Captain Bolt cast an uncertain glance to his subordinates. One gave him a nervous stare, the other offering him a shrug. Neither provided him with any sort of solution to their current predicament. The captain turned his gaze back down to the forest floor, where the bipedal creature looked up at them expectantly. With a sigh, he released his grip on the surrounding branches, and began his descent. The faceless visor stared at him impassively, making the pegasus rather uncomfortable. Thunder touched down on the carpet of dead leaves, folding his wings in and waiting for his troops to land beside him.
Jorge waited patiently as the creatures came down to meet him, fairly surprised that they had seemed to understand him; he had realized after he had spoke that it was rather presumptuous to assume an undiscovered sentient race would understand English. Fortunately, things seemed to be working out well enough anyway. These new creatures seemed to at least understand that he had been attempting to communicate with them, and had apparently decided to humor him.
As they landed in front of them, he studied their appearances carefully. Each wore a set of metal plate armor, the interlocking bands painted with a mixture of browns, blacks, and greens, to camouflage them in their jungle environment. Each also carried a small sword in a scabbard visible on their sides. The small wings on their backs folded into their sides, reminding Jorge of the winged horse Pegasus of Greek myth. He noticed that they had brightly colored coats, manes, and tails; the one in front was orange with green mane and tail, whereas the one on the left was blue with red, and the one on the right was yellow with white. The Spartan wondered if these were stylistic choices, or if the bizarre coloring was natural. He wondered for a moment what he had just got himself into.
As the human studied the descending pegasi, they, too, studied him. The most immediate feature any of them noticed was his size. The biped stood almost twice as tall as they did, and was outfitted in broad, bulky armor from head to toe. Or at least, that is what Thunder Bolt believed. The featureless orange screen certainly looked like a helmet, but he honestly had no idea if that was the creature's real face or not. It's armor was a dark olive green, save for the small cracks in between the plates, which were black, and the protruding chest piece, which was a dull orange. Unlike the polished armor of the pegasi guards, which gleamed in the little sunlight that filtered down through the trees, this creature's armor was pocked and scarred, obviously heavily used.
Looking up at this armored behemoth in front of him, Thunder couldn't help but gulp in anticipation. The biped gave a small but noticeable snort in response. Stiffening, Thunder felt his pride buck indignantly. If he was going to going to represent all of Equestria in their first encounter with a new race, he was going to do it properly. Standing up straight, he looked squarely into the blank, golden screen that covered the front of the creature's head, setting his face into the most stoic expression he could muster.
Drawing a deep breath, he introduced himself. "Greetings. I am Captain Thunder Bolt of the Equestrian Royal Guard Air Corps. I am here on behalf of the royal sisters of Equestria to welcome you to our land. May I ask your name?" He finished with a respectful inclination of his head, feeling very satisfied with his introduction. He waited politely for the biped to respond.
Jorge's eyebrows could not have physically climbed any higher up his face. He had just survived being blasted through the dimensions, and now was standing here listening to a small, multicolored winged horse speak perfect English. Jorge had fought across the galaxy on hundreds of different worlds against countless unimaginable foes, but this may have been the strangest situation he'd ever found himself in. However, as odd as it was, he was quite content that nothing was trying to kill him at the moment. That being the case, he decided not to question it and roll with it. "Chief Warrant Officer Jorge-052, UNSC Navy," he said, extending his hand. He realized as he reached for the aliens foreleg that Captain Bolt would likely have no idea what he was doing, and may even perceive Jorge reaching for him as some sort of threat. After all, why would a being that had never before encountered humans understand the Human custom of shaking hands? To Jorge's complete surprise, however, the captain extended his hoof to meet the Spartan's hand.
It felt rather odd, have this creature's hand wrap around his leg with it's grasping, spidery fingers. To be honest, it kind of creeped the pegasus out. But he endured it for the sake of intergalactic relations. He noticed that this "Jorge" had a very strong grip, which served to remind him of the brutal display he had just witnessed. Thunder felt that it would be of particular importance to keep Jorge happy.
As the two broke the hoof/handshake, Jorge spoke up. "Do you mind telling me where I am exactly?" he asked.
"Of course," Thunder answered. "You are in the nation of Equestria, on the planet Equus."
"Equus...what solar system is that in?"
Thunder stopped for a moment. "Um...I'm not sure. Astronomy isn't my field. Someone in Canterlot would be able to tell you I'm sure," he said, pointing his forehoof to the West. Jorge followed the captain's gaze, spying a mountain in the distance through the gaps in the trees. This one towered over the mountain the carrier bad crashed into, it's peak obscured by a veil of cloud cover.
Jorge turned back to Thunder. "Canterlot is a city?" he asked.
The equine nodded. "Yes, Equestria's capital. We should get there, our princesses will want to meet you. Perhaps they can help you." As he said this, Thunder felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to look at his compatriot, who was shooting him a concerned look. "Yes, staff sergeant?"
"May I have a word, sir? In private?" the pegasus asked, his eyes giving a barely noticeable flicker in Jorge's direction.
Captain Bolt took the hint. "OK." he said, following the guard a few feet away. "What's wrong, sergeant?"
The staff sergeant cast one last glance to Jorge before speaking. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think its a good idea to just up and invite this thing to meet our princesses."
Thunder nodded. "Sergeant, I understand your concern, but we cannot simply leave him stranded here, not when he has shown us no aggression."
The sergeant's eyes widened, his jaw dropping. "No aggression!?" he whispered furiously. "He beat that other thing to a pulp! Sir, I don't think you underst-"
Captain Bolt cut him off, his eyes narrowing. "Mind your tone, sergeant. You're addressing a superior officer." This cowed his subordinate; his mouth snapped shut and his ears folded back, his eyes turning downward. Satisfied, Thunder spoke up. "You know protocol. Any contact with a previously undiscovered sentient race is to be followed up by introduction with official Equestrian representatives. Besides, we do not understand Jorge's circumstances, nor anything about his history with the other creature. We will take both back to Canterlot, and help them. Just because they were fighting each other doesn't mean we need to abandon either of them. We can find out exactly what's going on later; right now, its our responsibility to assist them in any way possible. Am I clear, Staff Sergeant Hawk?"
"Yes, sir," came the dejected reply.
"Good." Thunder's expression softened slightly, his glare fading away. "We will take appropriate measures in order to maintain order. Don't worry, we can handle this." With that, he turned around, trotting back to where Jorge was waiting with the other guard.
As they returned from their conversation, Jorge pondered what he had heard. Though they had been out of earshot for a normal human, Jorge's enhanced senses and the MJOLNIR's sophisticated microphones had helped him listen in on the little chat. He hadn't been able to make out some of it, but he had gotten the gist of it. The sergeant's concern about him made sense, and was expected. Jorge, frankly, found the captain's willingness to present a strange, obviously dangerous new being to their leaders highly irresponsible. But what bothered Jorge was what they wanted to do with the Elite. His eyes shifted over to it's unconscious form, sprawled across the forest floor like an ugly bear pelt rug.
As Captain Bolt and Staff Sergeant Hawk resumed their positions, Jorge folded his hands behind his back in a parade rest, waiting for them to speak. Depending on how what they told him compared to what he had heard, Jorge would be able to roughly gauge how much he could trust them.
"We have decided that we can take you to Canterlot, where you can take any questions you might have to ponies who may be more knowledgeable than me or my troops. Now, regarding that," Thunder cast his eyes towards Jorge's fallen opponent. "We don't know what kind of relationship exists between the two of you, but I, in good conscious, cannot leave another creature abandoned here if I am to help you. We'll be taking it to Canterlot as well. We will take the necessary measures to keep the two of you apart to avoid any problems."
Jorge waited patiently for the captain to finish. Once he was done, the human spoke, his quiet voice hiding the emotional turmoil he felt inside. "I understand everything you've said, and, looking at it from your perspective, it makes perfect sense," Jorge paused a moment before continuing. "However, I know this thing. I know how it thinks, and what it's capable of. These are vicious, bloodthirsty monsters, and as long as it still draws breath, it will not stop trying to kill me."
Like Jorge, Captain Bolt waited for the other to finish before speaking. "I understand your discomfort with the situation, but I'm only hearing your side of the story. I am unable to judge until I've let him speak for himself. Even if I had heard his own testimony, I don't have the kind of authority to choose a side in whatever struggle you two are engaged in. It's out of my hooves either way." The pegasus shrugged. "I'm sorry."
Jorge stood still a moment, contemplating his options. He could resist them. He knew the sangheili couldn't be trusted, and that the best way to deal with the problem was to simply kill it. But then again, if these "ponies" were a major power here on Equus, he couldn't risk losing their support if that meant losing any possibility of getting back home. Grunting, he came to a decision. "Alright, fair enough," the super soldier said in a slightly defeated tone. Letting a single Elite live in order to get back to the war seemed like a manageable sacrifice. He wasn't happy about it, but it was something he could live with. For the moment. "Let's get to this city of yours, then."
A relieved smile broke out on Thunder's face. Jorge marveled at how expressive the pony's faces were; they seemed to have little in common with their Earth cousins outside of basic body shape. "Excellent!" Thunder exclaimed. He turned to his two squad mates. "War Hawk, Mustang, go get the rest of the squadron, and get word to Canterlot to get some unicorns out here, inform them that we have two guests that need transportation to Canterlot. Tell them to have medical staff on standby." With a pair of salutes and affirmative calls, the two pegasi took off, rocketing through the trees.
Turning back towards Jorge, Thunder noticed that the biped had moved off several yards, and was examining a strange dark blue device. It was very sleek and elegant, and seemed to have the same color scheme as the other creature's armor. "What is that?" he asked.
Jorge glanced up at him for a moment before returning his attention to the object. "Type-51 plasma repeater. Covenant directed energy weapon." He pointed to the Elite. "It was his."
The royal guard didn't understand most of what Jorge said, but he knew what one of the words meant. He looked at the rifle incredulously. "That's a weapon?" It didn't appear to have any blades that he can see, and though it looked heavy, it didn't look as though it was designed with swinging in mind. The way Jorge held it reminded Thunder of a crossbow, but he could see no bow or bolt on it anywhere.
Jorge nodded, lifting it and taking aim at a large rock. "Watch." He squeezed the trigger, and a staccato burst of plasma rounds flew forth, impacting on the stone with wet slapping sounds, intermixed with the sizzling of melting rock.
Thunder's eyes widened, and he craned his neck forward with interest. "Wow. Magic? How did you enchant it to do that?" He asked, trotting over to Jorge.
Behind his helmet, the human raised an eyebrow. "No...it fires bolts of magnetically contained superheated plasma." The pony stared blankly at him. Jorge sighed. "It's just..." he struggled for the right words. Explaining things wasn't his strong point. "It's really advanced technology."
Thunder shrugged in response. "Oh. I wouldn't get it then, I don't think. Not really a scientific kind of pony. I don't ask how things work, just as long as things work like they're supposed to."
Jorge nodded. "There's a sentiment I can respect." Satisfied with his inspection of the repeater, he slung it over his back, magnetizing it to his armor. It was no heavy machine gun, but it would do for the time being. Hopefully he could get back to the crash site at some point and scavenge a more substantial arsenal.
Thunder eyed the rifle warily. Helping Jorge was one thing, but allowing him to bring weapons into the capital might not be the best decision. "Do you intend to bring that with you?" he asked, pointing a hoof towards the plasma repeater.
Jorge stared at him. Beneath his visor, his eyebrows furrowed. "I certainly don't intend to travel a strange land unarmed," he answered, his voice slightly barbed, as though he was insulted by the very idea of someone trying to relieve him of his newly acquired gun.
Thunder held back an exasperated sigh. This negotiation stuff was getting annoying. "Jorge, I can't just let you have an audience with the rulers of our land when you're carrying a weapon. That would be downright irresponsible of me." He thought for a moment before continuing. "If you want, we can hold it for you until we've deemed you trustworthy enough to return it to you."
Jorge sighed. The captain was right, of course. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask that he disarm himself before speaking with the rulers of a nation. That didn't make it any less inconvenient, but he deemed getting help returning home more important than carrying around a rifle. Jorge gave a single nod. "I can accept those terms, Captain Bolt." He drew the repeater from his back, and laid it on the ground in front of the captain. As he stood back up, he realized he still had the two pistols on his waist, along with another 3 grenades and a combat knife in his boot. He almost reached for them when he had a thought; there was no way the ponies would recognize them as weapons. He could easily hold onto them, keeping himself armed while also appearing to be compliant with the Equestrians. After a moment's hesitation, however, he pulled the weapons out, setting them on the ground with the rifle. He did not want to run the risk of upsetting what could possibly be his only hope in this alien world. "Take these as well."
Thunder raised an eyebrow at the number of strange looking objects that were now piled up in front of him. Though he recognized the knife for what it was, the other five items were completely unknown to him. He followed Jorge's hand as he pointed to the three small balls arrayed on the ground.
"Careful with those. DO NOT touch the red buttons," the human warned. "If you do by accident, throw it far away from yourself or anyone else." The pony gave him a questioning gaze. "They explode," Jorge explained.
The pegasus guard's face grew somewhat incredulous, but even still, he made sure to make a mental note regarding Jorge's warning. After all, if the massive biped had a weapon that spat scalding purple goo, he supposed that small exploding rocks weren't too far-fetched, either. With a tired sigh, Thunder sat down, letting his flank sink unceremoniously to the dirt. He winced as he felt a small rock dig into his fur, and flicked it away with his hoof. Jorge joined him, folding his legs in as he brought himself as far down to the pony's height as his huge frame would let him.
After a few moments of somewhat uncomfortable silence, Jorge broke it, asking, "So, how long until they're back?"
Thunder shrugged. "Not sure; this situation is rather unprecedented. I can't imagine it'll take too long though. An hour or so maybe."
Jorge nodded. "So what do we do in the meantime?"
"Well," Thunder said. "Why not tell me a little about yourself. Where you come from, who you are, that sort of thing. Give me a little background information. Might be easier to help you out if we know more about you."
Jorge considered it for a moment. It couldn't hurt, as long as Jorge minded what he told him. He stretched out, making himself comfortable. "Well," he began. "I'm from a place called Reach..."