How does life come to being comparable to the term expendable? That is not a term that most... rather sane people would call it. But in a universe ravaged by war, expendable has become the word for heroes. Dying is heroic. Or is it?
"Live to fight another day."
There was, some importance behind the phrase that she had heard so very often from her peers, it was almost immobilized in the stone that buried most of the original Spartans that used it.
"Spartans never die, they are just MIA."
Sure any normal civilian, hell, any normal soldier could think as such. Not Laura. She was on the inside, inside of everything that ONI tried so deeply to snuff out. She was apart of this giant organization that covered everything she tried so hard to accomplish for mankind, in that horrible black ink. She was a Spartan. A Spartan-III to be exact. See, Spartan-II's like the Master Chief everyone knew about, everyone looked upon, and everyone looked towards as heroes.
But not Laura. She would forever be doing undercover Black Ops missions and nobody would even bat an eye. Invade the enemy, recover intelligence, don't get caught. "If you do get caught, you're dead." She was always told. "Shoot first, ask later."
If it sounded all horrible, that wasn't the original intent. Laura liked being undercover, but it's those who get all the recognition, all the honor, whom she feels objected towards. Those are the UNSC's heroes, while Spartans like Laura die in the backdrop, and nobody cares.
One day what if she were to... Disappear? Perhaps forever? Would anyone care?
That's what it's like to be expendable...
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"You had asked what word I would describe this new breed of Spartans. I complied."
"But ma'am..."
"They are nothing more than what I had said. Simply put, losing them, while not ideal it's not the end of the world. If one dies, another may take their place and continue the fight."
"You didn't create more Spartans, you created an endless supply of soldiers without proper training and armor to back them up. I would hardly call them Spartans." A hint of worry was rooted in the second voice. Worry that was quickly dismissed with a flick of the other's hand.
"I created what you asked for, Spartans that could be ready for any mission, as quickly as possible, and as cheap as possible."
"But you didn't create soldiers! You created an assembly line of people!" The first voice now getting mildly annoyed with the questions the other was asking, was quick to respond.
"The Spartan-II's were highly intelligent and unbreakable because they were trained since a young age. You do realize you are asking me to erase age and just throw fully trained Spartans at you whenever you so wish, right? That's not how this works, ONI simply doesn't have the funding, nor resources to craft an endless supply of highly trained death machines that are nowhere close to the originals." The voice didn't falter once, even after referring to the Spartans, not as people, but as nothing more than machines.
Maybe the voice was right, maybe they were no more than machines. Built since birth to do nothing but destroy anything that stood in the way of humanity's goals. Morals set aside. No questions, just completion. This was their indoctrination, and if it were up to the staggering amounts of success by teams such as blue team, they were trained well.
"You're right..." the second voice responded, tinged with regret, "I just feel as though there is some way that we can make them believe that they aren't just something we can chalk up on a board as "acceptable deaths"."
"They wouldn't die in vain, yes many would fall, but the missions that they would complete! Nobody else can! They can turn the tide of this war for the better, for all of us." The first voice said, sternly, without remorse. This took the second as a bit of a surprise.
"Can you bear it?" The second voice quietly murmured.
"Bear what?"
"The guilt."
See, this wasn't a question that was expected from the second voice. They hadn't seemed like the deep type of person. The first thought a long while, gauging her own thoughts and reflections on what had happened with the Spartan-IIs. Ripping them from their family's, waking them up just to train them into the ground, putting them through the horrifying augmentation process which had crippled more than half the program. The thoughts had plagued her mind, making the answer come out a little shakier than she might have intended.
"I accept what my actions might cause for any party involved, just as I had before. Guilt? Well that seems like my own little personal problem." She finished with what could be heard as a forced smile towards the end of the sentence.
"Expendable?" The second asked once more.
"Expendable."
The Spartan-IIIs were born. Completing suicide missions that no other Spartan squad, or even a platoon of ODST's could handle. They were battle-hardened, maybe not as much as the Spartan-IIs, but damn near close. If given the same advancements as the Spartan-IIs, some might argue there were IIIs who even match the IIs.
But they were nothing more than expendable.
Purple. Often in ancient times was thought of as a royal color. That only Kings and Queens of old might wear. However, those were the ancient times after all.
Laying on metal colored in many shades of purple, in a starship that was also purple, surrounded by many things that were out to kill you wearing purple. Well it kinda makes me rethink purple associated with royalty.
My objective was to gain intel on the Covenants plans, new technology, hell anything that would help ONI understand why they were so damned interested in Forerunner artifacts. It was almost an unhealthy addiction. They practically worshipped anything made by the ancients, deeming themselves as who should be the one's who control all of it. As funny as the comparison may seem, Forerunner tech is often very dangerous, and very unpredictable. The more tech they gain ahold of, the further we are behind in the long game of chess we are partaking in.
I wasn't here to discuss history lessons or semantics with myself.
I lay in the spacious hanger that occupied the super carrier I currently found myself in. Fortunately for myself, grunts occupied most of the life alongside me, and, well, they weren't exactly the most aware species in the Covenant line up. I lay in the dark recesses of the corners, watching, waiting, anything that would get me any closer to someplace I could actually learn something from my trip.
Two grunts came near my place of solace, making my muscle's stiffen in my armor. That is the second time I have been passed by in the last 15 minutes. Although their intention may not be expecting any unwanted visitors, it sure was starting to get unsettling. It interrupted my thoughts of anything that might help me move on so I don't put myself at even more risk than I already am. Not that risk's are a bad thing, mind you.
Feeling my knee buckle from balancing, I almost collapsed onto the ground in a heap, my thoughts rudely interrupted once again. Instinct took over, catching myself with my fingers in such a way that they would slide and successfully not get my cover blown by a hunk of metal smashing into another hunk of metal. Sweat now dripping from my forehead, I inched my way up, putting a mental note to stop balancing on one foot while trying to be sneaky.
There was a loud bang, as in a gun being fired directly beside my ear kind of bang, while the floor shook. A Covenant officer, more than likely an elite, came over the intercom, screaming in his native tongue that I had no intention of translating. Obviously there was a problem, it didn't take a genius to figure it out. However, this created an unique opening. If I could keep to the shadows, any mistake, or loud clanging metal would be hidden along with my person.
Creeping along a purple wall, where the lights began to dim, I made my way towards what I hoped was the bridge. The bridge I would find any information I might require so that I may be on my way. If only it was as easy as I am thinking. Creeping along the tight hallways of the carrier, not sure of what I might face when any given door opens, is not a risk I wanted to take. It's not even a risk at that point, it's pure death. Images of energy swords being swung into my abdomen and being held up in the air like a trophy wasn't a pleasant thought.
Nonetheless, my unquenchable thirst to be done with the mission got the best of me, I continued, my light footed technique that had been drilled into me, which turned out to be unrequired from the loud sound of what now seemed like metal scraping against metal, got me to a location near an opening door. I looked back at the chaos of the hanger, grunts and elites alike, now more accustomed to the loud noises, had been moving quickly about, not caring or knowing, that a spy was amongst their ranks, waiting for her time to inch her way into the light so she could continue.
After watching the door for a good five minutes, deciding that now was the time to make my move before the screeching stopped, I carefully made my way into the sliding door, keeping a keen eye at my 12 o'clock. The hallway was empty, quiet even, the sound must be blocked off in the small hallway that had plenty of wall to keep sound out. The door clicking behind me was startling, almost catching the barrel of my sniper rifle on my back.
Which brings me to a question, that I should have at least drifted upon, why do I have a sniper? Close quarters wasn't the idealistic scenario to be popping heads, not with that gun at least, but ONI just insisted that I take it. I knew I was a good shot, if what you could read between the black ink was any reminder, but sometimes my load out choices that they picked for me were... Troubling to say the least. Shrugging, intent on confirming everything I had on my person was still in check from my little trek was still there.
I saw it before I heard it.
The door on the opposite end of the hallway began to lift, in no slow manner either, sounds of grunts talking loudly to each other hit my eardrums just like the bang had before. Frozen I was looking for options to get myself out of the situation. Spotting a crevice-like indentation in the right wall, I hurriedly flung myself into it, the rifle on my back catching itself on the two walls and landing on the ground with a loud bang. My body went cold, I myself not being seen but that noise was clearly heard. The talking on the other end stopped entirely, hearing slow methodical footsteps creep closer to my position.
This was it, I was going to die and it was all because of that damned rifle. Maybe I didn't drop it off when I realized I had it back on the Pelican because of how safe it made me feel. Keeping my distance. But it sure wasn't making me feel safe now.
Closer now, whispers could be heard but I strained to hear what they could possibly be saying. Probably somewhere along the lines of "Human gun? Grunt rip out human heart!" Or... Something to that effect.
The first of what I assumed many rounded my hiding spot, which I promptly propelled myself forward onto, thoughts leaving replaced by training that I had been given my entire life. My combat knife unsheathed, tearing into the grunt's facemask and face at the same time, blue blood splattering all over the knife and myself. Cocking my head to the right, before finishing my current kill, I looked at the other four grunts. Mixed horror and surprise painted all over their faces. It was a face I was beginning to love.
In their bewilderment, I launched myself to the next one, this time only one hand on the knife and the other balled into a fist. Both struck their targets, only one actually dying. At this point, the three remaining grunts, one while stunned, the others collected themselves and fired their plasma in my general direction. I raised my knife along with the grunt body attached, to shield myself. The body melting beneath the fire and creating the worst stench I had ever subjected myself to. Lowering the body, I charged at the stunned one I had smashed in the face prior, driving the knife through the melted body of one, and into the face of the other.
The remaining two grunts, trying to cool down their pistols had finally done so, releasing another barrage of fire at me. I couldn't swing around fast enough, I took two shots to the side before I had righted the now two bodies in front of me. My MJOLNIR armor's shields flaring in protest. Two shots and half was gone, those thing packed a punch! To be entirely fair, it was superheated plasma, I'm surprised neither shot penetrated past my shield and into my hip. That would be one hell of a finish to my current mission.
The barrage had finally ended, the two remaining adversaries had succeeded in melting another of their brethren and were now waiting for their guns to come back to working order. I wasn't going to allow it to be an option. Shaking the two now melted together bodies off my combat knife, I closed the distance in one stride to two very surprised grunts. Missing one's head, I cut it's air supply instead, which was equally as effective as the momentum carried the knife into the side of the other grunt's head. One swing, two kills. I am getting pretty damn good at this CQC.
Looking around, shaking my head at the mess I made, I wasn't sure what to do next. Stealth was only half working, at least I hadn't unloading a clip of my magnum ammo into their heads, that would make dying a much bigger problem. However, I wasn't going to be able to scrub the blue blood off the floor either. Which was now starting to make large blue pools. Great. Silently hoping to myself nobody would notice, I stuffed the 5 bodies into the cubby I was hiding in when they found me. The smell now making me gag, was permeating the room quickly.
I quickly grabbed the long rifle off the floor and attached it onto my back once again, cursing it in my head for being such a giant nuisance. Continuing, at this point, before more showed up was my only option. Obviously they would be found, if they had any sort of smell, so I needed to get my ass out before that happened. Stopping before the door would auto open in front of me, I held my breathe on what might be on the other side. Hoping I didn't come face to face with the doom that had four jaws, I crept forward.
The following room was confusing. Empty, thank Christ, but confusing nonetheless. On my right was an inclined path to an upper platform, and to my left was another inclined path going down. In front was a space in between that had consoles for what I now made out as the large cannons docked on the side of the ship. The Covenant sure didn't mess around, this ship itself could be capable of destroying an entire planet by itself, which I'm sure it probably has. Seeing the guns only made me slightly on edge, even if I was on the inside looking out.
Keeping a keen eye on my motion tracker, I went to my right, something about checking the upper floor seemed right in my head. Making it up the small incline with no problem, I glanced to my left to see another platform, much like the first. My right only had another door, leading to a similarly long hallway that I had just come out of. Deciding that would just lead me back to my starting point, I made my way across the platform. Still not a single enemy, which was starting to be more of a worry than a relief at this point. For such a large ship, I had expected every room to be filled to the brim with Covenant, it was slowly turning out not to be the case. For better or worse.
I reached the next door, which slid open seamlessly. I wasn't foolish to stand in front, moving my hand to make it open once I was out of frame. I peered around, with my combat knife at the ready for anything ready to rip my entrails onto the floor.
Sighing, I let my guard down only slightly at the sight of nothing. Just another purple hallway. Thoughts went back to the loud noises I had experienced before and the ever shaking of the floor, which were completely gone now. Maybe that's why there is no Covenant! They all probably gathered somewhere important like the-
-bridge.
The door slid open in front of me, and I jumped out of the way as quietly as possible at the sight of hundreds of Covenant all gathered on the bridge. None of them paid me any attention, as loud yelling in a foreign tongue reached my ears. These hallways were extremely sound proof, I heard nothing on the opposite side. Thanking whatever god may be out there for my quick strike of luck, I peeked around the doorway. Indeed, not a single Covenant had been actually paying attention to me, they all seemed all too fixated on what was going on outside the ship perhaps? Most of the elites up front were looking at consoles and chattering among one another, others just stared slack jawed, quite literally, out the window. I couldn't get a good look at the window since two large pillars blocked my view, so I would have to get a closer look.
I was curious about many things, but this made my stomach twist in all the wrong ways. I slid through the passageway, thanking what little shadow there was on the other side of the door to keep me hidden. Nothing was truly paying attention to me however, even when I scuffed my armor off the floor, making a small screeching metallic sound. I cursed myself for being clumsy while in the face of more than 100 elites. One could put up a good fight, I don't even want to imagine 100. Finally, I rounded the corner without being spotted by anything, peering at the window curiously. I quickly pulled my head back, a golden clad elite was staring in my general direction, talking to I assume another one facing away from me.
The sweat forming on my forehead was beginning to show once more, straining myself to be completely still, even if slight sounds wouldn't even travel in the commotion. I tried my luck once more, looking for any of them that might have spotted me. Once I was sure of myself, I looked out the window for the first time, and almost jumped in surprise. We were heading straight for... A planet? I think? It was shining brightly from the nearby sun in the system, almost with a metallic like sheen to it. A beautiful sight really, if you know, it wasn't coming at me quicker than a bullet.
I basically was putting my life in the hands of more than 100 aliens who would rip me to pieces if they knew I was here. God help me. Frantically I tried deducing that elite's wouldn't be that stupid to just go barreling into a planet, right? Or perhaps they are just testing the brakes? What? No. Starships don't have brakes, but they do have a reverse thrust. Which would be lovely if they used right now.
Thoughts all jumbled in my head, I hadn't realized that there was no longer the loud chattering of the Elites and the occasional yelling of the one in golden armor. That wasn't good, however they weren't gathered around me in a semi-circle ready to gut me either. I waited for some shifting of one of them to come, when it never did I cautiously tried my luck to peer out again. All present were at rapt attention to what was going on in space, and suddenly I was too. The Metallic planet I had once seen before, was now completely replaced by greens, blues, and whites. It was surreal to look at, as if I was staring at something out of a storybook. All of what I've seen in my adult life has been nothing but crimson glass and smoke billowing out from the surface.
Because of the 100s whom I now was standing in a room with, at rapt attention at what was going on.
The thought brought anger, but it quickly subsided, I was not particularly an irrational thinker, and thinking irrationally right now would be a mistake. Unless dying isn't a mistake of course, then it would be the best of my options. Dying aside, we seemed to slow down, surprisingly enough we weren't about to kamikaze into a world made of metal, which was on the good side. Bad side is I have zero idea where I am in retrospect to any near planetary body.
The ship I realized, was starting to set down onto the surface, and that, was not something I wanted to be stuck in a room with Elites who are more than likely going down to it. I quickly but stealthily made my way out the door, ensuring I waited till chatter amongst themselves had started again. Hurrying down the hallway, keeping a close eye out for adversaries, the door at the end of the hall opened as I approached. I checked my corners, below me, even above me, not sure why but one can never be sure. No enemies anywhere, which is exactly what I need. I need to be quick to be one of the first ones off so that I can find out what they are here for.
Again, I have a problem stating things that are much easier said than done.
I made my way down the incline leading to the middle floor, which I turned left after lingering on the dormant guns for a moment. Getting that sinking feeling once again that this ship had, or had helped in the glassing of a planet or more. Shaking my head at such trivial notions that couldn't be helped, I checked the long hallway, again, void of anything in particular. Even the familiar blood stains are there, as blue and as putrid as ever. I stopped and broke a slight grin at the 5 grunts stuffed in the cubby on my left, they had all sunk down and were almost compressing together in a weirdly shaped tower.
My eyes leapt forward for a moment, the door opening on it's own, assuming it was the enemy and not myself getting too close, I began unsheathing my combat knife. Creeping forward, I half hid myself beside the side of the frame to wait for the attackers to come, which they never did. Dropping the knife once more, I breathed a sigh of relief, not completely relaxing lest I let my guard down for too long, but just happy I had made it back in one piece.
I crept back into the large, spacious hanger, a little irritated my cover had gone away from the natural light on the planet's surface. None of the crew had seemed to dispurse and were working as hard as when I left them, the commotion helping keep my cover intact. Even if I was wearing full black armor, save a few white stripes, against a purple wall. Not exactly the most inconspicuous thing, but it was working thus far.
I felt myself become heavier for a mere second as the ship stopped, causing the collective group of Covenant to groan. Breaking a slight grin in the annoyance obvious in their noises, I found my last spot, which had some crates added for decoration. Good thing I moved, otherwise I would've been a trophy for the behemoth wearing that gold armor.
The whir of Phantom boosters came to life, as three of them in the hanger started to lift and fly out onto the planet, other's being packed to the brim with what I assume now as supplies. Which meant the crates that were by me were probably supplies too..
Shit.
Two, albeit, unarmed grunts walked towards my hiding place. However, unarmed as they were, doesn't mean they couldn't make noise. I quickly tried to think of what to do, drawing up blanks, until realizing that the crates were just about my size. I could possibly fit into one, if it's devoid of anything. I began moving quickly, the grunts were still a little away, the hanger was quite large, and they weren't paying attention to where they were going.
First one, methane.
Second one, guns.
Third one, more guns.
Fourth one, swords.
Why would they just store all of this weaponry like this when most of them are already armed? Did they expect to fight a war down there? It wasn't a pleasant thought as to what they know and I don't. I fished out a sword hilt and latched it onto my hip, opposite to my pistol. Just in case.
It felt hotter in my armor than it usually did, probably happens when you're 20 seconds from being killed. Opening up the final crate, a grin grew on my face, it had a singular sword hilt, so I laid on top of it, and sealed myself inside, praying whoever might come pick me up didn't notice the weight shift. The noise of nearby crates being moved soon followed, with grunts grunting probably about the weight. At least if they carry all the other ones, I'll just be another heavy box.
Finally after what felt like hours, I felt my own crate being lifted and then carried a few feet before being dropped. Now that isn't good. I calmed myself, waiting for when I would have to shove my newly acquired sword into some unsuspecting Grunt or Elite who found me. The moment, never came. Breathing a sigh of relief as I was lifted once again, by what I assume is more help... I guess I am pretty heavy. MJOLNIR armor wasn't famous for being light after all.
The feeling of being set down was a little nauseating after being carried for a while, nonetheless I waited diligently for an assailant to open the box and be surprised to find a full clad Spartan shoving a sword into their throat. The moment again, almost disappointedly, never came.
I had never flown in a Phantom before, albeit inside a crate. It wasn't unpleasant, it actually felt smoother than the Pelicans back at ONI. The ground must've been much higher up than I had remembered, the flight was a good ten minutes before reaching the surface. Once again, the feeling of being heavy came and went and chatter got much louder as the hissing of Phantom doors opened to the planet's surface I assume. Or my untimely death in the middle of space. Whichever happens sooner.
The crates were sent down through the technology the Covenant have. Most Phantoms could teleport troops or items down in an instant. I didn't even fully understand the technology and I knew most classified material like the back of my hand. It was like riding an elevator, feeling weightless, then suddenly being thrown onto the ground with all your weight pressing on top of you. That would be so disorienting to do every single time, I suppose that's why they'd rather jump 20 feet instead.
My thoughts jarred, I heard movement around my crate, and then being blinded by bright sunlight. It was a harsh thing for my eyes to adjust to at first, shielding myself with a forearm. A shriek and screaming soon followed, and I knew it was over before it even started.
"Demon!" The all too familiar word for Spartans via the Covenant, was now being spread around in a loud fashion by an obnoxious Grunt. Suddenly an Elite head popped over the crate's entrance, glaring down at me.
"Well, shit." I unlatched the sword from my hip in a flash. The rest, being a blur.
"I will tear you in half human!" Large hands, attached to large arms reached into a crate that lay a singular Spartan, whom probably is rethinking her choice in getting down onto the planet.
Ignoring the Elite screaming at my face with his four jaws open in what looked like a toothy octopus, I drove the weapon at my side, into his throat. The scream interrupted by sounds of cauterizing wounds and gurgling. Obviously this was not the stealthy approach I had imagined in my head, I just prayed that there wouldn't be many more waiting for me when I clambered out of the crate.
The crate! I felt myself around inside, the walls while not entirely thick, were definitely made out of metal. Tipping myself over towards what I felt was my left, I rolled out while keeping the impromptu shield on my right. Grasping the sword in one hand and my magnum in the other, I snapped eyes forward to see who might be staring at me.
Nothing. Just trees, grass, dirt, and a mountain in the distance that didn't look like a real mountain from the light reflecting off of it's metallic sheen. To my left was another crate, still enclosed, blocking anyone from firing at me directly, leaving the right and front open. Checking my right for enemies, nothing. Motion tracker was relatively dot less as well, showing 5 red blips behind me, however it only has so much range, there could be 100s on the outskirts of the circle.
Why was it quiet? I hurriedly popped my head over the crate behind me to come face to face with another Elite staring right at me. It's four jaws clicking menacingly, growling. I could see entirely what it was doing, attempting to intimidate, but beneath my thin visor, my face was entirely hidden, all it saw was it's own face staring back.
Without moving as many muscles as I could muster, still glaring at the Elite in front of me, I grabbed the hilt of the sword I had put back in it's rightful place after careening out of the crate. A calming swoosh was heard and the Elite had no time to react. I plunged it deep into his chest, his 4 jaws tensing and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He fell, dead, only making a thump when he hit the ground. I wasn't focused on him, I was focused on the 5 Elites, 8 grunts, and a Jackel holding a Beam Rifle behind him.
Immediately I threw myself at the ground behind the crate as they opened fire. Surprisingly the crate was holding better than I had expected, taking the brunt of the attack. The only weapon piercing it was the Jackel, and he was getting closer to where I was crouched. There was no way I was going to fight them, it was already a losing battle before it even started.
I gazed upon what was in front of me. The tree line wasn't far away, a quick sprint and I could be hiding in the underbrush, figure out a plan, and ambush those who might come after me. Something sparkled in the lower part of my vision in the sun, surprising me for a split second. It was the lone sword that had occupied the crate I was in, apparently being flung to the side when I rolled out. I had no intention of getting my last one, which was still jammed inside the Elite behind me while being fired on by a small army. Grabbing the slightly different hilt off the ground, I inspected it quickly, lest I finally get plasma to the back of the head for my troubles.
It was a dull gold color, with letters etched into it in Sangheili. I could only make out a word that looked eerily similar to "Bane", although I couldn't be sure. Slapping it onto my hip, I readied myself in a sprinter's stance, ready to make a beeline for the trees.
Three. I set my right foot in front of me, the left, half resting on the crate behind me.
Two. I took a deep breathe, ready not to run in a straight line, but be as unpredictable as possible while avoiding enemy fire.
One. My body tensed as I rocketed forward, using the crate as a distraction and a launch point, it was hurled backwards into the crowd as I snaked my way to the trees. It only served as a temporary distraction, as plasma rounds of all colors and sizes kicked up dirt beside me, sizzling.
One lucky round had found it's mark, my shield flaring in frustration, a quarter of the way gone. Another flare, halfway gone. I stooped low, having a bad feeling just as a Beam Rifle tracer blew past where my head was and into a tree, bursting it into flames.
The forest was a few steps away, and I covered them in little time, hearing the screams of my pursuers following close behind. The plasma got less frequent as I put more tree in between me and them, finally stopping completely, I slowed down, feeling a little winded. I slowed down further to a more leisurely pace, a brisk walk.
I got a gauge on my surroundings for the first time. Tall trees covered most of the forest floor, leaving it strung in shadows. Whatever sunlight could leak through kept it from being entirely dark. This was the first location in a long while that I had not gotten a bad feeling about. It sure beat staying on the Covenant cruiser, being surrounded by an army out to kill anything that was remotely human and learn nothing. I heard the calming sound of birds chirping, a sound I hadn't heard in years. It was peaceful, tranquil, something war rips away.
There was no defined path through the thick forest, only a mere direction to the mountain, if it can be called that. Through the occasional gaps in the trees I caught glance of the peak, reflecting off the sun with enough light to cause my visor to darken. It was beautiful, but it was also Forerunner, it could be a giant machine of death, I couldn't know for certain. In this very moment, it sat motionless, like a great spire, guiding whomever might want to it's position with the alluring light.
The trek had been longer than I thought, while boring, it was a complete change of pace from the constant fighting I had became accustomed to over the past few hours. I cracked a small grin, knowing a mere day earlier I was sitting in an ONI office being briefed on yet another mission that my unique skillset could accomplish. Unique was over exaggerating, but Spartans are slowly becoming few and few between. Whatever skills I might have from training, that's what makes me unique.
The forest, which I had expected to be crawling with Covenant to track me down, or even to be investigating what the obvious Forerunner structure was, were naught. I heard nothing, seen nothing, and certainly didn't feel anything. At least, for the duration of the trip. I spotted a clearing up ahead, leading into a tunnel of the massive structure looming before me.
Far away it was just another structure, but up close it was truly something to behold. Ancient lettering had been engraved into the side of the pyramid structure, very small symbols as if the entire building told a story if read to completion. I made my way through the clearing and stood in front of the tunnel, polished without a hint of dirt. Like most.
I ran my hand across the grooves in the mountain that made lettering, hoping that I could understand it if I maybe felt it better. To no avail, I diminished the thought as mundane. Turning my attention towards the tunnel, I walked inside, pale blue lights blinked on as a I walked, sensing I was there. Everything smelled of new metal, like I had just inhaled iron flakes, it definitely was a welcomed smell. Finally I stood in front of the door, it looming at the end.
The door didn't budge. Turning my head, I spotted a terminal on the right side of it, currently flickering with life. I had not made much interactions with Forerunner technology in my life time, so getting the door open would more than likely take a while.
Elite yells, grunts talking excitedly, and the hoarse rasp of Jackals came to my ears, how had they been so close behind me?! Cursing myself remembering the clearing, they hadn't followed me, they simply were being dropped off by Phantoms in the wide open area, forgetting the tunnel didn't let much sound in. I pounded my fist into the wall and stood in front of the terminal, staring blankly at it. There were two holographic buttons showing in midair, with nothing else. I touched both of the lights with my pointer and my thumb, turning green, it prompted me with another set, three buttons now. Touch.
The door whirred upwards quietly, quickly making my way inside, desperately looking for another terminal to close to door once more. No such luck. The talking had quieted down, not sure if because the sound wasn't traveling or they noticed the door had opened. Either way, I wasn't sticking around. I surveyed what lay before me, 3 hallways, each leading left, right, and straight ahead. Quickly, I rushed down the one to my right, as I was closer to it, hoping I would get far enough down that any plasma would be too wild to hit my person once far enough.
The small tunnels offered no cover from what might be looming around behind me, using only pure speed to get away. Elite roars could be heard now, echoing down the tunnel I was running away in. They had found me, and I wasn't able to dodge any incoming fire that might be dotting the path. None came, as the yelling had begun to die down significantly, as my distance increased.
I took note of the hallway lighting up as I ran through it, dimming once I had gotten far enough ahead. Risking a glance behind me, the room from which I started in was nothing but a blue light in the distance, and I didn't see a single Covenant running down to tear my head off. I didn't let up on speed, however, I wanted to be around a corner, in a room, something that would keep me out of danger of a stray round hitting me from the other end. Thankfully a corner edging towards the left loomed ahead, I sped up reaching it and stopping once around, catching my breath.
I felt as though I had been running for miles. That hallway might as well have been for how little I could see the main room anymore. I mused to myself why there were no Elites charging down after me, deciding I could figure it out later. I needed to understand what this structure is and what it does, that way I can report it and be on my merry way before extraction becomes an impossibility.
The next hallway, while much shorter in length, branched into many small rooms. Each of them being empty. Curiously as I stepped into each, they lit up as if they had a purpose, staying lit even after I retreated and went into another. I checked all the rooms carefully, finding nothing except a warm welcome of lights. There were the last two rooms just ahead, rounding the corner of one, I tensed up hearing voices on both ends of the hallway.
Jumping into the room to my left, it wasn't unlike the others, empty. While the rooms were somewhat beautiful in their own metallic, glassy way, that didn't help me when I had two platoons of enemies marching down either end of the hall. I looked at the room directly across from me, raising my eyebrows inside my helmet. Now that was interesting. There seemed to be a pedestal like object with a terminal docked onto it, turned off since no one had visited it in so long. The voices were creeping closer, and I needed to make a move, deciding that being with the terminal that could potentially hold information that would be of value to the Covenant I could take or be a value to humanity and save would be the better option.
I peered down either side of the hallway, the parties weren't paying much mind to a Spartan poking her head out of a doorway. I jumped across the small threshold hoping neither noticed so I'd have some time to gather what I could. The room flicked on. Wincing from the light as it more than likely drew unwanted attention, I went to work. It was another familiar lock that had been on the entrance panel which I quickly complied. It then came up with a handprint. Numbers, letters, among other information now displayed freely on the console. They looked strikingly similar to coordinates.
So the pedestal was actually a teleporter? Interesting.
"This is Oscar-three, one, six, I have found an object pertinent to information needed to understand-"
Footsteps trudged closer, alarmed by my voice, but I didn't care. I had found something that could possibly be the reason as to why the Covenant are here. With hopes of my mission complete, not worrying about death coming around the corner at any moment, I began once more.
"-why the Covenant had brought me to this planet. A teleporter, perhaps linked to many others in the large structure. I can not explore the rest due to forces closing in on my position. I will see if the link continues and maybe escape to another room so I can continue. Until then, Laura out."
In the nick of time, I sent the recorded message off. I tried an active frequency to get what I expected, static. Nothing. Death was looming now, almost tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around, steeling myself with what may be behind me. Two Elite guards, Energy swords, staring me down snarling.
"Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, but I think I'll be going now." I gave them the wonderful middle finger I was blessed with and smashed the terminal with an open palm. Electricity danced on my armor, my shields flickering, my vision becoming clouded. I could feel myself drifting into unconsciousness. No! I willed myself to keep my eyes open, the images of two Elites running at me melting away along with the rest of the room, and the world for that matter.
All that was left, was white.
A brilliant flash of light in the dead of night lit up Everfree forest for a quick instant. Going unnoticed by anything except maybe a few birds and upset animals for being rudely awoken. A fully armored human, lay in the middle of the forest unmoving. There was much small light of the shields on it's armor recharging. Among the human lay many of things that didn't belong in this world, much less anywhere.
To any animal curious enough to find out what was going on in the dead of night however, that wasn't a realization that came to mind. Most forgetting it happened, calmly went back to sleep, not even batting an eye at the strange phenomenon that had occurred.
Birds. Sounds of birds again? Had I gotten outside the structure once more? Worse was I being dragged out in two pieces by Elites? Maybe being dragged only to be cut in half later for sport? No. I wasn't moving. My body felt numb, my ears rang, I wanted to throw up, and I had a massive headache. I reached over to pat myself down, ensuring that my entire body was still where it was supposed to be after the teleport. Slipspace and Forerunner teleporting always scared the shit out of me.
I opened my eyes, the sun gleaming directly down on top of me, hastily shutting my eyes again. I winced from the little tug of a headache that it had brought. Groaning I sat up gently, my stomach-
My eyes opened and I threw my helmet off my head, throwing up onto the forest floor. I coughed and spit, trying to make sure I had nothing else left. I hated that feeling. It burned my throat all the way up and left a nasty taste in my mouth.
Coughing a little more to clear my throat, I reached for my helmet and brought it into my hands. The skull painted on the top reflected in the sun, matching the one on my chest plate. I flipped it over, staring at the Scout helmet in my hands. I always liked the style, it was like I was wearing a facemask, with just my eyes showing through. Scout wasn't exactly standard for most Spartan-IIIs, as It was a new prototype armor, however it suited my fancy quite well.
When I took the job as a spy for ONI, even though they really couldn't care less if I were to be killed, they still equipped me better than most of the companies. It didn't really sit well with me, but I wouldn't be the first to begin complaining.
I set it back on my head, all seemed right, no damage, everything was working fine. I checked my armament next, to see what kind of punch I'll be packing. It wasn't enough for the entire ship that's for sure, but I had 5 full clips of Sniper ammo, 3 full clips of Magnum ammo, 2 frag grenades, some kind of energy sword, and a combat knife. Reminding myself to sharpen and clean the combat knife, which was still caked blue. The smell being less than pleasant to have on me.
I looked around for the first time, the forest looked the same as it had before, dirt, trees, bird noises. It just didn't seem nearly as dense. Trees were spread out a little more making a more definable path I could take. However, what direction to take, that was something I wasn't entirely sure of. I stood up fully for the first time, taking time to stretch out realizing I must have been out for a good amount of time.
And time wasn't something I had. I had forgotten what my mission was, it all flooding back to me. Finding the structure again was top priority at this point. Looking towards the sky, I tried with no avail to locate the gleaming mountain, nothing but perfectly clear blue sky. Groaning in frustration I decided to move forward, as it seemed to resemble the most as a path. I jogged at a steady pace, till hopefully Covenant show up, or I'm lost forever, whichever seems to come first.
Lost in my own thoughts, I heard noises which I chalked up as wind, rustling of leaves, and such as they were quiet enough to not cause concern. I pushed them out of my mind, even with a burning feeling I was being watched.
It was a relatively relaxing day in Ponyville. Birds chirped happily in the distance, creating a humming song. The sky was a beautiful bright blue without a cloud to be seen. Lovely smells of sugar and nature emanated from the center of town to anypony who happened to be walking through the town at the time, which was albeit not many.
Being the Monday that it was, the streets were almost completely bare. This didn't bother a certain cream colored mare who was quietly making her way to a certain friend whom she believed could help her with a little problem. Her mind was troubled with thoughts of one of her animal friend's depictions. A little birdy, quite literally, had told her it had noticed something out of the ordinary stomping around in the middle of Everfree forest, making quite the commotion.
The timid pony shivered at the thoughts of what had been said, or chirped rather. Tall, black, covered in some type of reflective material. It carried a rather large black stick on it's back, giving quite the menacing image. Anything else had gone unnoticed as the bird had turned tail and went straight to Fluttershy to tell her the news.
After hearing the story, she had thought for a small while, thinking of something it could be. The bird then added that while it trudged along looking lost, it feared it was coming towards the pony's cottage. At this, terror tugged at the back of her mind, gulping ever so slowly to go unnoticed by her animal friend, not wanting to cause more worry in herself, or the bird. Frantically, she decided that gathering Twilight to accompany her back was her best option, not wishing to have a giant black thing knocking on her front door.
So there she was, passing through the middle of town, worrying about so many scenarios that could pan out, some more ridiculous than the others. Not noticing that she had run full force into a pink tail in front of her, she gasped in surprise falling backwards onto the ground, visibly shaking.
"Oh Fluttershy, how are you! You know, my tail looks like cotton candy but it actually isn't silly." The pink blob giggled, one that was a pleasant sound, one that might make you smile if it hadn't continue for the next 5 minutes. Fluttershy, in that time had gotten up, brushed herself off, composing herself before speaking in a very deliberate, small voice.
"S-sorry Pinkie... I-I..." Fluttershy frowned, she wanted to apologize to her friend for being a nuisance, but she wasn't sure she wanted to worry the overly bubbly pink mare about her troubles.
"Fluttershy what's wrong!" Pinkie smiled at her cream companion, hoping that her infectious grin would help make her friend feel better. What she got in return was the smallest smile one could muster, which judging from whom it was from, was enough for the Pink pony.
"I-I'm going to go see Twilight... Uhm... I'll talk to you later Pinkie... Goodbye." Fluttershy righted herself, before continuing in the direction of the library, only half listening to the response she had received from the smiling mare. Pinkie, to her own credit was too busy to actively pursue her friend, the Cakes asked her to hang up some posters advertising a new item they had introduced, and she wasn't keen on disappointing them. Still, while she hammered them into posts with a hammer and her mouth, she couldn't help but feel... a little twitchy.
Fluttershy had finally arrived to the library, taking more time than she had hoped by running into her friend's rump in the middle of the street. Luckily, Pinkie had seemed preoccupied in her work, and didn't pursue Fluttershy's obvious fake smile, and opted to continue after she had departed. Sighing, she wished she could just express her worries, but she didn't want to cause her friend any trouble. Thoughts of the black monster her bird friend had told her about, flashed in her mind for a brief moment, causing her to squeak in fear. The door opening in her face before she knocked might have also been a factor.
"Fluttershy? What's wrong?" A purple unicorn stood in the doorway, curious as to why a certain cream colored Pegasus was now covering her face with her hooves and drooping onto the ground, shaking visibly.
"I-I... Uhm..." Fluttershy stammered out, still being petrified by so many scary things happening at once. She looked up at the confused Twilight, whom was staring intently at her friend on the ground.
"Would you like to come in? I hadn't been expecting visitors, so I planned on going shopping. But I suppose I can make time." Fluttershy nodded her head vigoriously to which Twilight raised an eyebrow. Whatever the issue was, it was obviously important and pressing for the mare to be all worked up as she was.
Twilight turned inward, motioning Fluttershy to follow her in which she shakily complied to. The library was in a surprisingly spotless shape, books not fluttered on the ground haphazardly, paper wasn't strewn about, among other things the library had certainly endured the past. A small scaly figure stood in the corner, dusting off a bookshelf that already stood spotless, disregarding that anything had come through the door.
"Spike!" The purple mare looked towards the scaly figure who jumped about 5 feet in the air. "Please go get our guest a glass of water." The small dragon quickly scrambled to his feet and barreled into the kitchen.
"N-No... It's okay... I don't want to be a bother..." Fluttershy exclaimed, not particularly interested in anypony or anyone going out of their way to help her. Her friend shook her head in response, with a certain firmness.
"It's quite alright Fluttershy, the shelf was clean enough, besides you look quite winded from your walk here. Now do tell what is troubling you?" She sat down on a couch, followed behind by the cream mare closely, seeming like she wouldn't tell anypony, even if the world depended on it. Twilight looked upon her friend with kindness, full knowing that she wasn't forthcoming about these kind of things. Fluttershy, to her own credit, attempting to form words much quicker than the unicorn expected, whom was now leaning in close so she wouldn't miss a single word.
"Well... M-My bird f-friend told me it s-saw... Something... Uhm... T-Tall..." Fluttershy hung onto the last word, putting forth effort to convey that the bird had put much emphasis on the word as well. Twilight gazed upon her friend for a minute, confused and curious all the while.
"What did this... Uhrm... "Something" look like? Did it have a color?" Twilight ensured to put air quotes around something, wanting her friend to not throw her in the vague shadow that she was currently in. Fluttershy nodded slowly, attempting to compose herself to fully explain what she had been told.
"Y-Yes... It was a black... Black as the night sky..." shakily from her last comparison she made she continued, "I-It also had thin white lines..." She finished, breathing heavily from thoughts that kept flickering in her mind about whatever the thing was. Twilight however, hadn't noticed any of it as she was staring off in thought.
"Tall... Black and White..."
"A-also... A giant black s-stick..." Fluttershy added, the words almost getting caught in her throat. "W-Walking..." She trailed off, instead deciding to hide under her pink mane.
"A black stick... Hmm..." Twilight turned towards her hundreds, if not thousands of books that stood almost at attention, waiting to be used. Twilight however, wasn't going to waste her time on researching something she wasn't completely sure of yet, besides it's much better to see to believe, right?
"Fluttershy, why don't we go take a look ourselves?" She noted the visible shivering her question had brought to her pink maned friend, not out of rudeness, but out of curiousness she continued to press on. "You said Everfree forest? I think I have time to go look, besides what's the worst that could happen?"
Fluttershy visibly shook at the thought's of what could happen, more so than she was. She had wished in this moment she could sink into the couch she was currently sitting on and disappear forever. No such luck would soon catch her.
Flowers can float?
No, I shook my armored clad head in frustration, staring at the lightly glowing orb in front of me, hovering a few inches off the ground. I had been walking through the forest for a while now, trying to get my bearings on where in the hell that damn structure went. Luck wasn't on my side however, as not a single Phantom had flown past to maybe at least alert me to where it was.
For that matter, nothing came near me.
The humming songs of birds had evaporated, small animals scurrying through the underbrush all but gone. It was nothing. Silence. The only sound that I could hear was the occasional thump of my metallic boots hitting the dry dirt that sat on the forest floor. Trails of dust followed me, almost being attracted to my armor. As I had gotten deeper and deeper into the trees, or so I felt I was getting deeper, everything continued to grow more ominous. There was even a certain species of flora I had never seen that tried to sink it's razor sharp fangs into my armor. A flower! I shook my head at the surreal thoughts of a flower being able to bite at my armor.
Trudging on with a sinking feeling that this wasn't the same forest that I had been in before the structure, it started to clear up again, becoming just trees, grass, and dirt. This stifled my fear, bringing back memories of when I had first ran into the overgrowth.
Still, images of the crazy flora, either trying to eat whole pieces of my armor, or floating off the ground burned into my head, giving my confidence a crack on the surface. Grim thoughts settled over me, again reeling back on maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the same forest, and I indeed was in a completely different place. Who knows, maybe an even different planet?
Opening up my communication channels once more, I heard the deathly static that followed. It was always a trend that I stay radio silent during the majority of my missions, as stealth was the defining factor of what I do. Stealth. You were real stealthy when you alerted 5 grunts to your position back on the carrier. Sighing at the thought of becoming rusty, while not entirely true, put a damper on my mood. Spartan's are razor sharp, perfected humans, that can complete any mission with painstaking perfection. When one slipped up, it often wouldn't go unnoticed, besides the kick to one's self esteem.
I slammed my right foot into the ground in frustration, creating a billowing dust cloud to rise from the ground. Stealth had gone out the window, I dropped my guard down to mope in self pity. Emotion's weren't something I performed extremely well with, killing Covenant had always tickled my fancy more. It's hard to get in touch with such a subject when you took pride in breaking the necks of your enemies. At this point, I couldn't care, I was alone, no idea where I was, surrounded by what seemed like an endless forest. I could self reflect a little about my mistakes without creating many issues.
Self-reflection, I soon realized was deadlier than any weapon in the Covenant arsenal. It caused doubt, depression, among other defects in one's mind. Defects that could hinder a Spartan from completing her mission. I pushed all doubt in my personal ability from my head, chalking it down as a simple mistake. I was still here, and ONI knew where I was in that structure, if the message ever reached them. A new sense of self endowment about myself spread like wildfire, I focused on what was ahead.
The tree's of the forest began to dwindle, becoming few and far between, along with a path I hadn't noticed before that paved way straight ahead. The path, I thanked, lead straight out of the forest, even if there was still plenty to walk. This long strip of dirt also gave me hope, this was no mere accident by mother nature, no someone had to have made this. Prints in the dirt showed this. Although none resembled a human by any stretch of the imagination. Deer, horses, bunnies, and other small animal prints littered the path.
Fully coming to terms with real animals being present, it slowly pushed my mind away from this being the same Forerunner planet I had found myself on before. Although at this point, the lack of the giant structure that loomed over the land before had already seeded those doubts long before.
My journey came to an end through the forest, I stepped into a pasture. Grass spread out for all to see, perfectly green, not a single charred piece of war touched it. The sun shone beautifully in the distance, creating a certain sense of awe in me. Not a single cloud dotted the sky. I felt like I had stepped into a story, the perfect setting to create a calming piece of literature. While I was admiring the beauty of the seen before me, I caught the glimpse of the sun reflecting off of something to my left. Turning my head I spotted a bridge, with crystal clear water flowing under it, causing the reflection. Looking past the bridge, my pace slowed straight to a halt.
There was a house, if you could call it that. It was constructed entirely out of greens for a roof, with a light brown substance for the foundation. On further inspection it was almost like a plaster, hiding the bricks that lay below. Standing on the bridge that led it's way to the house, I inspected further. The door was made out of a hard slab of oak, a slit appearing between the top and bottom half, which I assumed each swung open independently. Another peculiarity I noticed was the amount of birdhouses that littered the house itself, along with a tree that was to my immediate right.
This made my heart both rise, and fall, so it just stayed in the same position. This was not something I found on the Forerunner planet. Looking behind me towards the forest I had just come from, the giant looming mountain was no where to be found, only beating in my fears to the metaphorical wood.
I walked slowly up to the structure, as quiet as a snake, ready to jump it's prey. Once I got to the front door, I realized how small it actually was. Spartan's could reach up to seven feet with full armor on. I wasn't near that height at six feet and nine inches, but this door was still too small to house even a normal adult. The door reached to my chest, making it sit around five feet and a few inches. Could this be some kind of child's little playhouse?
I looked around, gauging if a child would put this together, or if a parent loved their child so much so that they would put something this detailed together.
"Fluttershy, if you could just try to point me in the direction that your friend heard the noise, please." A voice rang out from behind me, stalking ever closer to my position, in the open. I quickly rolled out of the way, into the grass which masked any noise I may have made. I laid down fully concealing myself inside the grass to get a look at who was behind me. UNSC? By their mention of the noise I created it's obvious they know I'm here-
Wait. What?
Coming down the road that I was just on were two... horses? But that's not possible. I had heard someone talking in clear English. Before me were two small equine beings. Horses would be an under exaggeration for what I saw however. The cream colored equine with pink hair, walking to the right of a purple one, had wings that immediately caught my attention. They held similarity to that of a bird, the feathers almost looking exactly the same. The purple equine with multicolor hair ranging from a deep purple to a lighter pink, had a horn jutting out from the center of her forehead.
"It came from the forest..." The words came out so lightly, even from my somewhat close distance, they were hard to decipher with enhanced hearing. What was said didn't matter, the fact the words were omitted from the cream equine's mouth was what startled me. It's mouth moved in a light feminine voice that was extremely timid. The first voice, I could imagine, had come from the purple one, which had more of a motherly tone to it.
The two continued their walk towards my position, giving me little time to think about exactly I was seeing. Maybe I was dead? Maybe the two Elites had gotten me back in the Forerunner structure and I was just in some kind of hell.
No. I could feel my armor moving, I could feel the tingle in my body from the ground I was resting on. The armor blocked out most feeling, but I could tell I was laying on solid ground.
They continued until they reached the hardened oaken door I had stood at moments ago. Continuing their conversation that probably involved me in some way or form. There was no way they hadn't heard the rustle of grass, it didn't exactly provide good cover either. However, knowing these things they didn't even look in my direction, instead they gazed over me at the forest I had come from, staying silent.
"Did your bird friend tell you how fast it was traveling perhaps?" A simple shake of the cream equine's head answered the other's question. It? What could it be? I hated the pronoun game, too much grey area to look through. On a daily basis, I played that very game with every file I had read. Files preferred to refer to anyone as he or she without giving names, leaving the job of snooping through them all the more harder to gain information.
I concentrated back at the two creatures, who haven't budged a muscle, apparently waiting for whatever the "it" is. Probably being impatient, the purple one wanted to know how long it must wait. Using it to describe the Equine creatures that, by all accounts, were female, was probably disrespectful. As someone who had respect nailed into my mental being time and time again, I wasn't about to show disrespect even if the creatures weren't humans.
I thought rationally for the first time thus far, if the creatures can speak English, fluently, then they are sentient. If they are sentient, not covenant, that must describe friendly, right? This could all be a ruse to see through my training done by the UNSC too, maybe to test out a Spartan's abilities outside of combat? Although, using such strange colorful creatures as a test seemed far too complicated. Unicorns and Pegasi exist only in myth, told to young children as a form of happiness.
Whatever this might be, laying in this grass wasn't about to accomplish anything for the continuation of my own life. So I did the only thing I could do, I stood up.
There was a louder rustle coming from my rise, the grass angrily jolted around me, scratching against my shields. While they didn't flare, since it wasn't damaging by any stretch, it still made enough of a noise to command the attention of anyone close.
Also standing above six feet in the air, towering a good two and a half feet over the small creatures, may have been an attention grabber as well. The timid one physically jumped into the air with a squeak, running far in the other direction with no intent to stop. The purple one however had a different reaction. Her eyes widened, fear etched all over her face, but she kept her ground interested in what I was going to do next I assume.
I walked forward, slowly, not wanting to cause any harm to either a set up by the UNSC, or a new species altogether. While the latter seemed impossible, as we had explored much of space and what we couldn't, we saw through other devices. At this point with Forerunner technology, I wasn't about to put any option above the other.
I was standing no more than a foot away from the small equine, her shivers of fear and expression had done nothing but worsen the closer I went. I stood still, staring at her large orbs, which she only stared back. However her reflection is what met her eyes through my thin visor. I awaited a response, or perhaps an action from her. Speaking first would be a problem I didn't want to face.
"H-Hello?" She finally stammered out. Her voice was not the same fluid tone I had heard before, it was instilled with fear. I simply waved in response, hoping the action wouldn't cause an issue. My motion startled her, letting out a small yelp. I couldn't help but find her fascinatingly cute. Cute wasn't a word I could use for many things, as it left a bad taste in my mouth. What I was experiencing now however, was the one good time I could actually use it.
"C-can... Y-you talk?" I cleared my throat. First contact had been made, but she still looked like she was about to pee herself.
"Yes, I can." Thankfully I cleared myself before speaking, as my voice was still a tad hoarse from being unused. I cleared it once more, waiting for a question, or perhaps something to happen.
I wasn't sure what to do with the awkward silence that ensued. She visibly stopped shaking after I spoke, but still eyed me up and down like prey about to be eaten by the predator. Thoughts of this all being a test started to fade, recreating emotions this spot on is extremely hard to perform even with advanced technology. She looked entirely real. Sounded entirely real. Even her face contorted the same way a human's might after experiencing fear.
I exhaled deeply, the silence being too much for me.
"What are you?" I asked plainly. I knew what she looked like to me, but I didn't want to assume wrong and offend her in any way.
"I-I'm a unicorn... What are you?" Her voice cracked between fear and curiosity now, becoming much clearer and fluid allowing me to understand her entirely. I grinned under my helmet, satisfied with how it was going.
"I'm a human, well, more than a human I suppose." I cringed at my own wording, not wanting to sound like an arrogant asshole. I studied her face which formed into a smile. I let out a breathe I didn't know I was holding, not wanting to be in a war I didn't know existed with this Unicorn I was talking with.
"But, you guys only exist in myth! How could this be possible?" She looked at the ground, presumably deep in thought. I began thinking as well, about me being a myth to her. Perhaps she knew I was a Spartan, which some people still considered us to be a myth for a morale boost to the UNSC. Then something popped into my head.
"That's strange, where I'm from Unicorns and-" I gestured behind her to the Pegasus hiding in the bushes, watching us from afar, "-Pegasi are myths." She looked up at me, confused, probably the same face I had when she told me I was the myth. This was now beyond the point of being a test made up. Her words were so real, as if she truly was seeing a human for the very first time. Her fear had been all but erased, even if I was carrying enough weapons to put her six feet under ten times over.
It hadn't occurred to me that she wasn't all too interested in what I was carrying. Which was not hidden. She either didn't know what any of it is, or didn't care. The latter being quite a brave trait.
"Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle! Nice to meet you... Uh." She looked up at me, expecting the blank to be filled.
"L."
"L? That's your name?" I nodded slowly, unsure if I should reveal any information about myself yet. I was also taken aback by her name, it was nothing like a human name. It was basically slapping nouns together and saying voila!
"L..." She repeated, mulling it over. "Well it's very nice to meet you L!"
The equine, whom preferred to be called a pony, Twilight Sparkle was attempting to break her less outward friend out of a bush she had escaped to. I felt bad, more so for giving the poor girl such a scare, but a deeper part of me was relieved I still carried some fear to spread.
"Fluttershy, for the thousandth time, L is not going to hurt you!" She had been trying to coax her friend out of hiding for a while now, after introductions had been made. Twilight apologized profusely for her friend's manners, which I declined out of sympathy for the cream Pegasus. I suppose if humans were just a myth here, it wasn't every day that they saw one decked out in black power armor. The skulls painted on my chest and helmet certainly didn't make me seem any less menacing to the trembling pony in the bush. She had voiced that fear long ago, to which I had tried to explain it was just simply markings my armor came with. Not entirely true, but I couldn't just tell her I had wanted the scary skulls on me.
Sighing, I tried my hand at getting her to relax. Kneeling before her, trying to appear in the most unfearful way I could muster, I brought my visor face to face with her. She took a few steps back, unsure of my motives, before Twilight simply held her in place.
"Fluttershy, I am very sorry if I scared you. I hope that we can get past this minor problem and be on good terms. That would be very brave of you." I cringed inwardly, addressing what I presumed to be a young lady, around my age, in the vocabulary I would use for a young child. Age was hard to tell with these two though. Twilight's voice held the weight of a woman in her twenties at least, but looks were deceiving.
For all I know, this Fluttershy could be Twilight's daughter.
Speaking of, she gazed back at me with wide eyes, weighing the words I had spoke to her. I attempted to speak in the softest voice I could muster, hoping it would be enough to turn this situation around. Finally, she closed the distance to me and spoke in a voice that I strained to hear.
"I-It's okay... Y-You didn't mean to scare me... R-Right?" Her eyes widened further, expecting an answer from me. A simple shake of my head let her breathe a sigh of relief. Standing once again, I thought of any routes I could take to ease the tension between myself and the two miniature horses in front of me. Before finally deciding to take off my helmet. Perhaps I would be scarier with it off, but it couldn't hurt to try.
My hair was longer than regulation, as most Spartan's were required to keep it as short as possible to stop the helmet from fitting incorrectly. I wasn't into beauty by any stretch of the imagination, however when I had requested to at least keep my somewhat long hair, they relented. Even going as far to design my helmet to accommodate for it.
I lifted my hands to either side of my helmet, twisting it to the side it popped off with a hiss. My black bangs streaked with silver fell into my vision for a mere second. I couldn't gauge their reactions until it was fully off, hoping that it was looks of curiosity and not of fear. Quickly shaking my head, holding my helmet at my waist, I gazed into the large blue pools in front of me. The body attached however began to shake violently, hiding the large eyes behind pink hair.
Twilight was much more interested, quickly hopping from behind her friend to stare at me. Gasping as her eyes met mine.
"I thought that was your body! What is it that you're wearing? Is it armor? Of course it is... What am I thinking! But where is your fur? Do you not have any besides on your head? Not that there is any-"
"Twilight, I would love to explain to you all about humans, but I'd like to make sure your friend isn't going to pee herself." I motioned towards the Pegasus at her side, which Twilight sheepishly smiled at.
"Right, sorry, just it's so exciting! A whole new species! I can't wait to document everything!" Twilight reminded me of ONI researcher, always wanting to get their grubby little hands on every detail so they could exploit it later. For better or for worse. I wasn't exactly keen on giving her a run down on everything. I also didn't want to hurt her feelings because she seems to have good intentions.
"Do we have a more secluded spot?" I sighed, not wanting my presence to be known to every sentient being here, if there was more than these two that is. Judging from the initial reactions, I knew I wasn't something that they expected to see everyday. From the sunshine and rainbows that this place seemed to emanate, I stood out like a sore thumb. And a sore thumb could cause plenty of unwanted attention from the beings here.
"Well... There is my library, but it's a public place, where anypony can come to..." Did she just say anypony? "And you being a large black figure could cause some... Problems." I raised my eyebrow at her.
"What kind of problems?" I knew there would be some explaining required, however she put problems as if something worse than a few ponies fleeing in fear was at stake. She looked away from me, probably so I couldn't gauge her reaction.
"Don't worry about it, let's just get you to a safe spot! I can't wait to learn all about you!" She looked at me once more, her eyes filled with curiosity, to which I rolled my eyes to. Still, how her mood had shifted so suddenly at the mere mention of problems tugged at the back of my mind.
"Uhm... If you don't mind. I have animals I need to tend to..." Fluttershy had finally spoken up, more than likely wanting to get as far away from me as possible. I couldn't really bring myself to blame her. She started back to her house, opening the door and quickly shutting it behind her.
"She won't be scared of me forever, will she?" The last thing on my list was to put fear in potential allies. While this could all be a ploy, the doubt continued to grow that they held any ill intent on my well being.
"Just give her time, as shy as she is, she's truly somepony you'd want to have around. Her kindness to other's is astounding." Twilight caught a glance of Fluttershy's home, looking guilty as if she had something to hide. Now that I think about it, this pony came off as if she had more secrets than I did.
"I see. Let's try your library?" She nodded at me, turning tail quite literally. Before looking back at me with a sheepish smile.
"Do you have any way you could look less... Like that?" She gestured to my entire body.
"Aww, aren't I pretty?" I had always found a strange sense of happiness in cracking stupid or uncomfortable jokes. It was always a hit or miss on whether or not they make a situation better. Risks I was more than willing to take.
"N-No... I m-mean yes... I think... That's not..." She stuttered out, the risk being worth it. I smiled at her while she helplessly floundered over one word and another. Her purple cheeks taking on a much lighter pink. I wasn't sure what amazed me more, how well my joke worked, or how her cheeks could turn that shade.
"Don't worry about it, I know what you meant. Less menacing I presume?" She quickly nodded her head. "Yes well, it's a little hard to appear that way. If you and your friend's reaction is any indicator." She blushed once again, rubbing the back of her neck with a... Hoof? How can it even bend like that?
"I suppose I could try something, I just don't know how much energy it would take. Worth a shot! Would you mind stepping near me?" Hesitantly I took a step closer, putting my helmet back on. As kind, and a little strange, she was being; it still didn't give me full reason to trust her quite yet. I stood next to the purple creature, waiting patiently for what it might do, my hands ready to defend myself. Before I could ask what exactly was happening, I felt myself being ripped away from reality.
