Forever!

I had rallied what little warriors were left in the building’s great hall. The insignia of Humanity, a stylized depiction of their homeworld, was a focal point in the hall, located at the end, on a wall behind a podium. Here I stood.
“Warriors,” I started. “I know the fighting has been hard. And I know… I know the past few days have been especially emotionally taxing. And I know… the outrage you all have. How the Hierarchs betrayed us. How the San’Shyuum and Jiralhanae betrayed us. How they abandoned us on the enemy’s home planet, leaving us to our fate as they seize the Covenant for themselves.”
“The Covenant’s a lie,” uttered Mik most bitterly. I silently stared at him. “All of it. A fucking lie.” There was quiet murmuring among the rest of my assembled host. Basab, our stout Unggoy, and Tes, our sharp Kig-Yar markswomen, approached Mik, but dare not say a word or even touch the man. “There’s nothing for us anymore. Nothing. Just… dust and ashes.”
“And… I apologize for leading you here,” I added. Everyone looked at me. “I lead you all to your deaths. Meaningless deaths. Deaths which serve no purpose, save to enrich our now blood enemies, the traitorous Prophets and their Jiralhanae lackeys.”
“But sir…” said one of the young warriors, Ythar ‘Yrun. He had served under me before in several campaigns, and I saw that he had blossomed from an inexperienced, bookish soldier with poor marksmanship into a fully-fledged, well-rounded – and dare I say heroic – warrior. “Are you not proud to welcome death in a glorious and honorable manner? In the height of battle, facing the enemy in his home?”
“There is no honor,” forlornly declared Mik. “No glory. No nothing. We’re fighting for a cause that stabbed us in the back. The Great Journey’s all a lie, sold to us by the Prophets to keep themselves enriched in wealth and power. Fuck all of it.”
“I would like to think that we are now fighting for ourselves,” commented Kreth ‘Avar, another Sangheili who had previously served under me. Like Ythar, Kreth had grown from a rather eccentric young warrior into a force to be reckoned with.
Indeed, all the warriors gathered before me proved their mettle in battle time and time again, for we were all draped in special operations armor. We were tasked with seizing what had quickly been deemed to be a sort of parliament building for all Humanity, what I later discovered was called the United Nations Headquarters, in the city of New York, one of Humanity’s greatest.
Mik spat at Kreth’s words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means we still have each other, Mik,” I said.
“Kai, we’re all alone out here. We’ve got no support, no evac, certainly no reinforcements. We’re in the middle of a Human city on the Human homeworld, and there’s more of them than us. We’re low on ammo, lower on troops, and the Humans are closing in. How far away is that armored column, Ythar?”
“One kilometer and closing.”
“And we shall face them.”
“And die? What was that you promised me all those years ago?”
I fell silent.
“Say it. In front of everyone, do it. C’mon.”
He pried the words from my mouth.
“I said… that the both of us would head back home once the war was over.”
“Can’t see that promise being kept anymore.”
“Mik…”
I moved to my comrade, stepping down. He sat in a chair, slouched back, not far from the podium, behind one of the tables. I sat on the edge of the table, by the aisle.
“I am sorry. I am sorry for breaking our promise. I am sorry that the oath we swore to the Covenant turned to vapor. I am sorry that all we fought for, all we sacrificed for, all we gave up for, turned around and betrayed us in the end. And I am sorry for the situation we are in now.”
I stood up.
“I am the commander. It is my responsibility. I will bear the brunt of blame. I will go out there and meet the enemy. I will die. You all will likely follow me into death, but know that I will be the first to fall. Know that you will see me fall. Know that I will pay for the mistakes I made today.”
“No,” said Mik emphatically. “You’re my brother, Kai, and I’ll be damned if you go out there alone.”
“You will never see home again, Mik.”
“Home’s where your family is. And you’re my brother. I think you can put two and two together.”
“I’m with you too, sir,” said Basab, stepping to my side. “I have always considered you family, and while… while I may never see Balaho again, I’ll die knowing that I fought to the end beside family.”
“Ah, money can’t buy what I experienced with you all,” said Tes. She shouldered her beam rifle as she walked to me. “You’re more than just lance mates to me, sir. All of you.”
“Sir!” announced Ythar. “We all agree: you have done no wrong. There is honor and glory in facing the enemy one last time, hopeless it may be. We gladly follow you, wherever you may go. We die happily with you.”
“Kai…” Mik said to me, “you’re family. I love you like a brother. We all do. Lemme make a new oath. On the blood of my fathers, on the blood of my sons – even though I don’t have any – I’ll stick with you no matter what. You look to your side, there I am. Forever.”
Never have I been more moved by Mik before.
“Forever. All of us.”
I activated my energy sword and raised it high. All the warriors encircled me. Then, all our voices joined into one, loud and proud.
“Forever!”
Category:The Weekly