Shards

==Chapter 01==
It felt empty.
Not that anything was different, the vast void of space was always absent of activity. There was little to latch onto but the specks of starlight glistening through the viewport, disrupted only by the vibrant cloudy streak of the Milky Way slicing the darkness in half. It was peaceful… but this time in a haunting way.
Ever since the rise of the monolithic Forerunner enforcers known as the Guardians, it was difficult to find an opportunity to set foot on a planet inhabited by more than a few thousand people. Most of the last few months have been spent aboard the Steelskin, a Lancer-class corvette Jet and his team had stumbled onto mostly intact on their last sanctioned mission. Crest had given Jet one last birthday gift, one that granted the group of Spartans an escape when the Infinity failed to show up. Steelskin wasn't its actual christened name; Max had dubbed the recently reclaimed vessel after a song he used to hum during ricochet games. Dylan Park had played it once at halftime during the 2554 Championship and it had been the team's lucky anthem ever since.
It's been two months now, and a lot has changed. With no contact from the Infinity, Fireteam Amber had elected to continue working alongside Zachary Rayne, an ONI agent they had met shortly before encountering the Steelskin. The Office of Naval Intelligence would normally be the best equipped to handle the guerrilla situation they found themselves in, but Zach had been out of contact with his command structure for months as well. Still, it gave Amber a mission handler and a purpose. Jet wasn't going to complain.
"Good morning, Warrior Thompson," spoke a feminine voice from behind Jet, waking him from his star-gazing daydream. "Breakfast is prepared."
Jet looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with the yellow-tinted illusion standing on the table. He nodded, and Monarch vanished with a smile from beneath her little hood. She was the Steelskin's pilot and Zach's second artificial companion. Amber had ceremonially terminated his last one, Theia, when the aging AI had reached her limit and consented to deactivation.
It was the first time Jet had witnessed the death of an artificial intelligence. He wasn't sure what he expected, but Theia had taken it well. "From the day I was born, I knew I wouldn't live past seven," she had said. "I made peace with that long ago." It was Zach who was the most affected by it, having served alongside her all her digital life.
Jet expected to hear Monarch's announcement again through the wall to Cora's chamber, but it never came. It was likely the Spartan was on the deck below, tinkering with the team's equipment like she said she would last night. It occurred to Jet that he has never actually consented to the tampering.
He had to watch his head while descending the stairwell; the Steelskin was never designed for the larger frames of a Spartan crew. Jet had learned that the hard way on more than one occasion.
As he reached the base of the steps, the sound of metal impacting metal could be heard originating from the cargo bay, followed by cheering and laughter. Jet popped his head in to investigate.
Cora was relaxing on the floor, resting a ComPad on her lap and enjoying what appeared to be a cold can of lemonade. Zach was standing beside her, arms crossed but clearly enjoying the scene. Beyond them, a disgruntled Maximilian and celebrating Abigail, the former picking up a metallic ball as it rolled past his feet. The two of them were dressed in their full suits of Mjolnir.
"Three out of five!" Max demanded, passing the ball to the team leader.
"That was three out of five," Abigail responded, placing the ball on the floor between them. "But I can go for another round."
It seemed the team had converted the empty cargo bay into a gravball court. Ricochet, but without the cover and firearms. Three dents in the wall behind Maximilian told the story better than any scoreboard could.
"Later," Zach interrupted. "Food's gonna get cold."
"When did you set this up?" Jet asked the group as he emerged from the corridor.
"I threw this together this morning," Cora answered, having finished her drink. She crushed the can in her hand as she stood up. "Max had the idea. Gives us a better way to try out the new armor than just running our standard calibration tests."
"And you approved it?" Jet asked, turning to Zach. Max and Abigail were leaving the room through the far passage, likely headed to the armory.
"Why the hell not? Keeps morale up, and it's the closest to a gym we have on this ship." Zach scooped the ball off the floor and placed it into a bin in the corner of the room. "Just wish I could compete with you guys."
"There's nothing keeping you from trying," Cora boasted, lobbing the crushed can into a waste basket in a way that mimicked a halfcourt shot.
"Augmentations? Ignoring that, the fact that you four are literally sports stars?" Zach pointed to the three marks on the wall between Max's goalposts. "I don't want my head looking like that."
"Commander Rayne." It was Monarch's voice, but Jet couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.
"Yeah? Got something for me?" He picked up his own ComPad from a table out in the corridor, pushing past Jet in the process.
"I have completed my scan of the system. The results have been sent to your display. No Guardian Custodes present, but the colony has an unrecognized fleet in orbit."
"Human? Covenant?"
"I cannot tell."
Zach hesitated for a moment, tapping away at what Jet could assume was the data Monarch mentioned. Two days ago, the Steelskin had jumped into the outskirts of a star system containing the lost colony Shear. Zach, forever paranoid, had been keeping the ship away from any planetary bodies until he was confident it was safe to approach.
"Uh huh. Thanks, Monarch. I'll bring it up during mission prep."
"Field work?" Jet interjected.
"Diplomacy, if things go how they should. How's your Sangheili?"
"Like I'm speaking sixth-grade German."
"Anyone on the team more fluent?" Zach was still looking at the tablet.
"Negative. Jet's our best," Cora answered. "Our suits have translation systems, is that not enough?"
"I'm just covering all my bases, that's all." He shut off the ComPad. "Come on, let's eat."
----
It isn't hers. Just a copy.
Zach delicately rolled the data crystal between his fingers. It was identical in every way. The dimensions were standardized long ago, the mass deviating from the average only by micro-engravings: "THA 4669-2." Theia.
It is just a copy.
Years ago, Zach had a duplicate transfer chip made for Theia for use in his field ops on Gilgamesh. It was a contingency plan, should Theia become compromised. Afterwards, it had become little more than a desk ornament in his office back in Salem.
But when Cortana's Guardian arrived on Earth, the second chip had proven useful. It was Monarch's chip now, despite the engravings. She wasn't stored on it now, of course; the Steelskin's network gave her far more space to breathe. But had he not kept the second chip, Monarch would still be trapped in her ONI data prison.
"Fireteam Amber is ready for their mission briefing," Monarch spoke through Zach's earpiece. Her voice was a mimicry of Theia's. "Should I inform them you are on your way up?"
Zach groaned, climbing out of his bed for the second time today. He set the crystal down on the nightstand.
She's more than just a copy.
Zach hated that he had to remind himself.
----
"He is on his way now."
"Thanks, Monarch," Abigail responded, leaning on a railing that divided the two levels of the bridge. Displays and workstations were awake with activity, but not a single man filled any of the positions. A vessel even of this size would normally have half-a-dozen personnel on the bridge at any given time, but the Steelskin was a ghost ship. Computers operated without user input, and screens displayed warnings to absent eyes.
The central viewport was darkened, shielding Abigail's eyes from the radiance of the system's central star. From this distance the sunlight was not dangerous to her eyesight, but the darker view helped with identifying the astral bodies that were visible to the naked eye.
"Hey, Abby!" It was Jet.
Abigail turned around to face the rest of the team. Jet and Cora had repurposed the central inoperative holo-table into a place for arm-wrestling, and Max was acting as referee.
"Are you going to keep running matches in the court downstairs? I'd like to hop in for the next one," Jet asked without breaking his stare-down with Cora.
"Two-on-twos?" Max asked, a hint of excitement in his voice. "I call Cora!"
"After that performance earlier, I don't think I want you on my team."
The door behind Max slid open with a hiss. Everyone looked over at the entering commander, except Cora. She used Jet's momentary lapse of focus to slam his hand onto the table.
"That was cheap!" Jet complained.
"Ref?" Cora asked, already knowing Max hadn't been looking.
Zach answered in his place. "Cora, push ups. You're expected to salute an officer on deck."
Cora let out a groan.
"That goes for everyone actually, except Green. At ease."
Abigail didn't realize she was instinctively saluting until Zach had pointed it out. For the first time since the "funeral," Zach was wearing his service uniform. The ONI insignia contrasted sharply against the stark gray of his chest padding. There was only one other modification to his uniform: a singular silver leaf pinned to his collar, easily mistaken for obsidian in the darker light of the room. After a bit of hesitation, she slipped her hand back down to her side.
Zach stepped over Cora as she was finishing what was barely a workout and placed his tablet on the holo-projector. A few seconds later, Amber gathered around to get a better view.
"What are we looking at?" Max asked, poking his head over Jet's shoulder.
The tablet displayed the results of a scan Monarch had been preparing since they entered the system. Excluding themselves, the only vessels Abigail could see were in close orbit above the second planet from the star.
"If I had to guess, the Fleet of Collective Salvation. Wartime reports indicate the fleet had attacked and destroyed the colony of Shear in 2526, but saw no other combat afterwards." Zach paused briefly. "That's the public record, anyway."
"Let me guess, ONI coverup?" Abigail commented.
"We would never... but yes. The Office had reason to believe Shear had surrendered and joined the Covenant. Knowing the Covenant typically didn't accept surrender, ONI had concerns publication of the story would result in more colonies trying—and failing—to negotiate."
"So we're looking at a Covenant world?" Jet leaned closer to the ComPad and squinted at the planet on the display.
"Everything I'm going off of is ONI theorycraft. We believe it's possible that the inhabitants of Shear survived, and that what we're looking at is either the only case of humans within the Covenant or, more likely, a splinter group."
"Separatists? Like the Swords?"
"From what we could tell, Collective Salvation was a large Covenant fleet led by a Supreme Commander, a Sangheili Kaidon named Kel 'Katamee. It seemed unlikely that the Prophets would let such a sizable and glorified military unit go to waste so early in the war unless they had a very good reason."
Zach presented a scanned document on his tablet detailing the Supreme Commander. It consisted of only two paragraphs, mostly covered in black ink.
"Keep in mind, nothing indicates this guy's still in charge. We're going off of data from over thirty years ago, and it's patchy data at that."
"Where do we come in?" Cora asked.
"You're gonna go conduct a little bit of negotiation," Zach answered. Max looked like he was going to pose a follow-up question, but decided to keep it to himself. The commander continued, "We know three things about these guys. First, they don't have a Guardian overhead, which makes this place safer than half the galaxy already. We also know they didn't continue their offensive during the war. Combine that with the rumor of human cooperation, and we might have found ourselves some allies."
"Our supplies are running low," Monarch sounded from everywhere at once. Her figure appeared on Zach's pad. "Anything that can secure us a safe place to rearm, restock, and refuel would help tremendously. I would also be interested in getting assistance repairing the vessel's damages, especially our missing fusion drive."
Abigail recalled the state the Steelskin was found in back on Crest. It was mostly intact and functional, surprisingly, but it wasn't without missing pieces. Monarch's been making due with what she could, but she had previously described it like how she imagined it felt to have a limp.
Zach rested against the railing Abigail was sightseeing from a few minutes ago. "Ideally, you four would be conducting this meeting without your gear, but I've heard you'll need your suits to help with translation. As such, I'm permitting the usage of your new armor, but you'll be leaving your weapons on the ship with Monarch and I. Get your stuff ready, I'm hoping to arrive around eighteen-hundred."
==Chapter 02==
Jet could hear the pressurized seal form once the helmet clicked into place. Like the rest of the suit, it was heavier than his old ICARUS gear, but custom tailored to him and his needs. 
He slowly and very deliberately lowered his arms back down to his sides, still getting used to the power assistance. He did not want to accidentally hit Max, who was busy assembling the sections around Jet's lower back. As the Steelskin lacked a Brokkr system, Amber had to manually assist in donning eachother's Mjolnir.
"How's it feel?" Max asked through the team's comlink.
"A bit heavy. Stiffer, actually."
"We can adjust that," Cora responded from the other side of the room. She was helping Abigail into her gear, mounting the shoulder pads to the bicep armor. "Let me take a look."
She gestured to Max as she began to walk away, signaling to take over helping Abigail. Max quickly rushed over, catching the shoulder pad as it began to fall.
"Technically—and legally—I shouldn't be touching your gear without a certification," she said, grabbing a hand tool from a bag just outside Jet's peripheral view.
"That hasn't stopped you before."
"Yeah, but this time you're wearing it." She walked behind him. "What needs fixing?"
"Arms, I think."
She began loosening something near his shoulder blades. "Can you extend your arms out to your sides, at a forty-five degree angle?"
Jet complied, forcing himself to push against the weight of the armor. The power assist was now absent, so it felt like he was lifting a truck.
"Hold it right there," she spoke as she resumed her tinkering. Before long, Jet could feel the weight of the armor relieved from his body as the assist returned. "Try that."
Jet carefully rolled his shoulders. It was a lot closer to the feeling of his old set, and he could get used to the difference. "I think we're good."
"Alright, just let me finish up back here, and then you'll be ready for the court."
----
"Play ball!" Jet sounded from the far goal.
In less than a heartbeat, Abigail was already grappling with Cora, trying to keep her arms away from the ball that sat between their feet. Abigail was on the inside, pressing up on her foe's arms. Some defensive footwork ensured Cora couldn't get her feet lined up for a kick.
But it only bought a small window of time, as Cora had sent the ball towards her own goal for her teammate to grab. Jet slid to grab the ball just mere moments before Max.
A quick lift of Cora was able to convince the Spartan to let go of her. Both players knew what would've come next, and Zach wouldn't have been happy with a Cora shaped hole in the floor.
Max tried to swipe the ball from Jet's possession, but a quick dribble pass to Cora and back meant Max was swiping at air.
Jet was now free to throw the ball and score, but he was more interested in scoring a run.
Abigail leapt towards Jet and successfully managed to grip his leg, sending herself and the ball-runner to the floor with two loud thumps. The ball rolled towards Max, who without hesitation scooped it off the ground and whipped it towards the goal marks.
"Point 1 for Team…" Max paused, fist raised in the air triumphantly. "I just realized we didn't pick team names."
"Crest, Ark," Jet responded, gesturing first to himself and then to Max. "Our first missions together."
Max questioningly turned to Abigail for approval. She nodded. "Point 1 for Team Ark!"
----
7-6, Team Crest.
That was the final score of the match before the fireteam had to prepare for their arrival at Shear.
While Abby and Commander Rayne were in the bridge handling landing clearances and whatever other bureaucratic nonsense the team needed to do, Jet and the others were back in the armory, making last minute adjustments to their armor.
"Bad news, Jet." Cora was standing over him, taking readings of his armor on her tablet. "Your suit's rejecting the shield module."
"Crap. Really? No bubble?"
"I'll need time to work out a fix. Remind me after we get back, I'll take a look then. Gotta fix Abby's thrustpack too."
"Sounds like a busy night," spoke Max as he approached from Jet's left. "Something I can help with?"
"Yes, actually." Cora responded. She set the tablet down on the bench and grabbed a pair of combat knives from the wall behind Jet. She handed one to Max. "Keep this on you."
"Hold up!" Jet interrupted, taking the second knife from Cora's hand and putting it back on the wall. "The commander told us 'no weapons.'"
"It's a knife. We're walking into unknown territory here, and with our suits not running at one hundred percent I'd like a little bit of protection in case the wartime Elites aren't as friendly as we think."
"I gotta agree with her," Max answered, mounting his knife to the front of his chest plate. "I'm sure they won't be intimidated by a couple of small blades."
Swords were a cultural symbol to the Sangheili, so it wouldn't be surprising if the ones his team were about to meet carried energy blades of their own. Still, even with the skills his teammates had on the battlefield, Jet wasn't optimistic a couple daggers would be enough to make a difference.
"Doesn't matter, Zach was clear. We go unarmed."
"UNSC regulations pertaining to the operations of Spartan personnel are also clear. We don't take orders from ONI."
Of course Cora would comply with regulations now.
Jet let out a defeated groan. "Fine, but I'm not risking it myself."
==Chapter 03 Data Corrupted - Shardset 01==
"You must be Lieutenant Rayne," the green holographic woman spoke from her position atop the reception desk. She was dressed in what appeared to be an assassin's cloak over leather armor, but she kept her hood folded down by her neck.
"I am. To whom am I speaking?"
"Scarecrow will meet with you now. Follow me."
So much for introductions.
The hologram disappeared from the counter and the hallway to Zach's left illuminated with a pulsating green glow. The receptionist didn't seem to notice or care.
Zach followed the featureless, empty corridors to a familiar conference room. Three individuals were already seated at the end of the long mahogany table emblazoned with the crest of Section One.
"Welcome home, Lieutenant," spoke the man in the middle. Zach couldn't tell if he was talking about the facility or Luna as a whole.
"It's just as bland as I remember it."
Not even a chuckle broke the deafening silence. Zach shamefully took a seat at his end of the table beside an unmarked packet of papers.
"No nonsense kind of meeting, I see. May I ask why I've been summoned?"
"Let me first congratulate you on the success of White Elephant," spoke the woman seated to Zach's left. He had met her before, but only knew her by her codename, Aegis. "Braddock was not an easy man to capture."
White Elephant was a year ago. Is news of it somehow only now reaching Sol?
"Uh, thank you, Captain," Zach responded with a nod. "Frankly, I'm still not quite sure how we pulled it off myself."
"We've reviewed your request for reassignment," spoke the man in the middle again. Zach was far more familiar with him. Codenamed Scarecrow, he was the furthest up Zach's chain-of-command who would know him by name. "We understand your concern regarding the Covenant, and with Braddock out of the picture, we've elected to place you in charge of a remote contact team. Effective immediately, you are redesignated 'Maelstrom One' and placed under the command of Aegis. Theia will introduce you to your team."
"Theia?"
The green figure from before reappeared atop the table, being projected from a hidden lens in the center of the ONI insignia.
Hello again.
"THA 4669-2," she spoke, rocking forward and back on her toes and heels as she did. "I have been commissioned to aid you in managing the Maelstrom unit. Forgoing any change of plans, I will be your partner for the next seven years."
"Details on your first mission are in that folder," Aegis spoke. "Theia has already been briefed on the operation, so you may direct any questions you have to her. I look forward to working with you."
"As do I," spoke the AI. She extended her holographic hand towards Zach as if expecting a handshake. When she received no response from Zach, she awkwardly returned the hand to her side.
Aegis, Scarecrow, and the third individual excused themselves and left Zach alone in the room. It had occurred to him the man on the right hadn't spoken a word during the entirety of the meeting.
"How odd. Looks like they neglected to give you that promotion again."
"Don't act like you know me."
----
"Basilisk Company, fire mission complete. You are cleared to deploy."
Abigail just finished clipping herself into her pod as the message came over her radio. After a quick check to make sure there was nothing still loose in the SOEIV, she sealed the hatch and tapped the side of her helmet with two fingers.
"Hope you left something for us to kill down there, Captain. Would be a waste of such a lovely ride if you didn't. Dropping in thirty seconds."
Abigail could hear the tail end of the captain's laugh as she stopped transmitting. She switched over to the operation frequency and gave the helmet another tap.
"Helljumpers!" she called out, grabbing the attention of the room. "You know our song, let me hear it!"
At their sergeant's request, a chorus echoed unintelligibly across the drop bay, each pod singing out with the coordination of a drunken crowd at the bar. Had Abigail not already known the lyrics, it would be hard to even classify the cacophony as music. She knew it did not matter though, as the song was a much needed morale boost after spending their last few months defending Earth itself.
"It seems today was our last,"he said, roasting a fine meal over ash,"And so this fire and brimstonewe shall make our new home!"
As the singing continued, Abigail calmed herself with deep breaths. She wasn't singing along with the rest, too focused on the mission ahead to get that luxury. As customary within the 105th, the officer commanding's pod would be the first to make impact, and the seconds leading up to that moment always left Abigail filled with dread.
With impish smiles and devil-like guileWe rallied ourselves against beings most vile,We'll continue our war, in the devil's own domain,for we're soldiers of valor, forever the same.
The pod began its spin into launch position.
"Ten," spoke a female voice from within Abigail's helmet.
"Thanks, Medusa," Abigail replied with a hint of unease. Medusa was the company's artificial intelligence assistant, and with Abigail leading this operation it also meant she was sharing the pod with her.
Abigail counted the seconds in her head.
Five. Four. Three. Two-
The pod flung itself downward, accelerating towards the surface of the world below. Abigail was off with her count, but that might have been for the best.
==Chapter 04==
Abigail could feel the magnetic landing struts engage as the Steelskin came to a stop. The ship was small enough to fit entirely within the hangar of the Harbinger, according to Zach. She trusted Monarch's flying, but there were no viewports in the cargo bay she could use to see exactly where and how they landed.
"Would it be bad form to open with 'we come in peace?'" Max quipped.
Sunlight poured in as the bay doors opened, temporarily blinding Abigail until her eyes adjusted. Had she been wearing her helmet, the visor would've reacted to the light like the glass in the bridge, but she wanted to take in the fresh air of the planetary surface after being stuck on the Steelskin for so long.
The hangar deck was a strange sight. The Harbinger was a Covenant supercarrier—a Kerel-pattern according to the boys—that had landed on the surface of the planet and incorporated into the city surrounding it. It was a not-so-seamless merging of Covenant and human architecture, but there was a charm to it. While the buildings around the supercarrier were short, Abigail was impressed that Monarch was able to maneuver into the hangar on the underside of the vessel with the damaged state of the Steelskin.
But what made the sight so strange was not the vessel itself, but the people. Hundreds of faces belonging to humans, Kig-Yar, Sangheili, and Unggoy stared back at Abigail from around the hangar deck, each with their own expression: awe, concern, curiosity, confusion, fear.
Abigail chose to keep her helmet off as she descended the boarding ramp side by side with her team. It reminded her of walking off the stage in front of thousands of Ricochet fans, posing and waving as the team won game after game. But there was no cheering this time, no drowning noise from the sea of people.
One of the Sangheili approached.
As much as Abigail would've loved to enjoy the fresh air just a little longer, it was time to put the helmet back on so she could understand the warrior's speech. The Sangheili was clad in a ranger's harness and armed with a pulse carbine, but didn't show immediate signs of hostility.
"Our people are not used to guests." She could hear the synthetically translated voice just as she clicked the helmet into place. "But that will not hinder our efforts of hospitality."
"We thank you for welcoming us in," Abigail responded. "This is a new experience for us as well."
"May I ask what is the purpose of your visit?"
Abigail had to think for a moment.
"Trade? In a way, we're refugees."
"Seeking refuge? Are our peoples still in conflict?"
Does he not know? Did they not get Cortana's broadcast?
"No," interjected Jet. "The war between us and the Covenant ended a few years ago. We're dealing with a new threat now, one that endangers the lives of all of our species."
"A threat this world seems safe from, it seems," Cora commented.
The warrior remained in thought for a moment. Abigail's mind wandered, thinking about Jet's usage of the word 'years.' She wondered if the word would have meaning to the warrior without using Earth as a timepiece.
"I would like to request more information about this threat," the warrior finally responded. "But I feel it is best discussed in the presence of our Kaidon."
That last word failed to translate, but Abigail had learned what it meant hearing about the Arbiter's efforts on Sanghelios. The title of 'Kaidon' had so much nuance that it might actually have been a feature to leave it untranslated.
"Come," the warrior continued, "I shall guide you to him."
As the four Spartans followed the warrior to the far side of the hangar, Abigail could hear the people in the crowd discuss among themselves in hushed tones, too quiet for the translator to pick up.
Were the humans speaking fluent Sangheili? Many of the people in the crowd looked young enough to have been born after the invasion. Were these native speakers?
Abigail wondered what was going through Jet's mind during all this. He was always the one fascinated by xeno-culture. Outside of working with a couple Swords during training exercises, this might be the closest he's been to being immersed in the day-to-day world of non-humans.
"I would like to know your names," spoke the warrior as he opened a door to an unremarkable corridor.
"Collectively, we're Fireteam Amber. I'm Spartan Green. These are Spartans Thompson, Devereux, and Waters." She waved her hand towards each of her teammates as she said their names.
"Spartans." He spoke the word as practice more than anything. Abigail was assuming the warrior had a translation device of his own, but now considered the possibility that he had learned English from the human colonists. In either case, the warrior only responded in more Sangheili. "My name is Sivo 'Sufamee. I am the commander of the guard responsible for defending the Kaidon and his family."
Jet and Cora looked at each other at the mention of the name. A quick exchange of orange indicator lights on Abigail's HUD meant something was up.
----
'Sufamee.
Jet assured himself that he heard the name right. Cora's glance towards him meant she picked up on it too.
From an academic perspective, this was the first Sangheili Jet had exchanged words with who kept their military suffix. 'Sufamee must've been proud of his career then.
But more importantly, 'Sufamee—according to Cora—was the name belonging to the general responsible for the destruction of Crest, Jet's homeworld.
This particular warrior likely had no involvement in what happened, but it still left Jet feeling uncomfortable.
Cora flashed an amber indicator on his HUD, a multi-layered question that was partly a request for acknowledgement and partly a cautionary warning. Jet returned the signal.
Two more flashes of amber originated from Abby, usually a signal to wait. In the current context, it probably better translated to "Don't do anything stupid."
The team's path cut across a much wider corridor filled with what appeared to be market stalls. What Jet assumed were merchants and shoppers appeared too focused on bartering to notice the four Spartans, unlike the crowd back in the hangar. In the brief seconds Jet had to take in the sight, it almost looked like the main street of a large village, as if the Harbinger was more incorporated into the city than Jet had previously thought. In a way, it was almost like a Chinatown for the other species.
Both sides shared no more words, either in an attempt to avoid saying the wrong thing or just to save discussion for when they were in the presence of the Kaidon.
The group continued walking through the ship's corridors for what felt like miles. It was a winding path that seemed to stay off of any major arterials. Jet assumed the ranger was taking the labyrinthine route to avoid the gazes of the people, as most of the corridors they did take were unpopulated. It was that, or the ranger was lost. Jet knew he certainly was at least.
"We are almost at the vessel's bridge," Sivo stated, breaking the silence. "We have not needed the room in some time, but it is where our Kaidon prefers to contemplate in solitude."
He halted his march and turned to face Amber. "I would like to trust that you four have good intentions, and it is because of that I have welcomed you into our home with lowered blades. I highly advise you not squander this trust. I have never met a Spartan before, but I have heard tales of your capabilities. My warriors and I will be prepared if you attempt anything more than an honest conversation."
"I have already thanked you for everything so far," Abby responded, "but I will thank you again. The leaps you have taken to trust us in the little time we have known each other has been much more than we could ever ask for."
"This is not the first time I have needed to convince the Kaidon to accept outsiders, but it is still a rare occurrence. Unlike me, he is not a very trusting individual."
"I don't blame him," Max commented from the back of the line. "There are a lot of people in the universe who would try to disrupt what you guys have been able to accomplish here."
"You all seem very knowledgeable of what has happened since we isolated ourselves from the war. I would enjoy hearing the many tales of what we have missed. Nevertheless, the Kaidon is a man with many responsibilities. You will make your case, and make it brief. The sooner you can secure his blessing, the better for all of us."
Category:Shattered Glass Stories