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Heller leaned his head back against the wall as the hot water poured over his head. He slumped down against the wall, content to sit in the shower for as long as he could. After all, there was only one other occupant on the ship, so it wasn't like he needed to conserve it or anything. The week had been a long one, with little else to do but talk to pass the time. Apparently the system they left from was far out, on one of the outer rims of the galaxy, while their destination was closer inwards.

Since they had spent so long in Slipspace, they had received no communications or transmissions on the current state of the Covenant or what was going on at Earth. About halfway through the week, Heller decided he would stay and help T'soona finish her task of retrieving what she was to High Charity for, regardless of what was going on at Earth. No doubt, she could use his help. In their downtime they had sparred, and gotten around to random games to pass the time. She had completely trounced him in almost all manners. She was an exceptional fighter for sure, but he knew, even the best needed a hand from time to time.

Heller sat, content as warm water continued to pour over him, occasionally catching glimpses of the purple walls through the steam. The room wasn't particularly large, just meant for a high up Hierarch, or maybe a few high up commanders. It reminded him of a steam room in a way. He figured the troop showers were off somewhere else in the belly of the ship, but settled for this. He was willing to bet money the troop showers were a hell of a lot less comfortable than this room. He needed something comfortable right about now. As he relaxed, unknown to him, the door to the shower room opened, and T'soona entered.

One second, Heller was relaxing calmly in the shower, and another, he was awkwardly covering himself up from T'soona, who was also completely naked on the other side of the room. She paid him no mind, and started the shower on the other side of the room. There wasn't a chance Heller could relax now. He could see through the steam in the room, she had her back to him, completely carefree that he was still in here. He called out.

"You know, you may not know this about humans, but we shower a little differently! There's this thing called privacy!"

T'soona continued on, uncaring of Heller's unease.

"Maybe on other worlds where there is space for it, and on luxury ships where everyone has a room, but not on combat vessels."

Heller shot back.

"This is a luxury ship! I came up here for some privacy dammit!"

T'soona chuckled.

"As did I Heller. I just happened to come in at the wrong time."

Heller was taken back.

"And even though you bumped into me, you just went on anyway?"

"That seems to be the present situation, no?"

Heller continued to lean back against the wall, mortified. Part of what made this so damn uncomfortable, was that he could admit, deep down inside, T'soona was in a weird way, attractive.

She had that funny skin, which looked rough, and beaten, like tough hide, but had an elegant smoothness to it. She was a slightly paler shade than most Elites he had seen, like too much white had been mixed with the grey, so she was an almost sandy colour. She had the muscles that came with all Elites, but oddly, managed to retain feminine features, those smooth curves that blended well with her muscles, so she wasn't one of those ultra-muscle strongman or woman back on Earth in the circus. She was simply a soldier, as he was.

He watched now, through the steam, as she showered. Her back was still to him, but as he watched, he didn't mind so much. The warning bells that screamed, "Unnatural!!!" to him were slowly fading as he spent more time with her. She had a smooth back, with a pleasant arch to it, and as his eyes traveled lower, he flushed with embarrassment. Were she a human, she would have been something to behold. Talk about curves in all the right places. His eyes traveled lower, to her lissome legs. He had to admit again, there was an odd attractiveness to her. Her legs showed both power, but were so smooth and rounded, with that extra joint in them adding a flair of the unusual.

He shook his head, keeping himself covered with his hands as he rose up, turning off the water on his end. He caught one last look of her before leaving, as she leaned against the wall, relaxing as he was, earlier. Her neck was long and slender, reminding him of a snake in a way. Rather than the boxy, rough features of males of her kind, her face was smooth and rounded, with even her odd mouth, looking pleasant when all her mandibles where together. He caught sight of where one of her brilliant green eyes would be, now closed permanently, still etched with tiny bits of shrapnel. It was a mistake, what he did back then. He walked out of the shower, calling to her as he went.

"I'll be down in the mess hall if you need me."

After slipping back into his gear, he wandered the hall, looking to see what he could find. Again, the hall was nice, no doubt made for more high ranking members of the Covenant. The floor was etched with wood from some alien world, dark and heavy looking, as were the seats and tables. Random crystals were etched in patterns into the wood, again hinting at who owned this ship. He had tried some of the food here when he first boarded, and it was a trial and error process of what tasted less disgusting than the other.

He knew anything related to grunts would be disgusting, and thankfully there was nothing for them up here. Jackals, had some interesting fruit, some tasted absolutely horrible, but others reminded him of fruits back on human colonies. He found that Elites had an interesting style of cooking, and their food wasn't that bad. Since they won the award for most fucked up mouths out of all the other aliens, their food had to be made in a bundle so they could eat the thing in large portions, as individual little bits of food didn't go over well with mandibles. And he could tell, they put some effort into making things taste good. There were bundles of bread like blobs, stuffed with whatever meats and plants they liked eating.

Then there was the food for Brutes. T'soona had told him of the rivalry between her species and theirs since the Brutes had joined the Covenant. It was odd for Brutes and Elites to be on the same ship together, but he didn't question it, and was instead very thankful of it. Enormous, hairy monsters they were, they had good eating, that was for sure. He had tried all the options on the menu, and not a single one had any sort of plant in it whatsoever. All meat, all cooked and seasoned with other types of meat and dipped in juices from other meats. This was, truly the best thing on the ship for Heller. The only problem he had with food from Brutes, was that most of it was enormous. Big hairy monsters, ate other, even bigger monsters. He ended up ordering only one kind of meal, what T'soona said was some kind of bird on their home world. It was about as long as one of his arms, and weighed in at something like that of a small dog. She had said these were appetizers or their deserts after a main meal, something "small" they could pick up in one hand and send down in one bite.

He had become familiar with all the miscellaneous holographic buttons and what they stood for, and found his way over to the Brute section of the menu. The other nice thing about this ship, was that the cooking was all automated. Press a button, and wait for a bit. Not much different from being on a UNSC ship. The other good thing was, no plates or trays. There were racks upon racks with small silver discs, that you could activate, that would generate something not far from a covenant shield door, only in a bowl or plate like shape. Put your food on it, eat it, then deactivate the disc and that was that.

Halfway through his meal, T'soona came wandering over, wearing nothing but her skintight jumpsuit over which her armour usually covered. She sat down across from him. She wasn't making it easy for him to put aside his growing fascination with her, especially now that she was facing him. Again, curves in all the right places, now even more alluring since she was in her suit. She watched him eat, with the Elite equivalent of a smile on her mandibles.

"I must admit Heller, that filth the Jiralhanae eat goes down hard. I'm surprised you took such a liking to it."

He stopped eating, chuckling.

"And that's the only thing I'll take a liking to, those hairy fuckups can keep everything else."

"I came down here to tell you that we'll be arriving in an hour. I don't know what we'll find, but if it's anything like Mir Dakana, we'll need weapons. Come with me, we'll check the ship's armoury."

He stopped eating, watching her.

"You mean to tell me, we've been doing a whole lot of nothing this whole time, while there was an armoury just sitting around?"

She tilted her head, her green eye showing a hint of offense.

"You'd call our sparring nothing?"

"I'd call our sparring a 6thgrader beating up on a 1st grader. I never was a hand to hand person, and even if I was, I still wouldn't have the strength and speed you do. As far as fights go, I've got some bad handicaps."

T'soona got up from the table, making sure to walk away at a slower pace for Heller to catch up. Her voice rebounded around the hall as she went.

"I wouldn't put it that way. You just have to watch, and learn. Every enemy has a weakness, no matter how big, or small. You just have to wait for the right moment, and strike with all that you have."

Heller left his food where it was, trailing along after her. After several minutes of wandering ever familiar purple hallways, T'soona led him to the ship's armory. And what an armory it was. Everything Heller had ever seen Covenant troops use was in here, and there was even weapons he didn't recognize. The armory was a large bay, with a tall ceiling to accommodate even the tallest races in the Covenant. Rows and rows of weapon racks lined the walls and the space in the room, each divided by weapon type and species. It was like an enormous library, except the books were weapons capable of melting and burning you from glancing shots.

T'soona led him to what he assumed was the Elite section, as he saw more and more weapons they preferred to use. There were plasma rifles, carbines, energy swords, you name it. T'soona picked out a carbine, checking its power supply and ammo. Heller, however, wasn't sure what he would use.

"Got anything in here like an Assault Rifle? I tried plasma rifles before, didn't like the damn things."

T'soona turned, asking him inquisitively,

"What's an Assault Rifle? I'm not familiar with your species weapons."

Heller was amused now, trying not to laugh as he spoke,

"Wait, you mean you don't know about our weapons?"

She nodded, her expression the same as before.

"We know what they can do and identify them by sight, but never cared to learn their names. Names carry much weight in our society, and since most Sangheili believe human kind to be inferior, they do not bother with such trivial things."

It was always something wasn't it? Heller sighed.

"Okay then, it's the thing most humans are armed with. Fires a lot of bullets, so you can basically hose down an area with lead. Ring any bells?"

T'soona nodded.

"This ship might have something like what you're asking for. It's an older model, not often in service anymore."

They continued down the lines of racks, until T'soona pulled out a large blue weapon, not unlike a plasma rifle, handing it to Heller.

"A Plasma Repeater. Not meant to burn as much as other weapons. It does nothing on metal or harder substances, but was designed for doing maximum damage on flesh and tissue. It won't burn through a target on the first few shots, but will leave grievous wounds and maim the victim."

Heller handled the weapon. It was large, even for an Elite weapon. He had to hold a plasma rifle in both hands normally, and this one was a must in that regard. He examined it, getting a feel for it.

"You know, I'm touched your people thought of such nice ways to kill us. I mean really, maiming the victim instead of outright melting them in one go? Real nice."

T'soona shrugged.

"We were not the inventors of such devices. Our duties are chiefly the military aspects of the Covenant. You can thank our Hierarchs for that weapon."

"If I see one, I'll make sure to tell him real nice."

T'soona watched Heller handle the weapon, letting him figure it out, before heading off into other areas of the racks.

"We should at least carry another weapon with us. It never hurts to have something extra."

She grabbed two plasma pistols, keeping one for herself and handing the other to Heller. Along the way she had apparently picked up some grenades, giving him some as well.

"You know how to use those grenades?"

"About all I know is they stick to just about whatever they land on and make a big fucking mess."

"You press and hold the button. There's no abort, and if you hold the grenade for too long, it will stick to you and then detonate. Once it's lit, it must be thrown. I've seen many Unggoy die foolishly that way."

Heller chuckled.

"That'd be something I'd like to see."

T'soona walked past him, heading back the way they came. She beckoned for him to follow.

"Come. We still have some time left. I know not of any place to test our weapons safely right now, but I think they will serve us well enough."

The trip back to the bridge was quick and quiet, and within a minute of their arrival, lights flared on the bridge as the ship prepared to exit slipspace. Heller and T'soona watched through the rounded windows of the bridge, as from darkness, they suddenly blinked into existence. The transition was smooth, unlike previous ships Heller had been on, and he was thankful for it. But that thought was quickly whisked from his head as things came into view. T'soona was silent, taking everything in as well. There, amongst hundreds of thousands of covenant ships, in the midst of a massive battle, sat High Charity, its large mushroom like shape looming over the ships. And then their eyes found an even larger shape, amongst it all. A Halo. Heller nearly dropped his gun, and T'soona nearly fell to her knees.

"Son of a bitch. Never in my days..... did I think I'd see anything like this... that huge ring, that's not yours is it?"

T'soona nodded silently.

"Truly, it is the work of the gods."

They watched in awe, as their ship automatically began a docking course with High Charity. Although there were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Covenant ships fighting, most of the battle was in between High Charity and the Halo it sat next to. Their ship passed along unscathed and un-observed, giving the two a chance to take everything in. Heller watched, as they slowly made their way closer to High Charity.

"So, that giant mushroom, is the heart of your empire?"

T'soona simply nodded.

"Christ almighty, it looks like somebody ripped apart a planet and built a station on it."

T'soona spoke, still captivated by the slowly rotating Halo as it spun in the void, surrounded by thousands of warring ships.

"There are legends, that say the ship that powers the city pulled apart the home world of the San' Shyuum when it took off. I don't know if it's true or not, but the upper dome looks like it belonged to something once, didn't it?"

As the two watched in silence, an echoing beeping resounded throughout the bridge. Eventually T'soona tore herself away, taking a look at the large holographic projection table in the middle of the room.

"Heller, come here. I think we're getting an update on things."

Heller took time to tear himself away from it all. He was at the heart of the Covenant Empire, in the middle of a civil war, with a massive alien structure looming above it all. He truly was at the heart of the storm. Hell, he was probably farther than any human had ever been in Covenant space before. Reluctantly, he turned away from the view to see what T'soona had found.

She was looking through the holographic projection of what looked like a map of High Charity. An orange path trailed from the bottom, all the way up through the station until it came to a stop somewhere up in the dome. T'soona pointed a finger at the end of the trail.

"These are likely the Minister's quarters. The dome houses most of the living space for all species on the station. The dome is split into sections, with districts shaped in rings around the dome. The closer you get to the center, the more temples and places of worship you will find, until, you reach the heart of it all, the Dreadnaught. The San Shyuum district is on one of the inner rings, just before the temple district. This will not be easy."

She traced her finger along the path, until she ended up at the bottom of the station.

"We'll be docking down here, were most of the ships go to be serviced and repaired. We'll have to fight our way up to the higher districts until we find what the Minister has marked for us."

Heller leaned against the table, watching the path that was outlined for them.

"This in nuts, you know that right? I mean there's just the two of us. You're a damn good fighter, and I can hold my own, but how the fuck can we possibly make it from down here, all the way up to the top in one piece?"

T'soona watched the display, thinking.

"We'll have to find a way Heller. But we didn't come here to fight my people, as they are currently dealing with their own problems. Remember, the Covenant is focused on other things right now. We may be able to use this to our advantage."

Heller watched as their ship descended to the lower section of High Charity, and as they came closer, he spotted hundreds more ships docked. Cruisers, Destroyers, Capital Ships, and even mammoth Carriers, all looking like various barbed silver fishhooks. Their ship slowly made its way to an available docking section, easily maneuvering its way past the larger ships. T'soona grabbed her Carbine, checking to make sure everything was functioning.

"There's no time to waste Heller. The sooner we find what we're looking for, the sooner we can leave this place. Stay behind me, and give me cover if you can. I'll take the brunt of any attacks we may receive. Follow my lead, and we'll get through this in one piece."

T'soona made her way from the bridge without a backwards glance. Heller took one last look through the windows as their ship came closer to a docking tube that was extending itself. He rushed on after her before she got too far ahead. He had a really bad feeling about all this.

The wait was long, as the two stood around in the lift room, waiting for the docking tube to connect and create a sealed environment for them to cross. Now was a good a time as any to try and talk T'soona out of this. She had just finished attaching the last of her armour back on, and Heller's eyes caught the blackened blast marks on one side of its otherwise smooth, white contours.

"You don't have to do this, you know. You really don't."

T'soona's eye glanced over to him, as she stood there, waiting.

"If this is my last duty as a member of the Covenant, and an Exemplar, then I will carry it out to my dying breath. A Sangheili must finish what they start Heller. I will honour my oath until I complete my task. Then, we can discuss what I can, or cannot do, as I will be free of my oath."

Heller was about to object, when the lift doors opened, revealing a long tunnel below, as the grav lift on the ship activated. T'soona stepped down onto the descending ring, until she was just about to step into the lift.

"Coming along then? I've sent my coordinates to your suit, it should pick them up shortly."

Sure enough, a NAV point appeared on his HUD. The distance to their objective was staggering. They were at least 300 kilometers away from it. Then it was a sure thing then, they had to climb to the top of the station from the bottom, going through whatever Covenant forces stood in their way. Heller rushed over to T'soona, grabbing her arm to stop her from taking the lift.

"T'soona, look at your NAV point god dammit! Do you see how far away we are from it!? There's no fucking chance in hell we'll ever reach that. That's god damn suicide!"

She stopped, turning to him.

"You seem to forget that we give our lives to the cause Heller, and in death, our services are honoured."

Something in Heller snapped.

"Don't throw your life away for nothing T'soona! How can you possibly know what waits for you when you die!? What if there's nothing!? Have you ever asked yourself that?"

Her green eye watched his two blue eyes, fierce with intent on not letting her go.

"I have, Heller. But I let my faith guide me, and move past my doubts."

Heller was getting angry now, he wanted to yell and scream at her, and struggled to keep his voice from raising any higher.

"For fucks sake, didn't you think there might be other ways!? This is a fully armed warship, and a luxury one at that! It's bound to have some serious firepower going for it! Why the fuck don't we blow a hole in the upper dome!?"

T'soona shook her head.

"It's too thick Heller, we'd need a fleet to even scratch the surface. This is the only way, and I will not stop until my task is done. Now, will you let me go, so that I may finish this?"

Heller's grip tightened on her arm.

"No."

T'soona placed a hand on his, forcibly removing his hand from her. Without hesitation, Heller suddenly kicked her legs out from under her, and was over top of her in an instant, trying to keep her pinned.

"This is insane! Think about it! We don't even know what you're supposed to be picking up. Would you really throw your life away for something you don't even know about? What honour is there in that!? There's none!"

T'soona came up with punch right to Heller's gut, sending him rolling off her, wheezing for air. She picked up her fallen weapon, and stepped into the lift. Before she went down, Heller could just barely catch her saying,

"Don't talk to me about honour Heller."

And it was over just like that. Heller lay sprawled out on the floor, catching his breath. She was gone, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. He lay there for some time, clutching his gut. She had planted a solid hit on him. Well, this wasn't the first time he'd been hit hard. He rolled over, getting on his hands and knees, and shakily getting back on his feet. He had been with a few abusive women in his youth, but he admitted, T'soona would probably be the top of the list in whatever was left of his life. He picked up his fallen repeater, making his way over to the lift.

She was stubborn, and her religion and rigid belief's often got in the way of rational thinking, but she was still something to him. There wasn't a chance in hell she'd make it alone. There wasn't a chance the two of them would make it either. But maybe they'd make it a little bit farther if she had his gun. That would have to be good enough. Heller took one last look at the ship, before stepping into the conduit of blue shimmering energy that connected to High Charity, and began his descent into the worst mistake he'd figured he'd ever make.

Blue lights passed by as Heller descended down the docking tube, causing him to become disorientated, before he finally slowed down as he was about to crash into a doorway. The purple door slid apart, and Heller gently landed on the other side, the door hissing closed behind him. The sight that greeted him was unexpected to say the least. Not that he was in the largest room, or hangar bay, or whatever it was he was in that he'd ever seen before, but it was the fact that the air was thick and sticky, and here and there, what looked like blobs of flesh or something organic clinged to the walls and floor. The room was circular, with more of the same doorways he had just passed through lining the ceiling and walls, and they all pointed to where he now stood, a large, brightly lit circular platform. T'soona was nowhere to be seen in the room, and it looked like this was the extent of it. But there was a projector and a holographic panel nearby. Heller walked over, cautiously pressing the panel. The platform he was on suddenly jolted to life as it began to rise above the huge bay, and into a tunnel that led straight up above him.

The platform was an elevator then, but large, big enough to cram at least twenty or more of the largest known aliens in the covenant, Hunters. The platform continued to rise at a steady pace, and light suddenly shone through glass as the section of tunnel he was in illuminated by an outside source. Heller merely watched, through the elevator shaft, as he passed along what looked like a factory. He couldn't even see to the other side of massive room as he saw ships, and vehicles of all kinds, being assembled like toys. Early shells of scarabs rode along assembly lines, with massive arms connecting the legs and performing the delicate work of making sure everything was connected. Lines and lines of Wraith tanks, Ghosts, Banshees, Specters, you name it, traveled along on assembly lines on the floor and in gravity chutes. And in the center of the room, sat a Cruiser, being held in place by an enormous gravity bubble, with hundreds if not thousands of automated arms piecing it together.

So this was it then, the very heart of the Covenant Empire. He had to admit, they had a good setup going here. No wonder they seemed invincible. At the rate this factory churned out the problematic vehicles the UNSC had to deal with on ground engagements, and pieced together the most common ship in Covenant fleets, which was arguably the most dangerous because of the sheer amount of numbers to them, it was easy to see why the alien empire was winning. The lift continued upwards, passing at least a dozen more enormous rooms like the one below, all piecing together the Covenant war machine. The air got heavier and stickier as the lift rose, not like the air down below in the landing bay, putting Heller on edge. He was already sniffling, and it felt like he had a bad cold. There was no way this was how things normally were.

The lift continued its journey, before finally coming to a stop, again, in a massive room. The lift was in the center of this room, attached to a large purple ring, suspended in the air. All around him were what looked like more of the same pads he just rode in on, with a bridge of energy extending over what looked like a bottomless fall. Large holographic signs were above the entrances that each path led too, unreadable to him in the Covenant language. As he scanned the room, he spotted a white clad figure moving along one of the bridges in the distance. That must have been T'soona. He went to talk to his comms, but remembered, she no longer had a helmet on. He swore under his breath as he made his way over to the pad that was connected to the path she was taking, and stepped onto it.

Heller was suddenly accelerated, moving along the energy bridge at an alarming rate. He closed his eyes as he shot along the path, feeling like he would just fly off any second, but it never came as he slowed to a halt, his feet coming to rest on something solid. He fell over, but was caught mid fall by T'soona. Her stern eye looked down on him, as she held him there for several seconds.

"I'm surprised you came."

Heller collected himself, getting back onto his feet.

"I changed my mind. I figured since you wouldn't change yours, the least I could do was help you get a little farther along before we both die."

T'soona's mandibles formed the slightest smile.

"You seem so sure that we won't complete our task."

Heller coughed as he choked on the oppressive air.

"I don't really know, but I can tell you one thing, this air ain't helping us along."

T'soona's features hardened.

"This isn't our natural way of doing things. Even the methane breathers, Unggoy, wouldn't breathe this. It seems, heavy, almost alive. Something is wrong Heller. The path we took here would have had hundreds of guards and checkpoints along it. Instead everything is empty."

Heller coughed again.

"You know anything about that stuff growing down in the landing room with all the tubes? I mean, I know the aliens in here are weird, but that stuff seemed beyond them."

T'soona's face was still hard, looking concerned.

"I know nothing good can come of it. We should be wary Heller. This is the heart of our empire, and I haven't seen anyone between when I first landed and now. Something is really wrong with this."

She was about to continue on, when Heller grabbed her arm.

"Hey, next time, don't punch so hard, or so low. I only tripped you, wasn't going to do anything else."

T'soona continued on, keeping her weapon ready.

"I'll keep that in mind. Just don't bring up honour to me."

The pair continued on in silence for some time, encountering more energy bridges, masses of flesh, and no corpses or living aliens at all. As time went on the fleshy masses grew more numerous, and the air was even worse than before. Heller felt hot and sick, his throat clogged up with mucus. Even T'soona began coughing as they went farther. Heller couldn't tell exactly where he was, as the air grew thick and foggy. He was starting to regret coming down here. He was glad, at the very least, he had his helmet on. He couldn't bear to think what he'd be like without the air filters it had in it. As they progressed farther and farther, Heller thought he could hear things, scratching, and animalistic growls.

"Hey T'soona, you hear that shit too?"

She stopped, facing him, nodding silently, keeping a finger up to her mandibles. Heller kept quiet, and they continued on, when the whine of energy weapons broke the silence. Unnatural roars and screams sounded out as the weapons continued to break the silence. T'soona was moving in seconds, with Heller trying desperately to keep up. The two came to a halt at another energy bridge, with a large floating structure connected to it off in the distance. Great purple spires rose up from it, revealed through the fog by the blue lights pointed upwards. It reminded Heller of a flower, as if it was just opening up to the sun, the petals replaced by spires that climbed higher and higher. T'soona turned to Heller.

"I'm certain the battle is in there. Be ready, we have no idea what awaits."

Heller nodded and the two stepped onto the lift together, being propelled along, coming to a halt at the entrance to the great structure. The whine of weapons continued, with a steady rhythmic pace being kept up. The massive doors stood before them, sliding apart as they slowly stepped up the ramp. The sight before them was heated, as a lone Elite stood at the top of the ramp inside the building, firing downwards into what Heller could only describe as, abominations. Stray plasma bolts passed them by, T'soona placed herself in front of Heller, and began firing her Carbine into the back of the monstrosities. Several turned, and in a display of amazing strength, leaped high into the air, bearing right down on them. T'soona shoved Heller aside, rolling away as two creatures landed where they just stood.

Heller's eyes traveled upward, as he spotted the head of an Elite looking down at him, except that it was twisted behind its back, its neck completely snapped. The creature turned around on him, long tendrils dragging across the floor that had broken out from one of its arms. Its chest was torn open, with more tendrils poking out from inside, twitching erratically. Heller raised his weapon, firing into the creature. A spray of plasma cut through it, doing seemingly nothing as the creature advanced forward. With a hellish cry, it sent its tentacled arm flying forward, lashing the air like a whip. One of the tentacles lashed into his shoulder, sending him reeling back onto the ground. He recovered, firing his weapon with abandon into the creature. It advanced again, but as the barrage of plasma tore through it, it began falling apart, its arms being severed off and torso practically falling to pieces as it fell to its knees, dead. Heller shakily got back onto his feet, spotting T'soona unloading her Carbine into a fallen creature until it stopped moving.

The Elite at the top of the ramp continued firing into the mob of abominations with a mounted plasma turret and a rifle in the other hand fending of any that got too close. Wave after wave succumbed to the fire of the turret and soon bodies piled high on the ramp, bits of smoking flesh and carbonized body parts rolled down the ramp. T'soona made her way over to Heller, rushing past the doorway as stray plasma bolts flew past, coming to a stop beside Heller. He was checking the wound on his shoulder.

"You all right Heller?"

"I'll live. My biggest issue right now is why a mangled up Elite that looks like it crawled out of a grave just attacked me!"

T'soona spoke solemnly.

"It's the Parasite! What madness let them aboard this city!?"

Heller was lost at parasite, but both of their attentions were caught when the turret stopped firing, and cries of anguish could be heard from the Elite up the ramp. T'soona looked around the corner of the doorway, getting ready to move.

"Stay here Heller. If the abominations come, hold off as long as you can, but don't take them lightly. All of them are incredibly dangerous."

And she was gone again, charging up the ramp as Heller readied his weapon, scanning the fog for any sign of movement. He'd wrap his head around all this later, if there was a later.

T'soona headed up the ramp, passing the piled up corpses, to a black armoured Sangheili, laying slumped against the turret. Practically laying on top of him was a dead infected creature. She approached cautiously, when the Sangheili sprang to life, throwing the combat form off himself, raising his rifle to her, then falling over. She rushed over to him, checking his pulse. There was a faint one, and she could feel that one of his hearts was no longer working. But it was clear why he had fallen. Presumably the combat form that lay on top of him had landed behind him, and gotten one of its horrendous tentacled arms in for a full blow, cutting three huge gashes into his backside, and likely crushing some of his organs from the impact.

The Elite's amber eyes flashed open as she inspected him, and he tried to rise again, before falling back over, unconscious. She knew how to treat a wound in the field if it became too much of a hindrance, but it wouldn't work now. As much as it would shame him and still got under her skin, she needed Heller's medical experience if the Elite were to survive. She called to him, and he came up the ramp, shakily. He knew what she wanted as soon as he saw the Elite, with three gashes across his backside.

"One of those things got him?"

She nodded,

"It landed behind him, and got a full swing in with one of its arms."

Heller removed a canister of Bio foam from his backpack, kneeling down beside the Elite.

"Christ, it's damn lucky I only got the end of one of their swings. You think he'll appreciate what we're doing for him?"

T'soona got up, and mounted the turret nearby.

"I still don't like the fact that you're a doctor. But I can live with it. For a high rank such as him, when he awakens, he'll likely try to kill the one who shamed him."

Heller injected the first line of foam into the first gash.

"Oh, that's wonderful. I'm glad to see I'm respected as a doctor wherever I go, even more so with your people!"

The foam expanded, sealing the first wound up and hardening on the outside. Heller started on the second. T'soona scanned the fog with the turret nervously.

"Hurry if you can Heller. I have no wish to stay here for long."

Heller sprayed across the second wound. It suddenly donned on him how sick the air smelled, more so than it already did, and how bad he felt right about now.

"Yeah, I'm going I'm going. If you want I could do it the old fashioned way and stitch him up after putting all the anti-bacterial stuff on him."

T'soona's shadow hung over him as he started on the second wound.

"Hey, you should stick to the turret while I'm doing this."

T'soona's reply came from farther away. Heller spun around as the corpse of one of the creatures was rising up to its feet. The can of Bio foam clattered as it rolled down the ramp, Heller only having time to mutter "Oh Fuck" as the creature let out an unholy roar, and charged him, its tentacled arm thrashing violently through the air. The creature crashed headlong into Heller, tripping over the body of the fallen Elite right on top of him. Heller heard the turret begin firing as more screeches and roars sounded out. The chest of the infected Elite was right in his face, and the creatures struggles ceased as something began climbing out of its chest. Many, spindly legs poked through, pulling out what could only be described as some sort of hideous spider like blob. Heller struggled to throw the creature off him as the blob continued to free itself from inside of the chest cavity of the Elite. The small thing was out now, and Heller grabbed the spider like thing, trying to keep it off him. The thing was slippery, coated in purple blood from being inside the Elite, and as he watched, helpless, it raised a barbed tail up, plunging it into his chest, right through his armour.

Fire spread through his nerves as his muscles suddenly stopped, and he watched, unable to scream from the pain or the horror as the disgusting creature began clawing at his chest piece, the many spindly legs containing great strength and dangerously sharp ends, cutting through his armour like butter. Without pause, it struck at his exposed skin, having made short work of his armour and his clothes. The pain was immense, made all the more worse by the fact that he was paralyzed. He didn't hear the turret firing and screams of the creatures as they fell, or even see when the body on top of him was dragged away, and the spider like creature was ripped from him by a black gauntlet. He passed out from the pain, the world disappearing from sight and hearing.

Heller woke up screaming, clutching his chest as he was held down, the realization that T'soona was using one of his Bio foam canisters on his chest hitting him after he clawed up at her. She held him down firmly, the canister looking small in her oddly built hands. He caught her warm green eye, and was almost immediately calmed down. He tried to speak, but found his voice hoarse and dry. She spoke to him as the foam covered his wound, delivering pain relievers and other helpful things as it expanded.

"I should have been watching you. This is my fault, and failure. It will not happen again."

Heller couldn't form any words right now, and simply shook his head. He could see the pain in her eye, the sadness as it flooded her, kept under the surface by her composure.

"Had Den not come around, you would have been infected, and likely killed both of us without our knowing. Had I been watching, all this could have been avoided."

Heller shook his head again. He mustered what he could of his voice.

"Not.....your......fault. Bull.........shit...happens."

The slightest smile spread across her mandibles before her composure returned. He felt relief as the last of the foam expanded, completely sealing his wound. T'soona placed the can on the floor, getting up and lending him her hand.

"Can you move? We may need you shortly."

Heller sluggishly raised his arm, grabbing her hand, and was pulled up, toppling over onto T'soona as she caught him. It felt good as she held him steady, keeping him upright as his legs started to come to. There was a bump and the two stumbled briefly, and Heller finally heard the whine of engines, the signature sound of a Phantom. How they got here he didn't know, but it sure felt a hell of a lot better than waking up back on the ground. An Elite's voice could be heard from near the front of the phantom, presumably the black armoured one Heller patched up.

"The blasted things pollute even the sky! I will give you access to the guns. Burn them out of the air!"

On both sides, hatches opened up, with plasma turrets sliding out and powering up. T'soona held on to Heller briefly.

"Take it slow Heller. I know how you must feel right now. The air is sickening, and polluted. With your wound, you can probably barely even walk right about now let alone shoot."

T'soona left him, headed over to the other hatch, taking up the turret. Heller willed his legs to move as he sluggishly made his way over to his turret. He sat down, rather than stand, and took the gun's handles in his hands. From what he could see through the thick fog, they were definitely in High Charity's upper dome, as the ceiling stretched farther than his eyes could see. In the center stood something like a great shrine, with lights pointed skyward. Except that there was nothing there for the lights to shine upon. He looked in wonder, as sure enough, there were descending rings, containing silver and purple spires, and all other shapes of Covenant geometry for buildings, and lights, shining as bright as a city, all devoted to the various castes of the Covenant. Their Phantom flew closer to the great shrine, and he watched as the spires grew taller and more packed the closer they got. His attention was drawn away from it all by the beating of wings, and as he looked, flying alongside them, was another abomination.

It looked like it had been an alien bird at one point, with four long slender wings, with a long elegant body like a crane, except now there were disgusting fleshy growths on it, and its stomach glowed with a dull pulsating green. The thing flew above them, and reared its head back, vomiting forth dozens of the spider like blob things, like the one that had tried to bury itself into Heller's chest. They fell into the mist far below, but that was enough for Heller. He opened fire on creature, and watched with satisfaction as the plasma tore through it much easier than one of the infected Elites, easily slicing through its wings. But, his satisfaction was short lived, as the creature suddenly exploded, sending out a noxious cloud of gases and showered Heller with bits of its insides.

More of the flying creatures appeared, and Heller sluggishly turned the turret and opened fire, cutting them down as they trailed behind the Phantom. Some were close enough that when they got set off, it caused a chain reaction, setting entire groups of them off. He could hear T'soona's turret firing as well, and the mounted gun on the front firing as well. The more they cut down the flying creatures, the more that seemed to take their place. Heller's turret overheated, and he watched as the numbers of the creatures grew steadily in numbers. The Elite shouted over the Phantoms comms.

"Exemplar, your destination is at hand, let us pray that we can make it before the swarm overwhelms us! Get off the guns, there's no time to delay!"

Heller backed off the gun as the hatch closed, sealing them off from the outside. He could feel the acceleration as the Phantom was pushed to its top speed. Heller stayed on the floor, gripping whatever he could to stop himself from sliding around while the Phantom weaved from side to side. T'soona held on to the handholds on the ceiling, coming over to Heller. Heller tried speaking again, and found that his voice had partially returned, although still dry and rough.

"You must have traveled far when I went down. Last I checked we still had at least 200k to cover. Now that Elite says we're almost there."

T'soona sat down next to him, holding on to the floor as well.

"We found this ship left abandoned not long afterwards. It was Den that dragged you with him all the way. More importantly though, I have some news Heller."

Heller had a fit of coughing before he could speak again.

"Let's hear it."

"Truth, the only High Prophet left, took what was left of his forces and assaulted your home world. He's searching desperately for something on it. Den, tells me that we have made an alliance with your kind, and are already at your home world, fighting. Most of our fleets are still here, mopping up the Jiralhanae and trying to contain the Parasite from spreading. Although, I have no idea what Den is doing here. The city fell close to a week ago, and is being left to the parasite. I think he's been here ever since."

Heller felt a sigh of relief wash over him. His world was under attack, but something truly unexpected had come from it, an alliance formed from humanities deadliest enemies, and the two were now fighting side by side. He wanted to hug T'soona right about now, but kept his joy inside for the time being. They were still here, in the middle of a hellhole, and still had a long way to go. Heller was curious about the Elite.

"That Elite, our pilot, you call him Den?"

"That's right. He doesn't say much, if you wanted to talk to him."

"Here, help me up, I want to see him."

T'soona helped him up, and the two made their way to the cockpit of the Phantom. Den was busy setting up targets for the main gun of the Phantom while controlling it with a joystick in the other hand. Heller approached the back of the chair.

"I hear you're the one that dragged me all this way."

Den didn't even turn his head or do anything to acknowledge Heller as he spoke.

"And I see you are the one who allowed me to live this much longer. Under normal times, I would have crushed you under my boot. Now, such things are irrelevant."

"I'll take that as a thank you."

Den continued on with his business, not saying a word. T'soona was checking her carbine. As Heller approached, there was a great shudder throughout the Phantom, and T'soona was back on her feet in a moment.

"What was that!?"

Den spoke calmly from the cockpit.

"The vile beasts are attempting to knock us out of the air. They're swarming us. Fear not, we will be rid of them shortly."

The shuddering continued, until there was a bone shaking crash, and what sounded like the Phantom had scraped into something. One of the hatches was blown open as the Phantom was scraped alongside a Covenant building. T'soona was quick to catch Heller in all the commotion, and keep him from losing his balance and falling out the hole. They were close now, packed in tight amongst many buildings, the airspace normally reserved for gravity thrones was easily completely filled by their phantom. Den proved to be a good pilot, and had no scrapes or crashes other than intentional ones to get the flying monstrosities off their backs.

Codes flashed over Heller's HUD, as their objective came closer. He figured it was docking codes to allow them access, and he was right. The Phantom slowed suddenly, turning sharply, firing one last volley from its main gun as it passed through a shield door, floating gently into a hangar. Heller peered through the hole where one of the hatches used to be, and watched as purple doors slid closed over the shield door, keeping them safe from the creatures outside. This was it then. What they came here for was possibly only a few levels above them, waiting.

The transport beam of the Phantom activated, and Den stepped out from the cockpit.

"Come then, retrieve what you came for, and we will leave this foul place. I will remain here, and prepare for what is to come."

T'soona and Heller nodded. T'soona checked her Carbine one last time, and Heller grabbed the plasma pistol he had on him, not seeing the repeater he had come in with anywhere. The two walked into the lift, and descended into the hangar. It was clear, and as they passed along, it was obvious their phantom had taken more of a beating than expected. The airborne creatures had slammed into it repeatedly and exploded, damaging the outer hull. Then there was the other side, completely smashed in from Den's attempts at getting away from their pursuers.

The air was clear in the tower, and both Heller and T'soona breathed easy, feeling better now that they were out of the sickening fog. There was a simple gravity lift nearby, and the two took it up, coming to rest in what Heller assumed was a lobby of sorts. The same ornate detailing on the inside of the ship they arrived in was present, clearly indicating this indeed belonged to the Minister of Toil. Large arched doors were at the end of the room, and Heller's HUD registered them as being only a few meters away from their objective.

The two approached in cautious unison, and the doors slid apart, the room on the other side greeting them with the horrendous stench of the fog, and what was inside. Heller could barely tell what this room was before, as fleshy growths covered the inside, and beyond that, by what was once a glass window, massive tendrils lay on the floor, having smashed through the glass. Heller could make out body parts in the masses on the walls, moving as the growths pulsated and twitched. Both their HUD's pointed to a section of the wall, and the two's boots squelched on the floor as they approached it. Heller spoke through choked breaths.

"Don't tell me, what we came for is in that thing....."

Attached to the wall was an assemblage of humans, and other aliens from the Covenant, all merged into a disgusting mass of limbs and grotesque formations. Their faces empty and lifeless as dull eyes peered at them. T'soona stood in front of the mass.

"Heller. You were right. We never should have come here. This place, is something else now. We should leave quickly. This is a tomb."

She reared her arm back, punching through the sickly mass, and rooted around before she pulled her hand free from the mass, coming out with a small Covenant data chip. Their HUDs deactivated. T'soona placed the chip in a compartment in her armour. Heller breathed a sigh of relief. They had come this far. All they had to do now was get back to their ship, and leave this hellish station alone for good. Heller patted T'soona on the shoulder.

"Son of a bitch. We actually made it this far. Come on, we can make it back too."

T'soona was about to reply when she was suddenly pulled off her feet and dragged along the floor. Heller dashed after her as the tentacle laying by the window attempted to drag her out through the window. She clawed against the slippery floor, and was almost out the window when Heller caught her. He was pulled easily along the slippery floor as well, but he caught the edge of the window with his feet. He held on as hard as he could with both hands.

"Hang on T'soona! Like hell you're going anywhere!"

T'soona held on, attempting to pull herself along his arms. For the first time, Heller could see a look of fear on her features, as the tentacle pulled harder, attempting to separate them. She gasped as the tentacle increased its spiraling grip on her, wrapping around her leg and pulling harder.

"Heller! Use your grenades!"

"What?!"

"Throw one at this thing!"

Heller struggled to keep himself steady as he reached for his belt, and grabbed a plasma grenade.

"Wait, we're too close to it! The blast will kill you!"

T'soona screamed in pain as the tentacle pulled harder, stretching her leg. She spoke with clenched mandibles.

"Just do it Heller. I'll be fine...."

Heller activated the grenade, holding it in his hand. His mind flashed back to when he first had met her. The grenade in his hand felt almost like the one before. Her one green eye watched him, as she struggled to hang on.

"Dammit Heller! Throw it!"

Heller pulled back, and threw the grenade. It landed on the tentacle, sticking to it solidly. The grenade grew brighter, as its final stage kicked in.

"I'm sorry!"

There was the worst sound Heller had ever heard in his life as the grenade primed, grew like a small sun, and then detonated. He was thrown off his feet and landed in a pile of grotesque flesh, along with T'soona and bits of the tentacle. Heller rolled onto his back, and tasted iron in his mouth. He struggled to rise, falling back over several times. His body felt like it was on fire, parts of his armour burned to his flesh. T'soona lay not far off, unmoving.

Heller rolled over, crawling on his hands and knees to T'soona. He rolled her over onto her side. He checked for a pulse, and found the faintest one, barely even there. Her armour was now almost completely blackened from the waist down, but amazingly, she still had all her arms and legs. He could tell from the angle at one of her legs was at, that it was broken. He got to his feet, unsteadily, struggling to haul her onto his back. He wasn't going to treat her out here. And he wasn't going to leave her here either.

As he painfully hauled her back slowly to the huge doorway, a screech sounded out from behind him as one of the infected birds crashed through the broken window, landing on the floor. It reared its head back, vomiting forth dozens of the little blobs, and like a disgusting carpet, they surged towards Heller. He reached for his plasma pistol, and found it gone, blown away in the blast. He had one grenade left on him. T'soona had no weapons on her either. He wasn't going to let her become like one of the mangled things down in the fog. He activated the grenade, holding it in his hand as the blobs surged ever closer to him.

A black armoured hand grasped his, ripping the grenade from his fingers, and he watched as it sailed across the room, landing on the infected bird as it continued to vomit forth more blobs. Den charged into the wave, with an ignited energy sword, slashing through the air as the sickly creatures jumped through the air, attempting to overrun him. The grenade went off, vaporizing the bird and a chunk of the blobs, as they exploded in chains. Den shouted out,

"Go human! I will return to the Phantom once I am done here!"

Heller wasted no time, struggling to drag T'soona to the opposite lift, making sure they both went down smoothly. Heller collapsed on the floor upon landing, struggling to rise. He would drag himself if he had too. Den came down the lift, covered in the fluids from the creatures. He grabbed T'soona by one of her arms and practically hauled the two of them to the phantom, sending them up the lift. He hurriedly made his way to the cockpit, shouting as he powered everything up.

"Can you work on the Exemplar while I fly!? We need to move with haste!"

Heller barely even heard him as he ripped open his rucksack, looking for anything he could use. She was burned, just like he was, and had a broken leg. But he didn't know the extent of any internal injuries she might suffer. He could give her some painkillers and drugs to help her heal faster, but there wasn't much he could do with what he had left in his rucksack. It would have to do.

He injected the drugs, taking care between every bounce and bone shaking explosion as the infected birds exploded on the phantom. He checked her pulse, and found that it was still weak, but steady. She was still breathing, which had to be good for something. Heller sat with her, as Den did his work. He wasn't an expert in the way an Elite's leg connected together, and figured it was best if he waited for Den.

He watched as she lay next to him, her sandy pale skin now blackened from the grenade explosion. The wind howled through the damaged hatch as Den pushed the Phantom to its maximum. Heller leaned his head against the wall, coughing hard as he breathed in the fog. He closed his eyes. He was tired now, and felt like sleeping, for a long time. Something told him in the back of his mind, "Not yet. Not while there's work to be done." He struggled to keep his eyes open, as the Phantom passed through tunnels, leaving High Charity's upper dome far behind. Heller stayed propped up against the wall, and through the howling winds, there was the distinct whoosh of something passing by, and the distant thump of an explosion. Heller pushed himself up onto his feet, making his way to the cockpit of the phantom. Den was scrambling with the controls. Heller had to yell over the howl of the wind passing through the phantom.

"Den! What the hell just passed by us!?"

The Elite continued frantically keying in controls on the holograms, and Heller could see he was lining up targets for the gun of the phantom.

"Human projectile explosives!"

"What, you mean somebody's trying to shoot us down!? Get a hold of them and tell them there's UNSC in this bucket!"

Den snarled as another whoosh could be heard followed by another thump, closer now.

"There are no humans alive on this station Heller, except for you, and the warrior that passed through here some time ago, who is likely no longer here. The blasted parasite will not let us leave without a fight!"

Heller gripped the back of Den's chair.

"Turn around then!"

Den snarled back,

"To turn I would need to slow down, and your blasted explosives have tracking abilities! The only way we're avoiding them right now is because of the speed we have! If you want to help, get on the blasted gun!"

Heller hurried over to the other side of the phantom that still had a hatch, and mounted the gun as soon as it was ready. They were in a large circular tunnel, wide enough to fit three or more phantoms side by side, and smaller craft like banshees down below. It was dim, and floating, blue lights passed them by as they flew. Heller guessed this was like a highway of sorts, except for any air traffic in High Charity. It was devoid of any other craft, but Heller could make out what the main gun was firing at beneath them.

He spotted several forms, and took glancing bursts at them as they flew by. Rockets flew through the air, missing the phantom and exploding behind them in the tunnel. As they flew, more and more of the infected creatures appeared down below, and ahead of them, began scaling the walls of the tunnel. Heller turned his gun onto the wall climbers, and cut a few down, but more took their places, and he watched in silent horror as one of them sent a rocket at them in a perfect line, and in seconds, the Phantom was rocked violently, and black and blue smoke began billowing from the front section that had been hit, cutting Heller's vision off. He got off the turret, and shakily walked over T'soona, keeping her steady. There was another violent rumble throughout the phantom, as its other front engine was hit. The ruined engines whined with the effort of struggling to work, and Den could be heard as the Phantom slowed and began to sink, lower and lower.

"Blasted parasite! I will tear them apart! They will feel the wrath of the gods on this day!"

Den stepped out of the cockpit, with an ignited energy sword. Heller scrambled to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing!? I can't drive this ship!"

Den stared down at Heller, his amber eyes and expression containing humor.

"There is nothing I can do at this time Heller. Our ship will descend until it lands, and the parasite will mob us. The engines only have enough strength to let us land. I will be waiting for them when we do. Now, get on the turret. I will not let one of those blasted things behind me ever again. I will cover the other hatch."

Inhuman screams and wails sounded out as the parasite descended on the flight path of the falling phantom. Heller fired as they got closer to the bottom, cutting through hoards of the horrendous beings down below. In the same strength shown before, some leaped high into the air, missing Heller by a hair as they slashed through the air, falling back down to the ground below. A mixture of bullets and plasma scorched the air, rebounding off the phantom's armour. The phantoms engines gave one last whine as they failed, and the craft, no longer suspended, fell to earth.

In a bone breaking crash, the phantom landed, almost tearing Heller off the turret, but he held on, firing the gun in bursts as long as he could manage, cutting through the abominations that came sprinting through the fog to greet them. He could hear Den's cries on the other side of the phantom, as his sword cut through the air. The assault continued, until, finally, all that could be heard was silence. Heller heard a cry from the back of the phantom, no doubt T'soona had come around. He left the turret, and spotted Den outside, finishing off a downed creature. Heller was at T'soona's side, as she tried to get onto her feet, but stopped from the pain of her dislocated leg.

"Hey, take it easy there! You've got a dislocated leg and who knows what troubles on your insides!"

T'soona leaned back against the wall, and felt around her injured leg, and without hesitation, snapped it back into place. She roared, her mandibles flared as she began shouting in her own language, no doubt obscenities. Den stepped in, covered in bits and pieces of the creatures, his black armour now covered in patches of sickly brown and green fluids. Heller held out a hand to T'soona, she took it, rising slowly to her feet with some difficulty. There was an uneasy silence amongst the group, before Den spoke first.

"We're not out of this yet. The Parasite will not let us leave without a fight, and now, we have a long journey ahead of us. I will scavenge what I can. I suggest you do the same."

Heller took one of T'soona's arms over his shoulder, or more like her elbow, as she towered over him, and was surprised when she didn't resist at all.

"Hey, don't kill me now, Elite or no, you just put a dislocated joint back into place, you'll need a hand moving around for a while."

T'soona wiped some of the black soot like ash from her head, looking down at him. Heller could see that something was bothering her, by the way her mandibles tensed when she spoke.

"Thank you, Heller."

The pair walked slowly out of the phantom, stepping over or around the heap of fallen creatures. Heller looked down at them, some were Elites, and others were twisted humans, mangled just as the Elites. There were even giant ones, what he could guess were Brutes, all of their faces twisted in agony. The scene was something he would remember for the rest of his life. T'soona was looking as well, and she stopped, staring.

"I'm sorry Heller. I see now, how foolish it was of me. I should have taken the ship and left, as you said. There's no Covenant anymore, and I should have seen that. Now we are here, in this tomb, this reminder and festering wound that things are different now."

Heller bent down, and scooped up a nearby plasma rifle, handing it to her.

"No need to say sorry. We all fuck up some time. What matters is if we get out of our fuck ups in one piece. Come on, we've still gotta get out of here."

Heller picked up a plasma pistol as they made their way around the corpses, and the two went to the front of the phantom, and found Den waiting, having ripped off the only mounted turret left on the phantom. The trio began walking onwards into the fog. This was going to be a long trip.

The walk, was, oddly enough, uneventful, save for the wails and screams that echoed far behind them in the tunnel. Heller grew consistently more nervous as they walked, having only the dark purple of the tunnel illuminated by the blue lane lights above in the fog. T'soona limped along beside him, with Den on the other side keeping a steady pace with both hands on his turret. If there was ever a time to get to know somebody, it was probably now. He spoke his mind.

"Den. Got a few questions for you, if you don't mind."

The Elite continued forward, unphased.

"I will answer, depending on if I mind or not."

"Just what in the hell are you doing here? This place seems devoid of any Covenant except for you, and that parasite thing seems to have a complete hold over this place in the upper parts, so, what's the story?"

Den slowed briefly, flexing his mandibles uncomfortably.

"I am here, because this is the fate I have resigned myself to. I failed someone that trusted me, and more. I will fight in their names, until I can no longer do so, in the hopes that I may see them again one day."

Heller frowned. He was glad T'soona had a different measure of failure, or things might have been different now. He decided to change the subject.

"So, what exactly happened here? I hear there's an alliance between my kind and yours."

"The Hierarchs, commanding the Jiralhanae, attempted to purge us in a surprise attack by sending them at us. Things had grown increasingly tense as of late, and in the end, it was the Hierarchs who snapped first, not us. The current leader of the Jiralhanae, I am happy to say was slain by an Arbiter, on the ring far below. There are whispers now, of the rings true purpose. Not ascension, as was promised, but death, for any and all. And, a legacy, bestowed upon your race."

T'soona had caught interest now, and stepped in.

"What do you mean, Den?"

"The caretaker of the first sacred ring, was found, and revealed startling information. It is now in the possession of us, and says the same things it said for the Hierarchs. The rings, are weapons Exemplar, of great power, designed, to fight the parasite, in a time when our gods did battle, and lost."

T'soona cut in,

"So, if the parasite is ravaging our holy city, then why haven't we activated the ring?"

Den chuckled.

"It is not so simple Exemplar. I told you, our gods fought, and failed. Their enemy, the one we face now, is powerful, all consuming. To stop a festering wound with no hope of recovery, what would one do?"

"Cut it out at the source."

"And, just what, is the Parasite's source?"

T'soona stopped in her tracks. She stared at Den, and he stopped as well. Heller could see the shock on her face.

"You mean?"

Den simply nodded. Heller struggled to keep T'soona upright, as her knees went weak, and she fell to the ground, dropping her weapon. Heller bent down with her, but Den placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She is not ill, Heller. The revelation of what the truth is, was unsettling for me as well. She will need time."

Heller looked up at Den.

"What do you mean, revelation? What do the rings do?"

Den chuckled again.

"To remove a festering wound with no hope of recovery, one must cut it off at the source. The Parasite, was a festering wound on our gods, one that they could not overcome. So they resorted to the only thing they could. Cut out the source. And what is the source you ask? Look at what the Parasite does. It attacks anything living, consumes it, twists it to its perverted needs."

"You're telling me, that ring out there, kills everything? It's a giant genocide wheel!?"

"That is correct. There is more than one ring. There are seven, spread across the stars, in this vast galaxy. It is believed, that when all seven fire, the entire galaxy is covered in their light. And if what the caretaker says is true, they were fired, eons ago."

Heller almost fell over.

"And you're telling me, you worshiped these things?"

Den's eyes narrowed, his mandibles flared with anger.

"That is correct. We were betrayed, tricked by the Hierarchs. But this is not the most grievous of their crimes. They hid something as well, a secret, from all of us."

Heller was almost afraid to ask. If the entire Covenant was tricked, and scourged and ravaged worlds based on a lie, the belief that what they were doing got them a ticket to heaven, and it wasn't even the worst of it, then what could it be?

"Your race Heller, the one my people have been burning to ashes for almost thirty years, are designated, "Reclaimers" by the caretaker. It was always a mystery to us, but you humans, always seemed to have a special touch with the god's machinations. This is because, the gods left their machinations, to you."

Heller stopped thinking, all his thoughts directed to T'soona. The pain on her face was evident, as she stared at the ground, in a slumped heap. Den sat down beside them as well.

"Our hands are stained with the blood of billions, on a lie told by the Hierarchs. Your people, were favored by the gods, and left their legacy. And we've been killing you, all of you, because you were, "Unclean!"

Den got up to his feet, stood up to his full height, and roared, his mandibles spread wide. From out of the fog, hellish screams could be heard, close now. Den readied his turret.

"And at last, these blasted monsters catch up with us! Come then, have me if you will!"

Den began firing the turret into the fog behind them, and Heller could hear the moans and wails as he no doubt hit something. Plasma came back at them, along with a hail of bullets, as Den's shields absorbed the impacts. Heller's pistol was up, but he noticed T'soona, still slumped on her knees. Heller caught sight of something in the fog, and overcharged his pistol, sending a bright green blob of energy into the hideous outline of something, and watched as it fell back into the fog.

He bent down to her again, firing over her shoulder into the fog.

"Hey, snap out of it! Now's not the time to have a breakdown or a midlife crisis!"

She spoke, her voice cold and unfeeling.

"What's the point Heller? I came here, to complete a task, one last task, for my Covenant. And everything, everything is a lie."

Heller continued firing over her shoulder, and Den pushed into the fog, taking the brunt of the plasma and bullets being fired their way.

"Ok, I can see why that's upsetting, but think of here and now! Think about your survival! Our survival!"

"I spent, my entire life, trying to get into a fake afterlife. I committed genocide, on your people, blessed by the gods, for a lie."

Heller's pistol overheated, and Den retreated back into view, as the clawing, screaming mass of bodies drew closer to them, stepping over their fallen.

"Hey, we did that too, a long time ago, before we had starships, before any of this. We all make mistakes! What matters is if we learn from them, and make things right! You're making a mistake right now! You can fix it though!"

T'soona's one eye looked up into his.

"Look, I made a mistake, when we first met. It burns a hole inside me every time I have to look at your one eye, your one, beautiful green eye, and see the other side of your face, still fucked up and scared, with bits of shrapnel in it, from the grenade, that I threw."

Heller choked up. He wasn't one to ever say much about what he really had deep down. It came with the job. There were things you couldn't unsee, and the faster you became an uncaring machine, the better.

"And even before that, before I met you, I made mistakes. My whole life was a series of mistakes. When we landed on that ship of yours, and walked into a hangar that had all its occupants waiting for us, I ran. I ran, and ran, like a coward. Something just, broke, inside me, and I left my friends behind, in that hangar. And then, my ship, sacrificed itself, and smashed into yours. Everyone that I knew, was dead. But they fought for their life, for every last second of it, while I ran. And then, I met you, and rather than let you kill me, I blasted you with a grenade, another good fuck up of mine! But we're here now. And I'm not going to let you go, not if I can help it!"

Den fired his turret into the advancing wave of bodies, and aimed skyward as many leaped into the air over him, landing behind them. Some landed in bits and pieces, and some did not. Heller turned, firing into the closest abomination as it came charging at him, its whip like tendrils slicing through the air. The pistol burned through it, and it fell, dead. Another abomination, a human, twisted and mutated, fired a hail of bullets from its SMG, impacting Heller in the chest. He was knocked down from the force, but wasn't injured.

T'soona grabbed her rifle, firing into the creature until it was nothing but a pile of burnt entrails on the floor. She stood up, pulling Heller up with her. The two stood side by side, firing into the creatures as they advanced. Den roared as he drew his sword, charging the creatures. The fight continued, until there were no more. Den came back into sight from the fog, covered in a new layer of green and brown, clutching his chest, breathing heavily.

"We should move now. There will be more. And it will get harder and harder to do this. This path leads to the hub of all air traffic. We should be able to find something there. But we need to move. The Parasite will find us again."

The trio departed without a word, wasting no time in talk. Heller was glad T'soona had come around. He knew things weren't as simple as that, and that her doubts and despair would return, but at least they were moving for now.

They continued, keeping a steady pace for about an hour, before they finally reached the end of the tunnel. Heller was exhausted, and could see that Den was struggling, along with T'soona. He was right. They weren't up for any big fights like that again. Both needed medical care, and even Heller did too, to some extent. But finally, before them lay the hub as Den had said. It was a massive structure, almost like a beehive, honeycombed with shield doors, keeping its non-occupied craft in place. He could see other tunnels, like the same one they were in, branching off in other directions. They only had one problem. They couldn't fly, and there was no way to the hub without using an aircraft. But then Heller looked at T'soona.

"You know, I already hate myself for this, but how far can that jetpack of yours carry you T'soona?"

She looked across the void from the end of the tunnel to the hub.

"If it's still functioning, I can make it."

Heller watched, as the jetpack sparked to life, opening up. T'soona's armour was blackened and scared on one side from his actions, dented and etched with shrapnel. The other was covered in blast marks from the other grenade he had thrown, and now drenched with the green and browns of their battles with the parasite. It was amazing that the device still started.

"You don't want to test anything before you jump?"

She looked back at him.

"No time. The longer we stay here, the more chance we have of getting into another battle."

Heller put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, make it quick over there, but watch yourself. There's a chance that some of the crap on this station is over there. None of us are in real good shape. Think of what you have to lose if you get into something you can't win over there, and run."

She nodded silently. And in a flash, she had leaped into the air, her pack propelling her across the chasm to the hub. Den watched her go as well.

"She truly lives up to her title, Heller. A true shining example of our people. Watch over her well."

Heller's eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It is clear to me that you two are companions. She stood back up to fight for you in her time of doubt and despair. You keep her level headed, and speak to her heart and mind freely."

"All I told her was that we make mistakes, and that we have to move on from them."

Den chuckled.

"You may not see it yet, but I do. You watch over her, are there for her at the slightest sign of trouble, and follow her wherever she goes, even if it means almost certain death."

"Are you implying that I love her?"

"Maybe I am, Heller. But what really matters here, is that you two, are no longer separate beings. You both work together in harmony. And, were we in any other time, the two of you would not have succeeded. But things have changed, and the barriers are being brought down. A week ago had I met the two of you, I would have slain you both on sight. But now, my eyes are open, and I can see. I am free from my binds and beliefs, free to choose my own path, no longer led like cattle."

"You really think, that after almost thirty years of war, things will be so simple?"

"No. But for some, it will. No doubt, many of my people will cling to the old ways. It is in our nature to be stubborn, even when all things point in the opposite direction. But that is irrelevant here. The two of you have a chance, and I am saying, don't let it idle by."

Den turned around, and began walking off into the fog. Heller went with him.

"Hey! Hold up a minute, where are you going?"

"My task here is done. This part of the station has little of the infestation in it. I have seen your journey through to its conclusion, and now I must see my own."

"You're not telling me you're going back out there alone."

"I will not be alone for long. When my path comes to an end, I will not be alone to walk it. I will honour my comrades, and family name until I can no longer do so. Only then, will I see them again. Give my regards to the Exemplar Heller, may we meet again, on the other side."

Den walked into the fog, vanishing from sight as the whirring engines of a phantom could be heard, coming closer. The phantom hovered over Heller, extending the grav lift to the ground. Heller stepped into it, slowly beginning to rise above the ground. His eyes were fixated on where he last saw Den. His words were stuck in his head. And as he rose, into the belly of the craft, there was T'soona, waiting for him. Blackened and scared, beaten and broken, she was still there, waiting. He had wronged her once, by choice, and then again, to save her life. But she was still there.

He delivered the news to her of Den's parting, and his regards, but withheld their conversation. He leaned against the seat as T'soona piloted the phantom along, headed through the network of vast tunnels, linking up with their ship far below in the docking ring. The trip was uneventful, completely free of any problems. Den's words spun in his head, over and over, as he watched her work. And he realized, that not only had he stood by her, she had stood by him as well, for all of his faults and shortcomings as a human being, compared to her kind.

And before he knew it, the phantom had passed through a docking ring, and ended up in the larger, primary hangar bay of the ship. The two almost fell onto the floor upon exiting the phantom, but T'soona wasted no time in hauling herself onwards, no doubt to the bridge of the ship, to get them as far away from this station as possible. Heller took in deep breathes of the clean air, reveling in how the cold, recycled air filled his lungs. No more fog. No more abominations. No more fear and uncertainty. Just him, and the fresh air. And then he noticed the stench, and looked at his armour. It too, was covered in the same fluids that T'soona's and Den's was. Then, in his addled brain, he had an idea.

He wandered the halls, passing through many now familiar corridors he had come to call home. In his twists and turns, he eventually found himself where he wanted to be. He stepped into the private quarters, the showers, and fiddled with the controls to start the flow of water. The water flowed over his armour, over the dents and broken pieces, washing the filth away. Heller leaned back against the wall, slowly sliding down onto the floor, as the water washed everything away. He opened his eyes to the sound of the door sliding apart, and looked to see T'soona, her head twisted backwards, a gaping hole in her chest filled with one of the small creatures, it's feeler's reaching out towards him, as she brought forth a mutilated tentacled arm.

Heller scrambled to his feet, slipping on the wet floor, and came crashing down onto his back. He banged his head on the floor, screaming an obscenity out, as T'soona stepped closer.

"Heller! Go slow, it's me."

He looked up into her green eye. She was normal. Perfectly normal. He gaped at her, watching her.

"What are you doing in here Heller?"

He stuttered, trying to form words together until he finally got it.

"I uh, I wanted to get this crap off my armour. It smelled bad. I guess I dozed off."

She held her hand out to him, pulling him up to his feet. The look on her face was one of being happy, content.

"We jumped into the void an hour ago. I picked a random vector, far on the edge of our galaxy. We're far away from it all now."

Heller leaned up against the wall, sliding back down into his comfortable position again, letting the water wash over his armour. He rubbed his hands over his face and through his short red hair, closing his eyes and leaning his now sore head against the wall.

"You come up here to get all that crap off your armour too?"

He heard her boots click on the floor, as she moved over to her side of the room.

"In a sense, yes. I wanted to check up on you too, make sure you were okay."

"And why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Because I saw things on that station I can't forget. Heard things I won't either. To think you'd be fine, would be foolish."

"Thanks for checking. Apart from the nightmares I'll be having for weeks on end, I think I'll be okay."

"Very well then."

Heller listened to the water fall and crash against his armour, and the occasional clicking of T'soona's boots on the floor as she moved. Den's words came back to him now, circling in his head like vultures. He knew what he had said was true. Deep down, he loved her. Today had proven this. He was a different person now, from when he first met her. He had so many times to run today, to ignore the fact that she needed help, and abandon her. He even had the chance to never set foot on the station at all, in the absurdity that they would surely die. But he followed her, through the closest thing he could think of as hell today.

But there was something, always there, holding him back. Den's words rang out again. Times had changed. And for some people, it would be that easy to just let go. He thought of The Triumphant, and its crew. And then what Den had talked about, a supposed legacy left for his species, and the lies that lay deep in the heart of the Covenant. T'soona was as stubborn as he was, continuing on, until things slapped her in the face. He watched her now, watched as the slime and fluids drained from her armour, and black soot left her skin, revealing its pale sandy colour once more. Den was right. He got up onto his feet. He wasn't going to let things idle on by him.

He came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. Her head turned, and she stopped scrubbing her armour.

"Heller, what are you up to?"

He held on tight, looking up at her.

"Back in the tunnels, Den told me something before he left. I was just doing some thinking."

She looked puzzled, but didn't pull away from him.

"I want you to know, T'soona, that because of you, I've changed. I've grown into something else. And I want you to know, that I won't ever leave you. I may doubt you, but I will never, ever leave you, and will follow you, wherever you go. And most of all....."

Heller was cut off when she put a hand up over his mouth, pulling his arms off of herself gently, she turned around to face him. She lowered herself down, so that her face was level with his.

"You don't need to say anything."

She closed her mandibles, pressing them up against his mouth. It was an odd feeling, kissing somebody with no lips, but Heller found that four mandibles could imitate them just as well, and maybe even out do them. They stayed like that for some time, as Heller wrapped his arms around her smooth neck, feeling the smooth, yet rough texture of her skin, like velvet mixed with the finest sandpaper. She ruffled a hand through his hair, trailing it down the back of his neck. Warm water washed over them, battering their armour, making it seem like they were in the rain, a warm summer day's rain.

She parted from him, and Heller looked into her shining, deep green eye, as he put a hand up to her face, feeling the scars and embedded shrapnel on the other side. Her skin still had the same texture, but with grooves and cuts, adding something he couldn't stop coming back to, feeling the perfection etched with imperfections. Her hand continued rubbing through his hair, her other one gently feeling the side of his face, the scratchy, rough beard that was beginning to form kept drawing her there.

The two were alien to each other, and were completely engrossed in exploring each other. To Heller, it was her one green, predatory eye that stood out compared to the rest of her, and the smooth contours of her face, along with her almost serpentine neck. To T'soona it was the changes as she progressed along his head, his short, smoothed out hair, to the roughness of the hair on his chin and cheeks, and finally, his dark blue eyes, which had fire deep within them, like a raging ocean back on Sangheilios.

Heller kissed her again, gently parting her mandibles. He broke the kiss, staring solemnly at her.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you ever since meeting you."

She watched him, placing a hand on the side of his face.

"All that you've done was to protect yourself from me, or to try and help me, and I was the one who was too foolish to see it. I didn't listen to your words in that hallway. And I didn't listen to you today. You almost died, and nearly killed me, trying to save me. Everything I've ever done was for the wrong reasons, for a lie. I'm not worthy to be standing here with you right now."

Heller returned the gesture, crossing gently over her mandibles.

"As far as I'm concerned, neither am I. I was around before all this. That was back when I killed my own people. Then things changed, and I killed your people instead. And then, I abandoned my friends, when they needed me most. I'm the real monster here."

T'soona smiled.

"We've both done terrible things, for our own reasons, but I can see the good person in you Heller. You're no monster, and I'm glad you threw that grenade at me. How will we ever learn without having something to show for our mistakes? I'm glad that I found you."

Heller smiled back.

"I'm glad I found you too."

T'soona gently pushed Heller against the wall, reversing their positions.

"But we're here now. And the only thing I want to worry about right now is what happens to us. Let everything else fall behind."

She kissed him briefly, before moving back, leaving him leaning there against the wall. She unlatched her gauntlets, letting them fall to the floor with a heavy clunk, along with her shoulder pads. She reached around her back, and then down her front, unlatching her torso segment, letting it fall off. The last thing to go was the armour on her legs and feet, and then, she was there, wearing nothing but her jumpsuit, waiting for him.

She approached him slowly, her well-toned body, along with every curve was revealed, but still tantalizingly hidden, just under her jumpsuit. Heller stood frozen, taking in how beautiful she was. She moved closer, and as she reached for the latches on his armour, he didn't stop her. Before he knew it, everything was gone save for his boots. All he had left was his basic, torn open shirt, and pants. She pressed herself closer to him, until he was backed up against the wall. His hands found their way up onto her hips, bringing her closer until she was pressed tightly against him. Even through her suit he could feel the warmth of her body. It felt so good, to be so close to her. She shifted her weight, unknowingly rubbing against the ever growing bulge in his pants. Instinctively, his hands traveled lower on her backside, pulling her close again, sliding her across him. T'soona was quick to see what was going on, and began rubbing against him, grinding and swaying her hips slowly. He gasped quietly with every sway of her hips.

Their eyes remained locked as she ground against him, T'soona watching with delight as Heller's face showed how good he was feeling. Her hands traveled up to his chest, and she slowly tore what was left of his remaining shirt off, passing over the sealed up wound in the process. She was careful and slow, rubbing her hands along his smooth skin, as she leaned in and kissed him. Heller's hands traveled even lower, now coming to a stop on her ass, and he maneuvered her so that the bulge in his pants was now resting right over her sensitive area. When she came down this time, she rubbed just where he wanted her to, and the effects were sublime.

She broke the kiss with him, her mandibles parting as a long moan escaped her. She leaned against him, her breasts coming to rest tightly against his chest, and she stopped grinding, so he took it as his turn to make her moan, and so he slowly rubbed back and forth, gripping her ass tightly as he struggled to refrain from going too fast. All T'soona could do was moan, but to his surprise, she collected herself from her bliss, saying between each gasp and moan,

"Heller........too.........fast.....going.....too.....fast."

Heller slowed, coming to a stop completely, and T'soona came out of her haze. Before he knew what was happening she had moved him around, and now he was laying on top of her.

She ruffled his hair as he lay against her chest. He could hear the steady beating of her heart, and then, when he traveled a little lower, he could make out the distinct sound of another heartbeat. He smiled, as he lay on top of her. He hadn't realized it, but he was exhausted. He looked into her eye, and found she had a smile on her face as well.

"As much as I love being here right now, I didn't think I was so tired. I could use some rest."

Heller smiled, kissing her briefly, savoring how different, how alien her lips were.

"I know. I'm tired too. And we've still some things to do. I need to check your injuries, and mine. And, as much as I hate to say it, see what was so important about that data you almost got killed for."

She held him tightly, laughing. This was something new to him. He had never heard her laugh before. She sounded, happy. Heller gently got off of her, and finally turned the water off. The place was filled with steam. T'soona got to her feet, and stood by the doorway. Heller began shuffling with his discarded armour, trying to gather it all.

"What, you're just going to leave all your stuff here?"

T'soona laughed again.

"I don't sleep in my armour when I don't have to. And besides, aren't you going to check my injuries? You can't do that when I'm wearing all my gear."

She winked at the last part. Heller dropped his gear on the floor, joining her at the door. He understood perfectly. Her four fingered hand clasped his, as the door slid open, letting the cool, recycled air of the ship wash over them. He had made it through today, saw impossible, beautiful things, done what he had thought impossible, done battle with monsters, and now, he was at the beginning of something new. The alien warrior beside him, shared something with him.

The weights and shackles on his feet all broke away when he looked at her, knew, that she was his, and he was hers. Maybe he was a monster, and maybe she was too. But it didn't matter anymore. They had each other. And for him, he'd rather be nowhere else right now. Whatever was to come, he didn't know. But he didn't care.

He wasn't alone in this universe anymore.