter 15: Awake and Alive
Six POV
Six heard the rushing of the blades as they sliced through the hot air; he tightened his eyelids, wondering if it's true that you didn't feel the pain of the killing blow.
The blades hit, feeling the warm wetness cover his beaten face and hearing the screams of agony.
But It wasn't him crying out in pain. Six snapped his head back up, eyes wide at what he was seeing.
Shress had sliced her blades in a wide swipe and severely wounded the elite guards holding Six, causing them to let go as they rolled on the ground, their internal organs spilling out of their bodies.
The crowd of aliens stared in stunned silence, unsure of what they had just seen. Before any of them could realize what was happening, Shress leapt into the crowd, mandibles wide, as she roared a defiant challenge at the frozen aliens. Six watched in amazement as Shress tore through their massed ranks. She was a whirlwind of flashing blades, twisting in circles and waving them gracefully as vibrant arcs of multicolored blood flew through the dusty air.
The Covenant was easily slaughtered. With Six down, they had turned off their shields and lowered their weapons. Now they struggled to switch their equipment back on and raise their guns, but it was too late as Shress sliced through them.
A Sangheili ultra stepped forward and raised its own weapon as it tried to shoot Shress. She used one blade to knock the needler pistol out of its hand. In the same motion, she spun around until she was behind the taller combatant. It tried to turn and confront her, but before it got the chance she put the second sword against its throat and ran it across. She returned to beheading her foes without seeming to break a sweat
Six watched awestruck as she worked her way around the circle, killing elites, jackals, and grunts alike, quickly and efficiently. He had seen her fight before, fought with her twice himself, but he never realized that she was this good. Her skill was turning what should be a one sided fight into a bloody massacre.
Realizing there was no chance of survival, the weakest of the Covenant troops broke formation, mostly panicked grunts and an occasional jackal while the remaining warriors continued to futilely fight Shress. The sight of fleeing aliens brought the spartan back to his senses. He groaned as he stretched his body over to the dead elite closest to him and began digging around its belt. He retrieved a plasma rifle, forcing himself to a half standing position, and fired. He lost his footing due to his battered body, but he strengthened his stance as best as he could and fired again. The recoil was torture to his shot up right arm, yet he kept firing at the retreating grunts, shooting their backsides as he helped ensure that none escaped. With each successful hit the grunts exploded in a glowing green, fiery cloud. The jackals just fell over, their feathers flaring in the plasma, the acrid smoke blending into the ashen air. Some turned and tried to return fire, but with a mighty effort, Six heaved one of the dead Sangheili in front of him up and used the body as a shield, the scent of charring flesh filling his nose as shots hit his impromptu fortification.
He glanced back at Shress as she finished off the remnants of the troops and watched in dismay as a fellow Zealot attacked her with at least equal skills. She lashed out with her twin swords while the Zealot blocked with his own single blade. A thunderous storm of lightning erupted every time their blades met. He sliced at her in a vain attempt to subdue her, using his greater height and weight to force her backwards. With a loud roar the Zealot knocked both of Shress's swords out of her hands and took a slice at her exposed head. She pivoted out of the way, bringing up her knee and slamming it against the attacker's chest, the attacker groaning in pain.
Shress jumped back, lowered herself and raised her hands in a defensive posture. The Zealot mirrored her, lowering itself and raising its hands. They stayed in their fighting stances, eyes locked onto each other as they tried to anticipate the other's movement. Six dropped his makeshift shield and raised his newly claimed rifle as he tried to steady his aim at the Zealot. As his finger inched towards the trigger A jackal jumped and landed not far behind Shress, holding a glowing pink energy crystal from a Needler. Ignoring his aching body, Six quickly turned the rifle on the jackal and fired at the crystal; the alien went down, shrouded in a veil of blue and pink energy. Upon hearing the jackal's wrenching death cry, Shress glanced behind her, confused and trying to find the source. With her head turned, the Zealot attacked.
It lunged forward and slashed at Shress's neck. With unbelievable speed, Shress's own hand shot up and blocked the strike. Six raised the plasma rifle and tried to take aim, but Shress went on the offense. She kicked at the Zealot who leapt back, before Shress, still spinning, jumped forward and slammed her foot into the Zealot's exposed knee cap with a sickening snap. The Zealot raised its head and let out a pained howl before Shress's hand shot out and grabbed her opponent's neck. While the Zealot struggled, Shress raised her other hand, and used her sharp talons to slice the sangheili's neck. The alien tried to take a breath, but found no air, only blood. It gurgled clawing at Shress's armor as it fell limp on the cracked, desert ground. It was just another fallen form among so many others.
Shress moved away from the fallen Sangheili, looking at the heap of corpses that surrounded her. Six was still in shock from the recent event, unsure on how to proceed or what to say next.
What could he say?
"Shress."
She jerked her head and stared at him. Her eyes were still hidden within her helmet, her posture still rigid from the battle, her hands curled into fists as the blue shining outline of her shielding pulsed, illuminating her form against the backdrop of smoke and dust. Intimidated by her killer skills and unsure on how her sanity was holding up, Six tried to move away from her, but, as soon as he took a step back, pain struck through his system like lightning, and he fell to the ground.
As he laid there, his body stretched to its limit in an attempt to reduce the pain, he gazed up at the skies; dark clouds hung over him, blackened from the day's destruction, when Shress's crimson clad form appeared over him and bent down to inspect him.
She placed just one finger on Six's face but he cringed and tried to squirm away. He felt like his entire body was on fire.
"Michael."
Six had no idea what happened, but… just hearing his name being spoken by his former enemy, by his only living friend, caused his body to relax. Seeing his body less tense, Shress tenderly touched Six's face with just the tips of her talons, careful not to let them prick his raw skin, but he still felt pain. He heard her sigh softly.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
Suddenly feeling the need to comfort her, Six raised himself up slightly, looked to Shress, and replied with a slight rueful smile.
"I got my hide whooped. What does it look like happened?"
She smiled upon hearing him use the Sangheili reference for the rear end, but it faded as she looked around as if she saw something that Six couldn't.
She let out a small snarl before she looked back down at Six, "We have to go."
"Where?"
"Anywhere but here."
"Can you be a little more specif–''
Shress picked him up by the shoulder and draped his right arm over her.
"I'll explain more once we get farther away from this place."
She started to move before casting one more glance towards the skies, shuffling over to where her swords had fallen. She retrieved them before they turned away from the blood stained ground and began walking in the opposite direction, Six leaning heavily on her.
As they moved, Six couldn't help but glance at Shress every so often, and occasionally had his right hand dig into her skin to prove that she was real; that she was real. Seeming to sense his doubt, Shress gently squeezed his body against hers a little until Six could feel her cold armor against his cheek. He could feel it leave a small imprint.
Satisfied that this wasn't a last minute illusion, Six raised his newly claimed rifle aloft as they moved through the sandstorm, knowing that if he wasn't dead, then he still needed to defend himself. After a while, he couldn't detect so much as a hint of movement anywhere; a drastic change.
"Where did they all go? The rest of the Covenant…" Six whispered close to Shress's head where an average human's ear would be.
"Gone," she whispered back. "There's no one left."
"Left?" Six blurted out in disbelief. "You killed them all?"
Shress let out a tired sigh before she looked at Six.
"No, I killed what was left. You killed most of them, Michael."
Astonished, he thought for a moment.
"How many Covenant troops were sent down here?"
Shress considered it and then said, "Close to two hundred, I believe."
Shress stumbled as Six allowed more weight to fall on her shoulder.
'Two hundred? How is that possible? I understand that I'm a spartan, but two hundred?' He tried to remember how many he had shot, but most of the time he was fighting blind, firing into brown clouds.
They came to an unexpected halt. They were in a small arena-like area, surrounded by busted pipes and the rubble of a devastated building. He glanced above him and saw that they were directly below a floating Phantom. Maybe it was Shress's?
He thought they were going to enter the aircraft, but instead Shress made a turn and put Six against a busted pipeline. He looked up at her, and gave her a questioning look. Shress lowered herself slightly until she was eye level with Six.
"I need to check something out first, Michael."
"Now?" He questioned, "Shress we don't have time–"
"I know," She said, sounding flustered, surprising the spartan. "I'll make this quick." Just as quickly as she became agitated, a forlorn look appeared on her face as she placed a hand on Six's shoulder lightly and silently.
"Please…be safe Michael."
Six opened his mouth to question her once more but she pivoted on her heel and walked off into the billowing sandstorm at a rather fast pace. Six watched her go, his curiosity piqued when he heard a noise next to him like shuffling feet.
There was a blue light coming from…his arm? Six flinched. A primed plasma grenade was stuck on his arm.
'Where did that come from!? Why didn't I notice it earlier!?' Six tried to use his other arm to brush the grenade off, but it didn't budge. It turned a brighter blue, and then stark white, Six could feel the increase in temperature. He turned his face away from the glowing orb. Now he no longer knew if this was a hallucination or if it was really happening, but either way he wasn't taking any chances.
His question in reality was answered when the grenade exploded. Six wasn't sure what he expected the afterlife to look like, but he was pretty sure it wasn't full of blinding light with a loud ringing in his ears. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, soon the light began to dim, and the brown swirling world returned. Then he saw something out of the ordinary; standing in front of him were two silhouettes of Sangheili imprinted in the air, both wavering in and out of focus. No sooner did he see the aliens, one pulled out an energy sword and charged, the other who evaded the blade and tried to lift its gun in retaliation. Six didn't know what made him do it, probably a gut feeling, but he shakily raised his rifle and fired at the shadowy elite with the gun.
He fired a rapid burst at the alien until it was pushed backwards after its shields and active camouflage were destroyed. Standing in front of Six was a spec op elite in its strange curved mask, staring Six down through the slits. Then the second silhouette moved in. The Spec Op tried to raise its arms in defense, but the sword wielder knocked the arm aside, slicing through the limb as it attempted to intervene, before the shadowy figure plunged the sword through the Spec op's chest. The shadow gripped the sword and with a mighty heave, sliced it upwards again, decapitating the spec op and sending its head soaring over Six.
Six stared at the strange scene before him, still wondering what had just happened, when the shadow turned to Six and like a mirage, the wavering air disappeared, leaving Shress in its place. She hurried over to Six's side and dropped to a kneeling position, and gently took his head in her hands.
"Are you alright?"
Six didn't answer as he thought of what just happened. Shress touched his arm. He remembered that when she left him last time, a grenade mysteriously appeared on that very arm.
His head snapped up as he realized what happened.
"You put a live grenade on me!?"
Shress didn't appear fazed by his reaction; in fact, she seemed to grin at it. This made Six even more confused; he tried to sit up so he could try and strangle her, but his body protested any attempted movement. His muscles contracted, his heart skipped a beat, and his skin burned. Unable to curse, Six just released a pained groan and fell back against the pipe.
Shress gently touched Six again, and though he was angry, he couldn't help but feel a small feeling of contentment beginning to rise, something that he had never allowed before. The experience was soothing. He had no idea what he thought her hands would feel like, but he didn't expect this. Her skin was warm, firm, and smooth—almost like leather. For some odd reason, he just wanted to take his gloves off and feel Shress's skin as well.
Before he could, Shress carefully picked him up again and had him lean on her once more as they moved directly below the Phantom. Once positioned under the bottom portal, Shress reached to her belt and pressed a strange looking control. The portal door opened and a light blue beam of light streamed out and enveloped them.
Six felt his stomach churn as they ascended; he never liked grav-lifts, and his recently earned injuries weren't helping at all. As they rose, the Spartan looked at the surroundings, unable to believe his eyes. The once green planet was brown, black and being licked clean of life by the ever hungry plasma flames.
Six quickly took stock of the ship. The main body of the ship was hollow, full of room, obviously designed for troop transport. The light within was an eerie light blue. As his eyes traveled, they stopped at a pile of limp bodies piled in the back of the ship. Corpses of elites, jackals and grunts were piled on top of each other, and if Six looked closely enough, he was pretty sure he could see the slashes that were possibly caused by an energy sword. He turned to Shress, but she didn't look at him or the bodies.
"Who were they?"
"Nobody now."
With her help, Six hobbled over to the front of the ship where there was a large viewport in front of the two seats. Shress lowered Six into the seat on the right; it was oval shaped and was clearly made for creatures with bent legs, but Six adjusted his body until he fitted in it snugly. He wished nothing more than to lie down and sleep but the seat kept him in an upright position.
Six had no idea what happened, but it seems just the word 'sleep' had a powerful effect on him. His eyes started to droop as his body became more relaxed and slowly he began to lose consciousness. A blurry outline entered his view but his eyes refused to focus as Six felt his body begin to shut down. Before he drifted off to slumber, he heard Shress's voice, it sounded softer than usual.
"Rest Michael, you're safe now."
Safe? He was still trying to decipher the meaning of the word when he finally blacked out.
Shress POV
Shress was amazed at how fast Six had fallen asleep, but she supposed it made sense. He had been fighting for almost an entire day and pushed himself farther than any other warrior could, an impressive feat indeed.
At the thought of her people, Shress sighed as she placed herself in the pilot's seat and started the ship. It began to hum softly before it banked right and flew off. She tried to angle as far away from the nearest Covenant ship as possible. But Shress knew capture or death was inevitable, they had to get off the planet somehow, the Phantom could travel in space, but not as far as they needed to go. It also didn't have any food or other supplies. To make matters worse, it's too slow, they could be destroyed in less than a unit, especially if the Covenant released a plasma torpedo.
She sighed slightly as she rubbed her eyes with a free hand. She didn't think her plan this far ahead, to be truthful she didn't expect them to be alive up to this point. She tried to think of something, anything, to get them off the planet, but so far nothing was forthcoming. All the human ships had been destroyed and all the Covenant ships were being carefully guarded, giving them no chance of escape.
Really with no place to go and with no ideas on what to do next, Shress just halted the phantom after a few units of flying and landed it on a desolate piece of land, surrounded by rusted broken machinery, an abandoned scrapyard. Hopefully they wouldn't be spotted here.
Shress just looked down as she placed her hands in her lap as she thought her situation through. She was now a traitor, a heretic, and will be unable to return home. She felt light tears beginning to build behind her eyes. Never again would she be able to feel the heat from Sangheilo's three suns, never again would she ever see her home, and never again would she be honored. She, as well as her entire family, would be eternally disgraced.
Her body convulsed at this. Her father was a much honored warrior, and, through him, his family was well respected and held to a high standard. Because of her, their line would be severed. Her family would be ordered to no longer produce more young, to produce more infractions like her. She breathed hard, trying her best to keep the tears from falling. She had just sacrificed everything she had, everything she loved, and for what? For the sake of a human, a monster, a demon?
She looked at Michael and flinched at the sight of his face. His body was battered. His armor looked close to that of a lump of blue clay; the heat of the plasma had licked and molded it into different styles and waves. The most devastating feature was his head. Both of his eyes were black, his cheek had started to puff up, his skin was red and peeling with multiple cuts. Streams of old blood decorated his face. If it wasn't for her attuned hearing, which detected his low breathing, Shress would have taken him for dead.
She didn't know why, but just seeing him like this pained her heart further. She tenderly raised her hand and lightly touched his baked skin. Her talons paused when they made contact and she pulled her hand away while staring at her claws. She began to look back and forth between her body and Michael's. She took in stock his head, body, legs and feet, comparing them to her own for some unknown reason. She shook her head sharply, in an attempt to shake her errant thoughts right out of it.
'Why am I doing this? Why am I agonizing myself in this manner?'
She sighed as she looked at Michael once more and noticed something different about him, aside from his beaten face. She continued to examine Michael, determined to find whatever it was that was out of place when she finally realized what it was. The fur on his head had grown; she remembered the first time she had seen his face; his fur was short enough to allow her to see the top of his head. Now it was covered in a small forest of blackness, sprouting out a little once it was free from the confines of his helmet.
She had no idea why, or what possessed her to do it, but she reached out and ran her hand through the fur. A smile timidly began to form as she continued to move her hand through the strange feature of the human. It felt weird, yet the prickling sensation it provided was…delightful, she supposed. She continued touching the fur and she had no idea how much time had passed, when she saw Michael's lips move.
"You really like doing that, don't you?"
Shress felt herself freeze at those words, feeling extremely foolish and embarrassed, especially with her hand still on his head. Slowly, Michael opened his eyes and trained them on her.
She shifted in her seat uncomfortably as she began to move her hand away. "Sorry, I–" she started to say when Michael interrupted her, "It's alright, Shress. It's kind of…nice," he said in an honest tone.
Shress couldn't agree more, but hesitantly and much more slowly now, she began to rub her hand over his head. Slowly Michael closed his eyes and let out what she hoped was a sigh of content. She smiled mischievously at him.
"Do all humans like to be petted?"
The human's eyes opened wide, "Petted? I'm not being petted." He said, looking like someone who had lost some dignity.
Her light laughter did not change his expression, "So what is it I am doing then?"
Michael was silent for a while before he finally replied.
"Patting my hair down," he said, clearly unsure of himself.
Shress laughed again, and, after a while, Michael joined her. When they ceased laughing, they looked into each other's eyes as if they could tell what it was that the other was thinking.
Michael looked out the view port, his eyes becoming distant as he let out a puff of air.
"It wasn't a dream was it?"
Shress sighed as she looked out the port as well, removing her hand from Michael's head.
"No. It most certainly was not."
Michael sighed as he gazed out towards their desolate surroundings. "I thought not, but I was hoping it was."
Shress had no idea what to say so they remained silent.\.
"So, after all that. Does this mean you can't return to the Covenant?"
Shress looked down as she answered, "Yes, and Sanghelios."
Silence enveloped them, Shress had no idea what else to say and neither did Michael. She was still looking down when she felt something entangle her hand and looked to see Michael holding it. Her first impulse was to snarl and snatch her hand away. As far as she was concerned, he was the reason for her troubles. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, and the feeling of his hand enclosed around hers was comforting, yet she wanted more.
Years of solitude had morphed Shress to the point where she believed she could make it through everything. So when she leaned a little out of her seat and rested her head against Michael's shoulder, she surprised not only Micheal but also herself. She breathed in his scent; it was covered by ash and blood, completely different from his usual forest-like scent. He shifted his weight a little and let out a pained breath. Afraid of damaging him further, Shress made to move away, but stopped when she felt something on her neck. At first, she thought it was another Spec Op that had snuck on board and was already tensing her muscles when she paused. Whatever it was on her neck, it was moving back and forth, massaging her neck, filling her with an easeful sensation. She soon realized it was Michael's hand, slowly rubbing her muscles and calming her. The sensation felt so nice. She slowly closed her eyes and let out a blissful sigh.
She loved the feeling of his hand on her neck. She soon began to wonder what it would feel like to have him touch her skin without his gloves on when Michael positioned his head close to her face and asked quietly as if not to disturb her.
"So what now?"
Slowly she opened her eyes and found herself looking directly into Michael's own vibrant green ones. Despite his bloodied appearance, his green eyes remained the same: dark, yet bright enough for her to see their shade. His eyes held sadness but also something else, a sort of gleam. She sighed before she raised herself up, forcing Michael to remove his hand.
"I don't know Michael."
Michael tilted his head slightly. "You don't have an escape plan?"
"If I did we wouldn't be here would we?" she harshly snapped back.
Michael looked away, causing her to feel horrible, but he spoke before she could. "Well let's start with the basics. What do we have and what do we need?"
Shress shook her head a little. Then she said, "Well first, we need a way off this planet. We need food, supplies, and a place of sanctuary." She looked at him in a challenging fashion. "Do you know where we can find all of those things?"
She was taken aback as Michael looked straight into her eyes, gave her a wide smile, and said, "As a matter of fact, I do."
Six POV
"Just keep going a little further." Six instructed as he struggled to remember the exact route, everything looked so different post glassing. He remembered the area to be surrounded by hills, mountains and great plains of grass; now it was as barren as the surface of the nearby moon.
"Where are we going exactly?" Shress asked as she kept the Phantom low to the ground to try to avoid detection.
"You'll see," he replied cheerfully.
Shress responded by giving him another glare as she demanded more from him. "Why do you irritate me in this manner?"
"Oh I don't know," Six responded in a sarcastic voice. He continued, "Why did you leave a primed grenade on my arm?"
She withered in her seat in what he guessed was embarrassment.
"It wasn't a grenade, Michael. Just a device to reveal active camouflage."
"A Covenant version of a flash-bang, I presume," Michael commented.
"Flash-bang?" Shress thought for a moment before she nodded.
"That is a fitting name now that I think of it."
Michael nodded along with her but he still wasn't satisfied. "It might not have been dangerous." He turned to her with narrowed eyes, "But I would have appreciated it if you told me. Better yet, why didn't you warn me you were placing an explosive on me!?"
"Well…it wasn't an explosive, Michael," She replied with a self-satisfied grin.
"Whatever!" exclaimed an exasperated Six. "You scared me to death when you did that."
Shress only shook her head and chuckled to herself while Six rolled his eyes. Shress was finding the angry Spartan more funny than threatening.
Noticing he had calmed down a little, Shress tried to mollify him, "I am sorry, Michael. Truly I am, but it was the only way I could lure the Special Operator into the open."
Six looked back to Shress, "How did you know there was a Spec Op there?"
"We've been followed by a Spec Op for some time now. I don't know how long, but long enough for him to learn your name and our relationship with each other."
Six eyes widened at the revelation.
'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!'
He got careless. He should have scanned the area of their meeting places before speaking with Shress. Then again creatures with active camouflage had always been difficult to detect.
"How did you find out?"
"The Prophet of Regret let it slip" Shress growled angrily at the name, "They… He made me do horrible things. Things that I can never take back." She continued, the words full of hatred and sadness, "He said he had eyes and ears everywhere. After a lifetime of listening to his so-called teachings, I knew when he was speaking sincerely enough." She looked back at Six, "Until I met you, mincing words with sarcasm had never been a practice of any of the Covenant species, so he was being literal when he spoke of himself having eyes and ears everywhere."
"In other words it was based on a hunch," Six summed up after hearing the slight hesitation in her voice.
"But I was correct!" Shress began to argue before stopping when a piercing beeping sounded. Six instantly became alert as well, it had been his experience that whenever something started to beep that it was usually a bad sign.
"What is it?" Six queried as he clenched his muscles, trying to ignore the searing pain.
"We're being followed," Shress reported as she looked at her instruments before cursing, "Covenant aircraft are inbound."
"How many?" Six asked, having the crazy notion that they could fight them off.
Shress looked at him, "Looks like all of them."
Six thought for a moment, "If we can find elevated ground, some weapons, a rifle for the both of us, we could hold them off and maybe–"
"Are you insane!?" Shress demanded incredulously as she stared at him. "We'll be killed when they fire the cleansing weapon!"
Six looked apologetically at her and shrugged, "Sorry, Spartan habit, always thinking offense."
Shress shook her head in disbelief. "I admire your determination, but between the two of us and the entire fleet of Righteous Quality, I don't think we would last a unit," she turned back to the view port. "How much further?"
"None,"
Shress looked quizzically at Six to see him stare at the ground.
"We're here, put us down," he added
Shress looked down as well and commented, "There's nothing here."
"Yes there is." Insisted Six. "Trust me. Set us down."
Shress reluctantly followed his command; she clicked the alien symbols, and the Phantom landed. As soon as it touched the ground, Six tried to jump to his feet, but instead his weak foot caused him to stumble before Shress caught him. She leaned him against the console before she stood up and supported Six.
"Take us out," Six ordered. Shress let out a growl at being ordered around but she obliged him. As they approached the flap that opened to the brown world before them he looked to the mass of bodies when they had halted.
"Wait, we may need weapons if it isn't here."
Shress propped him against the opening of the flap as she quickly began to search the dead troopers.
"Your words aren't very reassuring Michael."
Six gave a shrug even though she wasn't looking at him. "I know but as the old saying goes, better safe than sorry."
"I have never heard that before," Shress replied as she walked back and handed him a Plasma Repeater. "But it is sound advice."
Six nodded before he draped his arm around her shoulder. "How much time do we have left before the Covenant gets here?"
"I don't know," admitted Shress. "Possibly a few units."
Six silently hoped that units were Sangheili for minutes and not seconds.
The first thing that hit Six as they stepped off was the heat. It was so strong it actually caused him to gasp and falter slightly. It was like being hit by a wall of plasma.
"Are you alright?" Shress asked as she pulled him up. She looked down at him with worry in her eyes.
Six waved his hand, "I'm fine. We've got to move now."
Shress looked around, but all she could see was a desolate wasteland. "Where?"
Six pointed with his weapon. "Over there, a few dozen feet."
"How far?" she asked as they walked.
"Just keep going until I say stop," Six commanded as he looked to the skies, trying to see if there was any incoming Covenant craft.
Six couldn't help but feel slightly humiliated as he was being dragged as if he were nothing more than a doll while Shress moved with graceful ease. They traveled what would have been a dozen of human steps in six Sangheili paces when Six finally told her to stop.
Shress halted as Six looked intensely at the ground. Shress followed his gaze before he pointed in front of them. "Start banging your feet all over that area."
Shress gave him a strange look before she started to slam her feet against the hard floor. "Michael, if this is your idea of revenge for me making fun of you, this isn't funny nor do we have the time."
"Just keep doing it Shress," Six encouraged, "Keep going until–" he was interrupted when Shress's foot struck what looked like a heap of dirt that made a clunking sound on contact.
Shress stared in wonder at what she felt while Six let out a sigh of relief as he dropped to his knee and started digging.
"Yes," he muttered to himself. "It's still here."
"What's still here?" demanded Shress before she saw the answer with her own eyes.
Planted beneath them was a circular steel alloy door about the size of a manhole, blackened and discolored from the recent glassing process. Six continued to brush the dirt off until he found the small processor on the side of the vault. The screen was cracked and dark, but when Six touched the keys it was still operational as a weak light came on.
Six hesitated for a moment, trying to remember the code when he heard Shress growl agitatedly, "Michael, hurry!"
He glanced up to see her looking off into the distance, where a dozen dots were closing in from the horizon, a large shadow in the skies right behind them.
Six turned back to the door and typed in what he hoped to be the right code: A-4 A-0 D-3 Z-7.
Six silently cheered as he heard the gears grind, and they struggled to open the damaged steel entrance, which drew Shress's attention as she lowered herself to look at the monitor. One talon pointed at the screen
"I don't understand. It looks like you just wrote in rubbish."
Six shook his head slightly as he explained. "It's a code, each letter represents something," he pointed to the E, "Epsilon," he moved his finger further down to the H, "Hotel," then the Z, "Zulu," before he stopped at H again, "And Hotel again."
Shress still looked confused, "It still looks like rubbish. What do the numbers represent, and why do you only use the first letter?"
She was interrupted as the door opened wide, revealing a ladder that led into a darkened space.
"I'll explain later," Six says as he looked over his shoulder at the fast approaching Covenant forces, "We have to move."
Cautiously, Shress lowered Six down a ways before he grabbed the rails and painfully lowered himself the rest of the way down, with Shress right behind him. As soon as they were both on the steel floor, the door above them swung shut, while they were alerted that they had been locked in by the sound of grinding gears.
Shress's muscles tensed, but Six ran his hand over her neck and he couldn't help but smile as he felt her relax at his touch, "It's alright. It's programmed to do that."
Shress growled, "Well why couldn't they program there to be light here as well?"
"Good point," Six then turned his attention back to the hallway and spoke loudly and clearly. "Light on!"
After a heartbeat of silence, a smooth automated voice responded through nearby speakers "By whose authority?" It caused Shress to tense again.
Six happily soothed her before he called out, "Spartan B-312, Beta company, LW authorize!"
"Scan complete," the voice replied back. "Following previous orders."
Soon, light flashed on from the ceiling, so bright it forced Six to cover his eyes while Shress let out a pained hiss.
The hallway was trashed. Wires hung from the ceiling, panels were swinging off the walls, and sparks flew in the distance from a busted light. Six frowned at the sight.
"The glassing," Six muttered before he slightly nudged Shress. "Come on, just down the hall."
Shress got a better grip on Six and they stumbled down the hall. They were careful as they stepped over the fragments of the broken structure, as if they were delicate and even dangerous objects. Six noticed the air was kind of stuffy and heat radiated from the walls. Shress showed no indication of discomfort so he wasn't sure if it was just him or if she was just being gung ho. Gung ho, Six smiled. That's a new word for her.
"What is this place and how did you come of it?" Shress asked, breaking the silence.
"It's an ONI facility," He saw Shress open her mandibles, but he knew what she was going to ask and pre-empted her. "ONI are the people who are charged with handling secrets, supporting black ops, and the emplacement of spies. They are here to protect the UNSC, but most people don't trust them."
She looked quizzically at him, "Are you a part of this ONI?"
Six laughed, "No, not any more. I prefer to fight in the open rather than in the shadows."
"So how did you come across it?" Shress asked.
Six's smile diminished as he replied, "I was originally stationed on our colony Mamore when Noble Team needed a new spartan. Since I was the closest, the UNSC sent for me; they wanted to keep my presence secret, so I could be a surprise for the supposed rebel faction here. To do that, they had me come in through the secret way. The ONI way."
"And you believe this place houses a craft we can use to escape?" Shress asked now with excitement in her voice.
Six began to answer when they both jumped at the sound of banging against metal. They turned around, guns raised, but the steel door at the end of the passage held strong as whatever it was on the other side of the door continued to bang against it.
"Come on," Six said as he lowered his weapon. "Let's hurry."
Shress didn't argue as she wrapped her arm around Six once more and they began to walk at a fast pace. They made multiple twists and turns as Six directed Shress through the underground maze until finally they reached the hangar.
The room was large, big enough to fit an entire army within it. There were massive alcoves for tanks, trucks, and air vehicles set into the walls. The dull concrete was still holding strong but had changed to a slightly different color from the recent glassing process, but, other than that, there appeared to be nothing wrong, except for one thing. It was completely empty. All the tools, equipment and most importantly, the ships were long gone; there wasn't even a puddle of spilled oil left.
Six cursed as he kicked futilely at the wall, causing him to fall in pain as fire sparked in his foot. Shress tried to help him up but he remained knelt on the ground, angry with himself.
"I'm such an idiot," he groaned, "I should have known ONI would have taken all the ships, I just trapped us against the wall with no way out."
He refused to look up, to look into Shress's face in the moment of his greatest blunder that would cost them their lives. She was all he had left, and he had just led her to her death. What was wrong with him?
He heard movement and slowly looked up to see Shress crouched in front of him, a comforting hand laid on his burnt armor.
"Michael," she said. "It's alright, we have all made mistakes today, but what you have done isn't a bad thing."
Six looked into her eyes and was surprised to see the truth of her words within them. "How can you say that?" he asked in disbelief. "We're dead now! I've just led you into a kill zone with no way to escape. How is that not a bad thing?" He looked regretfully down at the floor, "All I've done today is watch my friends die and now I led you into this as well."
"Then you honor me," Six's head shot up at these words as she continued, "You have presented me with an opportunity to die gloriously on the field of battle, a rare event for a female, and that shall be remembered for all time, thanks to you."
Six felt his jaw drop, "Are you kidding me? A few minutes ago you were calling me a lunatic for suggesting such a tactic to you, but now you're saying it's glorious?"
Shress smiled warmly at him and touched his cheek, causing him to shiver a bit. Her warm leather like skin was very comforting and very pleasant in his opinion.
"I was just trying to get you to feel better," Shress admitted, still smiling.
"Well it worked."
Without a second thought he leaned towards her and wrapped her in a hug. Shress wrapped her own arms around him as well, although she was careful not to damage him further. With his mask off, Six was able to press his face against Shress's neck, feel her warmth and her lovely skin. Shress in turn placed her jaws on top of his head and slightly began rubbing it against his hair. Six didn't want to leave this position; it felt so good, so nice and so safe, but at that snatched peaceful moment they heard the explosion. It caused them to look to the doorway as they heard the triumphant bloodthirsty howls of various Covenant aliens.
"Computer, what was that?" Six demanded.
"Hostile vectors have entered the facility," the dull voice replied. "Plasma presence suggests the intruders are of Covenant origin."
"No kidding." Six muttered, "Seal off all doors and lock them."
"Commencing." The voice said, and as if to prove its words, the doors to the hanger closed, the large lock on it swung into place, but Six knew it wouldn't hold against the Covenant.
Six sighed and looked at Shress who looked just as unhappy, but she stood and offered her hand. "Ready for the next battle?"
"Why," he asked, "are you getting tired?" with a grin on his face to which she eagerly returned.
He reached up to take her hand but stopped, eyes wide in surprise as he stared upwards. Shress noticed and cocked her head to the side.
"What?"
Six didn't answer, instead he spoke to the computer. "Computer, what's that on the roof?"
Shress looked up as well and saw what had gotten Six's attention. Hanging from the ceiling was a Prowler. In fact, if Six's eyes weren't deceiving him; it looked like the very Prowler that had brought him to Reach.
"Winter-class prowler, the UNSC Silence, serial code: 998-"
"Is it functioning?" interrupted Six.
"Yes," replied the automaton, "It is fully functional, prepared for flight and–"
"Bring it down and prep it for dust off, immediately!" Six commanded as he got back to his feet with the help of Shress.
"Affirmative, following orders." With that, Six heard the sounds of clinking chains and watched gleefully as the ship was slowly brought down.
The spacecraft was in mint condition, the body black, lean and deadly. The Prowlers were considered 'The Beasts' of ONI since only their operatives were allowed to fly them. It wasn't huge but it wasn't small either; it had a galley, bedroom, some cryo-tubes, and a slipspace drive, an answer to Six's and Shress's prayers.
As soon as it touched down, Six pushed Shress forward with his remaining arm. "Hurry, go!"
They made their way over to the spacecraft, and a ramp opened in the rear, allowing them to run inside.
The interior was a plain old steel color with circuitry visible as lights flashed. Shress looked at the bloodstream of the ship, but Six hurriedly pushed her some more, "Come on, all the way down to the front."
Shress followed his instructions; she led the way while Six continued to hobble behind her. She occasionally looked into open doorways, fascinated by the human ship, but Six kept moving her along, constantly reminding her that they needed to move, now.
The last door opened and revealed the command deck of the ship. Three monitors in front of a whole lot of flashing lights and a large view port. Six went around Shress and limped to the nearest screen and sat down. His fingers typing commands even before the seat took his considerable weight.
He sensed Shress walking over to see what he was doing as his fingers typed, a hundred words in less than thirty seconds, entering codes and guidelines faster than the human eye, or in this case he supposed, the Sangheili eye could follow.
"What are you doing?" she finally asked.
"Getting ready to fly this thing," he then motioned with his head. "Get on the last console, it's the weapons system."
Shress quickly moved forward and sat but paused, unsure what to do next until Six called out to her.
"See that small box in front of you on the screen? Touch it and type in my code, Spartan B-312, Beta company, LW authorize." Six couldn't help but feel frustrated as he watched out of the corner of his eye as Shress tentatively typed in the code. She had yet to master the human alphabet system and numerals, and it showed.
Six was about to get up to help her when he saw the explosion. The door to the hanger was blown out of the way and Covenant troops streamed out from it. Everything from brutes to grunts were all there, all spreading out and ready to kill.
"Shress!" Six yelled, "Did you do it?"
"Yes, now what!?" she called back.
"See the twin looking laser things on the screen?"
"Yes," Shress barely said when a brute chieftain howled and the troops opened fire. The Prowler was pelted by plasma and needles as the Covenant opened fire. Six feared the glass of the view port would be smashed but it held even as the energy rounds hit, slowly eating their way in.
"Press it!" Six screamed as his computer started reporting damages.
"I did, now what?!" Shress screams back.
"Touch the screen and shoot!"
Shress tapped the glass. Quickly, twin 40mm coilguns on either side of the craft ports were pushed out of hidden holes and sent a burst in the direction where Shress had pressed the screen. Getting the idea now, she began touching multiple points on the screen, going at such a fast pace that the guns were having trouble keeping up with her. Under her devastating barrage, brutes, jackals, grunts, and elites were reduced to ashes; Six noticed her wince whenever one of her rounds struck an elite. He focused on the task at hand again; he found a small radio and held it against his mouth.
"Computer!" Six yelled into a small speaker. "Open the hangar doors."
"Commencing," the voice replied. Giant unseen doors opened in front of them, letting in the newly formed desert air that blows some of the lighter Covenant forces off their feet, Six couldn't help but grin, seeing the jackals fly squawking past the viewport. Seeing their opportunity, Six pressed more buttons as he yelled to Shress, "Hold on to something!" before gunning the engines.
Shress barely grabbed the armrests on her chair before they took off. They squeezed through the hangar doors, scratching the side before shooting off through the air like a missile.
As they traveled upwards, the black sky faded to a light blue as they continued their journey. Six let out a grunt of pain as the G forces placed enormous pressure on all of his wounds. It was all he could do to prevent himself from letting out a stream of curses. He glanced at Shress and saw she too was pressed deep into her seat as they continued to travel at their extreme velocity. Finally Six looked back just in time to see the light blue turn black again, but this blackness was now littered with stars. The engines began to decrease their output, having lost a lot of energy due to the speedy takeoff. The artificial gravity was automatically switched on and the ship soon began to drift.
Six glanced at the radar and let out a sigh of relief. Most of the Covenant fleet was positioned farther west of their position where they continued to glass the planet. They weren't out of danger yet, but Six allowed himself to slump in his seat, as he let out an exhausted sigh as he turned to see Shress look similarly tired.
Yet when they looked at each other, something seemed to snap and simultaneously, they began to laugh. Their quiet chuckles soon turned into full scale hysterics as they laughed and laughed and laughed. Shress's form of laughter sounded hilarious to Six as well, a strange high pitch sound mixed with a small whistling that just sounded unnatural. He started to wonder if they had just lost their minds through the craziness they endured, but he shook his head as he gasped. At this point, he didn't care why it had happened. They were safe now.
Shress soon ceased her chuckles as well, her mandibles opened wide and closed every so often, something Six guessed was their version of gasping.
Finally she looked at him and they smiled at each other before she asked, "Now what?"
Six just wanted to laugh again at her lack of formal words but he no longer had the energy to do so. He just shook his head and looked at the monitor. He grew rigid as he scanned the monitors.
Shress sat up straight as she noticed the change in Six's mood.
"What's wrong?"
Six stared dumbstruck at the computer some more before he sighed and swung his chair around to face Shress. "Damage is bad. The slipspace drive has been damaged, and so are the cryo-tubes. We also don't have enough supplies to make it to any nearby UNSC facility, but thankfully the stealth systems are fine." Six pressed a few buttons on the console in front of him before he looked out the window, a low hum coming from the hull.
'Is this their fate? To float through space and slowly die either from hunger, thirst or suffocation once the air supply runs out?'
Shress rose from her seat and walked over until she was standing next to Michael and knelt so they could be at eye level as she spoke.
"I'm guessing this slipspace drive is what makes your spacecraft move at faster than light speeds, correct?" she inquired.
Six nodded, to which she continued. "Can't you fix it?"
Six shook his head this time. "Not without a hazmat suit. The radiation the machine gives off is enough to kill a person if they are not careful."
"What's radiation?" She asked, now confused about the new word.
"Small harmful particles that can harm a person, make them very ill and cause them to die," Six replied.
Shress looked away as she replied quietly, "I've been a part of a lot of raiding parties. This drive is located in the center of the ship, correct?"
"Yes," Six answered slowly.
"Well, I guess my armor can be counted as a…hazmat suit. When we enter the center of a human ship, we always activate our shields for there's always something within that would make the Unggoy very ill and die every time we sent them there. Radiation I suppose. I have always assumed that it is similar to when we work on the reactors on our ships, though the Huragok have always shielded everyone..." She trailed off.
Six sat up straighter as he gazed at Shress, "Are you sure you can be protected in your armor?" He asked, suddenly fearful for her life.
She nodded her head confidently. "I'm sure."
"Are you really, really–"
"I'm not a youngling, Michael. I'll be alright," Shress snarled slightly.
Six continued to stare at her before he gently tried to probe further. "You are certain you can fix the drive?"
"Yes, maybe even improve it," Six gave her a questioning glance, before she elaborated, "Your technology is ancient compared to the Covenant."
"Yes, we know," Six said sarcastically which extracted a tired giggle out of Shress.
"Anyway" she continued, "I watched our…Engineers I believe you call them?" Six nodded his head, "I have watched them as they disassemble and reassemble your technology. I have even witnessed them change your drive into one that can match the likes of our most grand spacecraft. It's easy now that I think about it. It won't even require tools."
Six thought for a moment. It sounded almost too good to be true. If Shress could repair the drive and if it was as good as she claims it would be, then there would be no need for them to use the cryo-tubes and they could make a much faster getaway.
He saw Shress stare at him, as she waited for his answer. He reluctantly sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Please," he begged her. "Be careful."
Shress gently wrapped her talons around Six's hands and comforted him.
"I will."
Out of impulse, Six leant forward and Shress moved as well to meet him. They hugged once more, hands feeling the tough plates of their armor. Both wished to touch the other, yet there was something else going on with Six, suddenly being this close to Shress caused something to change within him as he worried that something may go wrong. At the thought of losing Shress, he shuddered and did something that completely surprised even himself; he leant further in and pressed his lips gently against Shress's neck.
Shress stiffened and pulled back, looking at him strangely, "What was that?"
"Uh, what was what?" Six said back, trying to hide his embarrassment as he wished for his helmet to cover his rising flush.
Shress continued to stare at him, "I thought...I felt…" her words faded away as she stood and stuttered, "I…I need to go get started on the drive, immediately."
"Alright," Six replied, as he tried to sound casual, "And I'll be here…checking over our systems. Stuff like that."
Shress jerkily nodded, "Alright, I'll see you soon."
"Yes," Six said, too quickly. "Real soon."
They smiled a little at each other before Shress quickly strode out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Six turned back to the monitor and slammed his head against the counter.
"YOU IDIOT!" he mumbled loudly at himself.
'What were you thinking!? Why did you do that!? She's an alien! Even if you wanted to, there is no way you could–'
Six sat up and shook the question away from his brain. Too much, it was too much to take in all at once.
"You're just relieved," Six said to himself. "Relieved that you're alive and that she survived."
He sighed, still beating up his mind over the issue as he looked out the window and felt himself stop breathing. The planet of Reach was in ruins, desert storms and lightning danced across the planet. The atmosphere was close to being destroyed, water was nowhere to be seen and smoke continued to fill the skies.
But what caught his attention was a marking on the surface, a Covenant etching. It could barely be seen. The mark had long since been made and was starting to fade, but the grove itself was still visible. He wanted to deny it, to think that his mind was playing tricks on him, but he knew that it was no mistake. He knew that symbol. It was the first one that Shress had taught him.
A large circle with three slashes running through the middle.
It was the mark of the La'Vdamee family.
-Author's Note-
Don't worry guys! I have not abandoned ship. -WhateverRex
Thanks all for sticking with us. -PyreElegy