True Honor

Atu was exhausted. He found the face of a tall, flat rock and collapsed onto it, taking a moment to catch his breath. He had never been tired after running before, but he had never ran that far or that fast. He looked around; the rocky cliff face was dark purple, the air was warm and smelled of smoke, and the people around him looked wild from the weeks of fighting beforehand.
Atu had looked down, for just one moment, but when he looked up a demon was towering over him. As it began to mumble, the translator flashed icons he recognized, roughly translating to: "YOU APPEAR TIRED. TAKE THIS." Just as he had silenced the dreadful autoreader, which he had never disovered how to disable, a flask of water was in his hands. "WE DON'T NEED IT MUCH ANYWAY." After inhaling the flask's contents in one quick motion, he stood and listened to their briefing. 
"BEAM PIT IS 8.7 [UNKNOWNS] TO THE NORTH-WEST. WE'LL LEAVE ONCE AIR TRAFFIC DIES DOWN." As it continued to shout information that Atu had found quite dull, the other demon walked up to him and asked a question. "HEY. YOU GOT HIT PRETTY BAD BACK THERE- YOU SURE YOU CAN HANDLE THIS?" Atu simply chuckled, and looked into its visor, a symbol which had struck fear into the hearts of the Covenant's finest. "It would be a disgrace to myself, and my family's legacy" he stated, in his native language, because he knew they would have equally as effective translators in their helmets. 
The demon returned what sounded like a laugh, and then began speaking. "SO YOU ALSO CARE FOR YOUR HONOR, I EXPECTED YOU TO BE DIFFERENT. IF WE'RE GOING TO DIE TODAY, WE MIGHT AS WELL GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER. SO, [UNKNOWN], WHERE'D YOUR HONOR COME FROM?"
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Atu was a child basking under the warm suns of Urs, roaming through the fields of Sangheilios. He had barely lost his scales, their sudden collapse producing a tender rash which he had tried his best not to attack. He was in the fields owned by his keep, at least several kilometers out when he heard the sounds of a fat nistam. He had went from being annoyed by his rash to intrigued by the sound of it scurrying through the underbrush, and as soon as he saw its tail he began to give chase.
The creature bolted, fast, and Atu began to give chase. After almost 6 minutes of running, he had chased it onto a flat cliff and was about to pounce when he stumbled and hit the ground. He cursed as the nistam looked at him, in what appeared to be a taunt, and dove back into the bush. As Atu was beginning to pick himself up, he heard a chuckle from one of the rocks. "You always do attack too soon."
Ordinarily he may have started a fight with whoever said such a thing, or if it was a figure of authority he would challenge them to a debate. Uncle Kel was different, though. Most of the elders he had met seemed strict, traditionalist, never cared for hunting or playing. Kel encouraged the pastimes of children, which is perhaps the reason clan Thian was looked upon as a failure.
"What, could you do better?" retorted Atu. His uncle simply laughed; "Young one, I have long outgrown the ability to hunt small vermin. But I can not deny, when I was younger, I would have made quick work of your hardest foes." He stood up, towering over Atu, and walked over. Atu had tried to maintain his expression, but he simply burst out laughing. When he regained his composure, Kel ran to the field in less than a second and grabbed the same nistam he had struggled to catch, squeezing the life out of it shortly after. He tossed it to Atu, who began to pick at its fur as he sat back down next to Kel.
"You should never be too old to hunt," he said, not paying attention to the elder's stern gaze. "Young one, hunting is a game. It is something that children do to occupy themselves while their mentors are in combat. There is no discipline or honor required, which is why I ceased not much older than you are. It is almost time for you to do the same."
Atu gagged. "Who cares, Uncle Kel? Hunting is fun, honor doesn't have to be in everything. I don't want to have to listen to elders all my life, I want to live free, I want to-" he froze when Kel stood up. "I want to show you something. Come." He took Kel's hand and walked with him into the prairie, until they settled under a lone tree. Kel began to speak: "I once saw a family of sahalas here- look, there's one now." The large, predatory creature had spotted a small animal in the bush and was approaching it slowly. As the animal looked away to clean itself, the sahala grabbed it with its jaw and bit down, hard. The creature screamed, and was then silenced.
Atu didn't understand why his Uncle had dragged him here. The sun was getting low, and it would take him at least an hour to gte back- probably more. If this was just to teach him honor, then something wasn't working right. "I don't get it, Uncle Kel. This isn't honor at all, it's just- just hunting. It's free, it.." he stopped. He couldn't think of a word, and, after he gave up, he looked at Kel for confirmation. "You're missing my point, Atu. You should think more, before you react. Let me ask you this: how many sahalas did I tell you I saw here?" 
Atu began thinking, and then realized he had never been given a specific number. "All you said was that you saw a family here, that isn't even-" 
"And when was the last time you saw me out this far?"
Atu couldn't remember. It had been at least months, probably a year or two at most. "I don't know. It was a while ago, Uncle Kel. Not so sure I could give you an exact-" he was cut off by Kel. "Sahalas only live for a few weeks, Atu. They are born, they grow, they eat, they have a family and they die, all within the smallest fraction of our lives." 
"Okay, so?" said Atu, beginning to get impatient. "I still don't see what this has to do with honor, and it's getting dark. I love you, okay? I'm going to go now." Kel sighed, and then stopped Atu from leaving. "Listen, Atu. Honor isn't simply submitting to authority and doing what they tell you is honor; honor is more than that. Honor is being true to the conduct of warriors, that is correct. But honor is also being true to yourself, and being true to your bloodline on top of that. That is what this creature does, it goes into the world and it finds food for its children. It feeds them, cares for them, does everything for them so that they can carry on its legacy when it is gone. The same way it did for its parents, and for thousands of generations before. Honor isn't about rules, it's about truth."
Atu, who had never cared for any lesson the elders had taught him before this, had been silent for once in his life. He had taken in all that Kel had had to say, and for once, it gave him something to believe in. He hadn't known who his father was, no respectable Sangheili would, but there is something he has always been proud of. Previously, he thought it was his hunting ability. Now he thought it was something else entirely. He thought about things so much, he hadn't even noticed that Kel had lowered his arm, but the suns had nearly set by now. 
"Atu, are you fine? You have been silent for three minutes now, I think I should be getting worried." Atu looked him in the eyes. "Yes. Yeah, Uncle Kel, I'm fine. Thanks.. I think I understand now. Do you know which way the keep is? I should, uh, get going.." Uncle Kel gave a quiet laugh, and stood up. "Come, little one. The fields are dark, I will take you there. It may be the last time I can."
That had been the last lesson Atu had from Kel. Atu began to excell in his training, to the point where he could spar his peers and win almost all of the time. He had defeated champions and newcomers, males and females alike, but still respected them. He knew that they had a family line they should be honoring too, and knew that he could never know their stories even if he bothered to try. One of them, Sav, had caught his eye, however. He had never noticed her much before now, but he suddenly felt like he was in a trance when he saw her, and soon enough they would begin mutual courtship which made him feel he had some sort of nishum in his stomachs. Just after that, Kel had passed. He had a long service record, in his keep and in the Covenant. He was honored with a large, traditional service, attended by nearly everybody in the keep and many from others. He was old, nearly three centuries, something that few "honorable" Sangheili ever could hope to see. Too many died in battle to believe that a regular occurence.
Atu was inconsolable for weeks. Although Kel had raised many young Sangheili, Atu felt that he shared the closest relationship. Kel had taught him dozens of lessons, but only a few of them would stick with him over the days that followed their teaching. The one that Atu remembered the most, though, was honor. To most Sangheili, honor was a strict belief- follow the rules of your superior, die in combat, respect warriors. But Atu knew what they didn't, he knew what Kel knew; honor is remaining true to yourself. Honor is remaining true to your clan. And as long as Atu lived, he would be a Thianee. To those who cared only for Covenant honor, Thians may look like failures. But Atu, and his mother, and Uncle Kel, knew that they were different. They were wiser, smarter, more honorable.
That lesson would stick with him, together with the skull of the nitsam that Kel had thrown him on the rocks that summer evening, for the rest of his life.
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"SO?" the translator spoke.
Atu looked at the visage of the demon, its head tilting to the side in a universal tone of curiosity. Atu simply chuckled, holding on to the memory of a long deceased mentor. "When I was young, I was taught that honor was not the traditional ruleset followed by most Sangheili. I was taught to honor my bloodline, and myself, before anything else." The demon stood up straight again, and began to change its tones as the translator flashed Covenant writing to Atu's visor. "AH, FAMILY MAN. WELL, NEVER HEARD OF A SENTIMENTAL [UNKNOWN], BUT I SUPPOSE YOU DO HAVE TO GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE. GOOD TALK, [UNKNOWN]. LET'S HOPE WE'LL SPEAK MORE ON THE OTHER SIDE." 
It gave a nod of approval, which Atu reciprocated. He joined the demon next to the rest of their party, containing a mix of nishum (a term now appropriated for humans) and Covenant members. He looked around at their misfit group, wondering how this was going to go. They had 5 Unggoy so stupid they very possibly may waste their last plasma bolts on their own shadow; a Jiralhanae whose foul odor seemed to betray its attempts at concealing its desire to taste human flesh; two Mgalekgolo bond brothers, and perhaps most jarring of all two demons, concealed in armor that prevented all attempts at guessing as basic an aspect as skin tone or sex.
It was a difficult decision to work with the enemy, but he knew it was the only option. The Covenant wasn't safe anymore, and what was once Atu's position as an Ultra was now occupied by some clumsy brute. The schism was upon them, and the lies of the prophets had been revealed. 
They were in that chamber, all 9 of them, surrounding the human squad when they got the news of the High Prophet's demise at the hands of another demon. Atu was angry, sad, but perhaps most of all he was confused. He was confused when the Ultras and the Majors began arguing, and was confused when they broke out into combat with each other. He had barely escaped with his life.
Now, he stood beside his former enemies. Perhaps this would be for the best, pehaps for the worst. It was a gamble, but he knew it was what was right in the end. He knew it was true to what Kel would have done. He looked up into the sky, at the carrier connected to the ground by only its gravity lift. 
"YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?" said one of the demons, at its companion and then at Atu. "IT'S OUR ONLY SHOT. EVERYBODY READY?"
The first demon looked at Atu. "ARE YOUR TROOPS PREPARED?" Atu looked over. They weren't good, any of them, but they were ready as they would ever be. "Yes. We will stand by you, even if it means being labeled as traitors or bounties."
The demon turned away, and unholstered its pistol. "ALRIGHT THEN. LET'S MOVE."
Category:The Weekly
Category:Short stories
Category:Underlord1271 Stories