As immature and impossible as this sounds. I have this strange and sudden urge to live inside of the story...

Zharn didn't get to nom nom his chocolate in ch 29 and now he is sad face :(

Im so saving this thread so i can continue reading this O.o

YAY another chapter, now is time to wait for the chapter after this :D i am happily anticipating the next chapter, it doesnt matter when you release it, im just glad we dont have to pay to read such great work :D carry on.

I saw this thead and srted reading out of curiousity after around 3 hours i finished reading Fantastic Story and im glad i love Books now :D

Nice job! Those were some odd liquor names.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] AngrydoG Now if only you hadn't left a cliff hanger type thing at the end of the chapter.... I was getting into it >=([/quote]And the cliffhangers are designed to keep you into it... =)

Now if only you hadn't left a cliff hanger type thing at the end of the chapter.... I was getting into it >=(

Great stuff as always.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Wolverfrog "True Sangheili never ask for grandeur, Sorran. It is thrust upon them, and it's what they [i]do[/i] with this eminence that can change the world forever."[/quote]Was the wording for this coincidental, or purposely written this way? [Edited on 04.16.2011 3:25 AM PDT]

Although I doubt this trend will continue, seeing another chapter so early is great! Great chapter, also. There were a few lines in there that really made me stop and remark on how wise they sounded.

* * * The last ship in Cole's retreating fleet staggered into a hastily torn void-sundering. Azure streaks fired from the victorious Covenant fleet until the last moment, when the void closed itself up at the human fleet completely vanished. "Forerunners be damned!" Subsidiary Commander Xatan'ee cursed, pounding the wall near him heavily before toppling over a table. "We lost them." "The humans had long since killed most of the Covenant aboard during the mutiny anyway," Ahkrin assured his newly-met superior, surprised at Xatan'ee's reaction to such an inconsequential thing in the grand scheme of the Journey. It was like something Zharn would do. "Give the order: slowly kill every human still breathing on that planet, and then burn it to ashes" Xatan'ee ordered fiercely to his second, who nodded grimly before leaving the room. [i]Okay, that is something Zharn would [/i]never[i] do,[/i] Ahkrin blinked, surprised at the ruthlessness of the subsidiary commander. He coughed delicately, and finally gained Xatan'ee's attention. "Ah, operative," he remarked calmly, as if he'd only just now noticed Ahkrin was standing there and as if he hadn't just hurled a solid table across the entirety of his quarters. Ahkrin knew that was he was about to say wasn't smart, but that was pretty much the definition of most things he said. "Your order seems a little... brutal, if you do not mind me saying noble one," Ahkrin told Xatan'ee as nonchalantly as possible, trying the best he could to make it not sound condescending. He failed. The sub-commander's jaw tightened, and his fists clenched. "They cast the first stone," Xatan'ee breathed heavily, eyes dilated and narrow with rage. "Killing our warriors in cold blood when they promised sanctuary. It is a favour to the galaxy to stamp every last remnant of these vile vermin out, operative. Do you not agree?" "Of course," Ahkrin answered nervously, worrying the sub-commander would draw out the sword at his belt and try to detach his head from his body if he said otherwise. "But I would prefer to do so when said vermin were themselves armed." [i]Wait... no I wouldn't. I'm just playing devil's advocate here as I always do, and I probably shouldn't with this man.[/i] Xatan'ee shrugged. "They are all heretics, and thus have no honour. My own would not be the slightest bit affected were I to kill every last child of theirs as soon as it left the womb. It would be doing their sinful souls a favour, I think. But I digress. Would you care for something to eat?" "I think I'm too tired to eat, noble one... where's the fleetmaster, if you do not mind me asking?" "Dead," Xatan'ee answered dully, not even trying to put some pretence of remorse into his voice. "He fell from a flight of stairs when our ship was rocked by human fire and broke his neck. Not a very heroic end for such a seasoned war veteran, sadly." "Oh. I'm sorry," Ahkrin answered, and he truly meant it. Because that meant Xatan'ee would inherit the title, being sub-commander. "May I retire and give you my debriefing tomorrow, great one?" Ahkrin asked, eager to get away from this sadist. Xatan'ee frowned. "But you'll miss the executions," he pouted. "Yet I can see you're tired. Don't worry, I'll save a few for you to kill yourself tomorrow. No doubt you're eager for revenge." "There's really no need--" Ahkrin began to protest, backing away a little. Xatan'ee didn't seem to notice his discomfort, grinning. "Nonsense. You escaped hell with your superior, and deserve recognition for that. I'll have the humans trussed and tied with breakfast tomorrow." Ahkrin laughed along with what he thought was a joke. Xatan'ee frowned, asking him what was funny. Ahkrin blinked twice, before swiftly making his leave. * * * Zharn glared angrily at Ahkrin from his bed, as the stealth operative entered the infirmary tenatively, wearing sheepish expression. Zharn balled his fists, nails digging into his palm painfully. "You," was all he could bring himself to say, throwing as much animosity into his sore voice as possible. "Me," Ahkrin agreed, taking a seat next to him. "I brought you flowers." "No jokes, Ahkrin. What you did is unforgivable," Zharn snapped, moving to get up and finding himself unable to do so, his arm wrapped in a cast as it was. Ahkrin looked at it pointedly, nodding. "I figured it would be a good time to apologise, since you can't wrap your hands around my throat right now. Zharn... perhaps it is unforgivable, but at least you [i]can[/i] forgive if you so choose. Had you died on that ship saving the doomed Covenant on it though, I would never have had the option to forgive myself." "How very poetic," Zharn remarked dryly, staring angrily at Ahkrin. The longer he stared at his life-long friend, though, the more his anger faded until eventually the raging inferno became a simmering flame. He looked away. "Is Orpheus alive?" "Yes. I know how much you love him so, and thus did my best to keep him safe," Ahkrin muttered wryly. Zharn rolled his eyes, grinding his teeth. Finally, he sighed. "I know you were just trying to save me--" "-- once again," Ahkrin could not help but interrupt despite his attempts at reservation. Zharn silenced him with a murderous stare, before continuing. "And although I cannot forgive you yet... I will not kill you. Unless you really did bring flowers." "I couldn't find any," Ahkrin lamented falsely, looking down with a melancholy gaxe. "But I did bring chocolate." "Chocolate?" Zharn questioned curiously, turning his head sorely to look at the small violet box in Ahkrin's hands. It was inscribed with human writing. "You've never had chocolate?" Ahkrin uttered with mock indignation. "I'm fairly sure that the procurement of chocolate from the humans is the only positive this war has brought. It's delicious. Here, try a piece. And then I can tell you about the psychotic sub-commander who is about to inherit control of this fleet." * * * "They're moving in," Hem told Restraint, who nodded as he stared out at the quiet night sky of High Charity, and the ever-active Forerunner Dreadnought that had for so long been the centre piece of their religious doctrine. "It seems the hierocracy won't wait for my cancer to take me," he observed sadly, shaking his head. "Begin his training tomorrow. I will make preparations for after we are gone, should what we fear come to pass."

Sorry for the-- wait, you mean it's only been a week since the last chapter? Blasphemy! [b]Part 29 - Parted Reunion[/b] "--so they had the perfect ambush; the element of surprise, position, numbers and I [i]still[/i] knocked them all on their sorry behinds," Hem chuckled as he regaled Sorran with a war story. Sorran laughed, throwing back another drink. He'd long since lapsed into drunkenness and was currently doing his best to make the headache he would have come dawn even worse. "You've had quite the interesting life, my friend," Sorran slurred whilst the bartender poured another glass of Eayn finest for him. The tavern they were in was one Hem was familiar with, and the Unggoy who owned it had greeted him warmly with a first name. It wasn't a very large establishment, with only a few dozen sat around the various tables. The décor was homely, with the furniture and flooring made from actual wood, a material seldom used in the Covenant. "A full life," Hem agreed heartily, also trying his hardest to drink himself into oblivion. "No regrets." "I'm full of them," Sorran muttered darkly into his drink, swirling a finger through the slightly translucent liquid. Hem patted him affectionately on the shoulder, leaning forward clumsily. "For there to be regrets, my dear boy, there must be ill ramifications in the long-term. And until you're my age, you don't know what long term is," he rasped, tripping over a few of his words. Sorran nodded along absently, not truly taking in what Hem was saying but appreciating the sentiment all the same. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps we're all right," Sorran blabbered, throwing back another shot. "Maybe there is no wrong, and we're all just viewing things in our own--" He was suddenly cut off as a Sangheili sat at the bar suddenly toppled to the floor with a loud thump, his drink soon following and drenching the floor. At first everyone assumed he'd merely passed out through drinking too much, and returned back to their own business. Then he started frothing at the mouth and his complexion turned white. "Gods!" the Jiralhanae next to him uttered, jumping back. Slowly the patrons of the bar rose up, forming a loosely clustered circle around the Sangheili, who seemed to be undergoing a seizure. The Unggoy who owned the establishment pushed them out of the way, examining the Sangheili closely. "Is anyone here a physician?" he shouted. No one answered. Time ticked by as the Sangheili continued to buck and toss about. Finally, someone spoke. "I uh... believe a San 'Shyuum staying at my guest residence may be a physician. He just arrived yesterday. I'll go get him!" a kig-yar squawked up, wrapping a coat around himself and rushing out the tavern into the cold night of High Charity. Hem stood up to grimly examine the dying Sangheili on the ground. He reached for the fallen mug of hard light, and brought it up to his nose, sniffing delicately. "Poison," he declared, and a wave of trepidation swept across the circle of Covenant clustered around the man on the ground, who the Unggoy had covered with a coat. The Sangheili was clawing at the ground now, flecks of blood paining the corners of his jaw. He turned to the Unggoy. "What drink is this?" "Uhm," the Unggoy thought hard, staring at the droplets on the floor uneasily. "It looks like Palmokian bitter. I could swear he didn't order that..." Hem blinked, and looked back at his table and the drink on it, reading the label on the bottle he had purchased. "Did he order a Balacho lager?" "If I remember correctly, yes," the bartender recalled, nodding. Hem grimaced, shakily sitting back down to the nearly incoherent Sorran, who was still staring at the Sangheili throwing a fit upon the wooden floor. "That poison was meant for me," Hem murmured quietly. "I ordered Palmokian bitter. We must have mixed up our drinks, he and I," he told Sorran, pointing at the unfortunate Sangheili on the ground. "Well, he has a better chance than I would. A poison like that would finish someone my age instantly." "We should leave," Sorran slurred, managing to think straight through the alcohol. Hem nodded, throwing down the visor of his Honour Guard helm and grabbing his stave, standing up. Sorran did likewise. No one noticed as they stumbled their way uncertainly towards the exit of the tavern, leaving the scene behind. Before they could reach the the door, it span open and a hunched figure shuffled in, followed by a leaner one. The San 'Shyuum was incredibly old, Sorran could see that much immediately. Older than Restraint, even. And yet amazingly he was walking without the aid of a gravity belt. Despite his age and hunched figure, he still commanded a powerful presence as all eyes in the tavern turned towards him. Hem and Sorran moved out of the way to let them past. "Where is he?" the San 'Shyuum demanded, and the crowd parted to offer him a few of the poisoned Sangheili who had been unlucky enough to drink that which was intended for Hem. "We think it's poison," the Unggoy interjected, and the San 'Shyuum frowned at him sharply, edging towards him. "I can see that! Please intubate that Sangheili for me, my dear," he said with juxtaposed kindness to his companion, who nodded before fishing around in her medical bag. Sorran and Hem wove their way past the two healers, reaching for the door. Then Sorran was stopped in his tracks, as the female Sangheili accompanying the San 'Shyuum physician spoke. "He doesn't seem to absorbed too much, Minister," she observed in a voice Sorran had dreamed about restlessly for months. He turned slowly, looking back with trepidation. "True enough. Perhaps there is hope for this boy-- will you all move out of my way?!" the San 'Shyuum yelled. Sorran was moving towards the female Sangheili, and when she turned he saw her face and let out a gasp. "Savara--" he began to utterly joyfully, before feeling a rough hand grab him by the shoulder and pull him back. Savara looked up in his direction with a small look of surprise on her face, but the two Honour Guards had already left the tavern. Outside in the night, Sorran was struggling with Hem. "Hem, that's Savara in there!" he shouted blindly, trying in vain to push away the other Sangheili. Although old, Hem was still far stronger than him and Sorran was restrained easily. He grabbed Sorran's jaw and struck him a blow across the face. "And if you reveal yourself to her now, you are both dead!" he bellowed, pulling Sorran away. "You're a dead heretic, Sorran." "But--" Sorran protested weakly, his thoughts still hazy from the drink. Hem shook his head resolutely. "If you love her, Sorran, you will not ruin her life by bringing her into this!" he hissed. "Like you ruined mine?" Sorran demanded angrily, pounding against Hem's armour. The other Sangheili laughed. "You were to be put to death!" he told him sternly, still dragging him away. A few passers-by stared at them curiously, but knew better than to interfere with the Guard. "Perhaps it would have been overturned. And even if it hadn't, far better to be dead than be shouldered with [i]your[/i] burden![/i]" he retorted angrily. Hem laughed again, sharply. "You don't mean that, Sorran. I know you, and you would accept far worse fates than this if it meant you could keep breathing. Now, I know this is hard, to leave the woman you love. But it will not be this way forever. One day, the truth will be revealed--" "To hell with the truth!" Sorran decired, through tears now. "Does it truly matter if the sacred rings are weapons of destruction? They're scattered throughout the galaxy; they could be destroyed for all we know! We will never find a single trace of them!" "We will," Hem remarked sadly, still holding Sorran tightly in an iron-grip. "And when we do, the only person who will be able to stop every zealot in this Covenant from killing us all will be you, Sorran." Finally, Sorran stopped struggling and instead went limp, weeping. Hem embraced him tightly, grabbing his shoulder reassuringly. "I never asked for this," Sorran protested pitifully. Hem sighed, guiding his young friend back home. "True Sangheili never ask for grandeur, Sorran. It is thrust upon them, and it's what they [i]do[/i] with this eminence that can change the world forever." [Edited on 04.15.2011 7:19 PM PDT]

hey there, cool guy. i c u has a fanfic. i was thinking of posting my own but i really don't know how. i was wondering if u could give me the blow by blow. thnx

Awwww I hate exam time, I don't like waiting. It's that good.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ScarredViper Most writers you see tend to lose their initial good idea after a few chapters. How you manage to endorse all of your thoughts so vividly and accurately is quite honestly beyond me. You can still keep a great story going and that is a quality I'm sure some would love to have. Your a very good writer. Cherish it.[/quote]

Most writers you see tend to lose their initial good idea after a few chapters. How you manage to endorse all of your thoughts so vividly and accurately is quite honestly beyond me. You can still keep a great story going and that is a quality I'm sure some would love to have. Your a very good writer. Cherish it.

Awesome.

Great job. In all honesty, I prefer your dialogue to your action scenes. Your way with words is pretty damn impressive.

"I--" Orpheus began, before he was violently interrupted by the sudden eruption of sound from one of the Longsword's radios. "[i]--the March of Righteousness. Do you receive?[/i] a Sangheilian voice questioned, accentuated by a cascading wave of static. One of the Unggoy lunged for the transceiver, and brought it up to his mouth. "Receiving," he squeaked in a weary voice. There was a delay for a few seconds, before the voice replied. "[i]Who is aboard your... vessel?[/i] the Sangheili questioned suspiciously, and Ahkrin took this opportunity to take the archaic radio from the Unggoy and speak himself. "Operative Ahkrin, of the house Descol'ee," Ahkrin rasped over the radio with a voice worn out by weeks of hardship. A longer pause, this time. "[i]... Descol'ee. I didn't know there were any of you left.[/i]" "You'll know soon enough when I wrap my hand around your throat unless you clear us for docking, communications officer," Ahkrin threatened, and he heard a light chuckle on the other end of the frequency. "[i]That's sub-commander, actually. I would advise against wrapping your hand around[/i] my [i]throat, operative,[/i]" the Sangheili answered, and Ahkrin felt his heart constrict. Orpheus was making a small strangled noise. "Forgive me, noble one. I thought you were a communications--" "[i]I know. Worry not, I have made the same mistake in the past. I shall send two Seraphs to safely escort you to this ship, although I must warn you that you will be met by an armed lance of warriors just in case. Once you're properly aboard, they'll take you to me for debriefing.[/i] "... Of course. Again, I'm sorry for the mistake." "[i]It is forgotten. I will see you soon, operative.[/i]" The radio connection terminated, and Ahkrin softly placed it on the ground. He looked at Orpheus, who had been holding a large breath which he gradually exhaled. "Is there a single person in the Covenant you haven't issued a death threat, Ahkrin?" "Of course... on some distant border planet, probably. Do not hold me to that, though." * * * "You're a long way from home, Sorran," Hem spoke as he found Sorran staring down at the planet High Charity was currently draining resources from, from one of the many ridges of the station. The emptiness of space surrounded him, his only protection from the vacuum a thin shield blanketing High Charity. Streams of plasma jetted from the underside of the stations, slamming through the thin atmosphere of the lifeless rock and tearing the ground asunder. Mining Scarabs sailed down from the colossal holy station to collect the resources thrown up by the digging. "I needed to clear my head," he answered, looking out at the universe. It made him feel better. Compared to that infinite space, he was nothing. Nothing in this galaxy was. Where once this thought may have depressed him, now it imbued him a little. Once again his mind turned to the dream he'd had last night. "You've been doing that a lot lately," Hem interrupted his train of thought, leaning on the hard-light balcony adjacent to Sorran. The older Sangheili had begun wearing a lighter variant of the honour guard's attire, due to his age. "You're not happy." "I'm dead," Sorran answered with a biting laugh, kicking his foot against the bottom rung of the balcony. The hard-light shimmered and contorted around the impact, like ripples in a still pond. "Everyone who cared about me thinks I'm dead." "It must be hard," Hem agreed sympathetically. He looked at Sorran. "Did you have a mate prior to your 'death'?" Sorran shrugged, turning away. "Not as such. I had met someone, though. Her name's Savara, and she's perfect. And for some reason she liked me. I can't think why, I was never a great warrior or anything special. Just a Sangheili minor who got caught up in events beyond his control, and now look. I'm plagued by a secret I wish I never knew. Why did Restraint tell me?" "Because he's dying," Hem interjected sharply, and Sorran felt his hearts skip a beat. He stared at the older Sangheili. "What?" he asked unnecessarily, because he'd heard perfectly. Hem was looking at him grimly. "The Minister's health has always been precarious. He came from a flawed gene pool, and whilst his mind is amazing, his body has always been faulty. The physicians say in his body, a group of abnormal cells are multiplying uncontrollably. It's rare, but can occur." "Why did he not tell me?" "He didn't want you worrying on his behalf. He's a very selfless man," Hem answered with admiration. "Can it not be cured?" Sorran asked, his stomach sinking. Hem shook his head. "Not by us. The humans know how to; they call it cancer. Ironic, isn't it? That despite all our advanced technology and knowledge, the humans probably know more than us with regards to how the universe works." "So why not just capture a human physician and have him cure the Minister?" Sorran questioned. "The Minister is too far along for that. We only found out a few months ago that the humans had a cure for 'cancer,' and this cure is ineffectual at the stage Restraint is at. I too am old, and do not have many years left. That is why the Minister needed someone to pass the truth of Halo along to." "Me," Sorran realised, and the weight of the world came crashing down upon him. "How long does Restraint have?" "A bit less than a year, maybe," Hem answered despondently, glancing around. A kig-yar walked past them at a distance with aloof grace, seemingly unperturbed by the two Sangheili honour guards. His face was shrouded by a hood. Hem waited until he positive the kig-yar was out of ear-shot, and then continued. "It could be decades before the right time to reveal this secret comes. And he and I will be long-gone by then. It will all be on you, Sorran." "I can't. You'll have to find someone else. I'm just--" "It [i]has[/i] to be you, Sorran. The fewer who know about Halo for now the better. Restraint and I exhausted ourselves and a considerable amount of wealth doing an extensive background check into you. You're not an honour-obsessed warrior, and you have an open and intellectual mind; few Sangheili are like that, and fewer are trustworthy as you are." "I only ended up here because I was conscripted into the army by Truth's edict. I'd still be in the library otherwise," Sorran protested, and Hem laughed. "Fitting that his edict will bring about his doom. Sometimes, to change the world, all it takes is the right person in the right place at the right time. It looks like you're that person, Sorran. My apologies." "This isn't fair," Sorran still argued weakly. Hem shrugged. "That's life. Worry not, Sorran. Restraint still has some time left and will tell you more. And I will train you to defend yourself and the secret you carry even after he has gone. You will be prepared." The plasma stream stopped, and silence was left in its wake. Sorran gripped the hard-light balcony tightly. "I came up here to escape all this. And now you're piling even more on me. You are terrible at cheering others up, Hem." "You are not the first to say so," Hem laughed, patting Sorran on the back affectionately. "Come, let us draw away from these melancholy thoughts and have ourselves a drink. I would like to get to know you better, if you are to be my pupil in the years to come."

Right, the plot is finally back on track. Quite a lot of dialogue this chapter, but I think there's been enough action over the previous few to justify it. I'm going to start tying some things together now, it should be good. Although, my final exams are very soon and they always take precedence, so I might not be writing too much. I'll do my best, though. Because I love you all that much. Thanks for reading. [b]Part 28 -- Signs and Portents[/b] The sky was aflame. And from his lofty pedestal in the skies, Sorran could see the stars go out one by one, blocked by a sheer multitude -- what seemed like millions -- of vaguely familiar ships hanging in space above, forming a solid wall. Silence, for a few moments. Then, comets fell. Except they weren't comets... they were the wrecked remains of ships, shot down in a cluster and allowing thin beams of light from the sun to gleam through the red and orange skies, casting a dangerous glow on the burning cities in the distance, impossibly huge cascading platforms of structures half-remembered. Sorran tried to find his feet, but was immobile, trapped by the clouds and helpless as he heard the screams come from the cities below. And the burning comets still fell, smashing into the ground of the blazing planet with the fury of forsaken angels, come to bring judgement reining down. Through the gap in the wall of ships, silhouettes basked in the terrible burning of the sun. Twelve lines, in perfect formation, moving swiftly closer. Ships broke off from the wall to engage, but they too swiftly fell down like falling stars. The lines stopped, some breaking off. One broke in two, drifting slowly away. Four remained, and slowly began to turn. The lines became rings. Four rings, the only sight visible outside the wall of ships shrouding the world in darkness. Sorran knew these rings. The sacred rings. Halo. And suddenly the light of the sun was drowned out in an even brighter glare, the silhouettes blanketed by the glow. A terrible sound, as if the world itself was tearing in two sounded, and suddenly all went black. The screams stopped, stifled. The world ended. [i]Not with a whimper, but with a bang. This... this is what I have done,[/i] a melodic voiced muttered bitterly, laughing with mocking scorn. Sorran awoke with a start, drenched in cold sweat. The light of the system's sun struggled to penetrate through the darkness of the room, managing only to throw a few thin streaks on the unforgiving walls. The Sangheili looked around for a few seconds, relaxing when he realised he was in his room. It had all been a dream... a nightmare, rather. And disturbingly lucid. [i]I need to stop worrying so much about the secret I hold,[/i] Sorran thought, knowing in all probability that his sometimes overly-imaginative mind had been playing up on him. [i]I'll take a walk and clear my head.[/i] * * * The Longsword cut its way deftly through space, weaving its way artfully through the debris and fighting between the battling ships some miles away. Drawing ever further away from the human ships. A few Banshees had broken off to intercept the human fighter but Ahkrin had forwarded them the appropriate codes, and they had promptly left to rejoin the battle. "You're as soft as a Huragok beneath that gruff exterior, aren't you Ahkrin?" Orpheus mused, looking at the Unggoy sat down in the aft portion of the small human ship. Ahkrin was sat in a chair opposite the unconscious Zharn, arms folded in a surly fashion and staring down at the ground with a brooding expression. "The humans would have been on us any second. I didn't have the time to kill them," he murmured hastily, a scowl playing across his tender face. The Jiralhanae nodded in mock understanding. "Of course, of course. Don't worry Ahkrin, if anyone asks I'll them them there were ten before you killed most of them," he laughed, staring out at the raging battle still ensuing between Cole's forces and the Fleet of Indolent Adulation. Cole was losing, just. And it was only through sheer force of strength that the Covenant forces were prevailing; Cole was outmanoeuvring them strategically at every turn. Orpheus stared at the great blocks of metal that were human ships in awe as they executed complex naval manoeuvres that would put even the most skilled Kig-Yar shipmaster to shame. "Imagine if they had the technology we have," Orpheus uttered grimly, shaking his head as yet another Covenant ship was destroyed by a human ship which knew its death was at hand, and instead of fleeing through the void it had flown into the Covenant vessel at ramming speed. "If they reverse-engineer our technology, the war will be over swiftly." "That's blasphemy," Ahkrin chimed in a sing-song voice, smiling. "Their worlds will be burnt to ashes before they can so much as discover energy shielding. The only way they would win this war would be if the Forerunners themselves intervened. And they care not for the heretical humans." "I don't know, Ahkrin. Their determination frightens me; I think that if I challenged one half my size to a duel to the death, it would accept if the duel would allow a few of its fellows to escape. Sometimes they seem even more prideful than your kind." "Don't let Zharn hear that, he would see it as an insult to the Sangheili and make it his personal mission to challenge every single human in existence to a duel," Ahkrin answered, quite sincere. He looked across at his friend, who looked almost tranquil, aside from the large bump on his head where Ahkrin's rifle had struck. "What did you do, Sangheili?" Orpheus asked suspiciously, cutting straight to the point. "I saved us from certain death," Ahkrin answered just as bluntly, shaking his head. "Zharn is a far better person than I. And that betterment would have killed him." "It might kill you, now," Orpheus told Ahkrin with the faintest hint of a weary smile. Ahkrin shrugged. "Well, when he does try to kill me you'll restrain him." "Oh, really?" "That's the only reason for me not leaving you behind on the [i]Everest[/i]," Ahkrin chuckled, and Orpheus joined in with the laughter, before adopting a more sombre expression. "Your disposition towards me has changed considerably recently, Ahkrin, but not too long ago you hated me. Why was this?" "... I didn't hate you," Ahkrin muttered with embarrassment and turned to look out of the window at the terrifyingly beautiful battle raging outside. "Sangheili, I would sleep at night in our camp with my shielding activated for fear you would drive a blade into my sleeping body. You hated me. What did I do wrong?" Ahkrin pounded the table they were sat around angrily, sending a few rickety rivets falling to the floor. He stared angrily into the dirty depths of the steel. "You were born a Jiralhanae, Orpheus." "... you have a vendetta against us?" Orpheus asked, surprisingly not angered by a statement Ahkrin would have considered offensive if directed at his own kind. The Sangheili, still not able to meet the Brute's eyes, let his shoulders rise and fall heavily, looking up to the right as he reminisced. "I was six, still in my family's household. My father's brother was the Field Marshal at Jagren." "Oh," Orpheus realised, falling heavily back into his chair. The two Unggoy too were listening in, and Ahkrin didn't even have the heart to tell them to mind his own business. They wouldn't understand most of it anyway. He sighed. "It was his fault the Jiralhanae uprising began. He panicked when a mob of your kind were outside the outpost, angered at some trivial matter; I think a Sangheili had struck a Jiralhanae for touching his blade. My uncle... he'd been born into the position of Field Marshal, and whilst he was legendary at training warriors, in the field he would panic. When an angered Jiralhanae pounded the door of the outpost, he thought they'd opened fire, and ordered that the fire be returned." "Ahkrin--" Orpheus began sympathetically, his eyes morose. Ahkrin shook his head. "Of course, the Jiralhanae had done no such thing, and were massacred. That's how the uprising on Jagren began, and thousands died before the Covenant was able to put a stop to the fighting. The Hierarchs at the time had no other way to end the conflict than punish the Field Marshal and his family... and satisfy the rage of the Jiralhanae. I watched as everyone in my family; my mother, my sister, my older brothers, my mother's sister - everyone was executed save me. I was left alive on account of my age, and was thrown out onto the streets." "... what happened then?" Orpheus asked softly. Ahkrin shook his head. "Zharn's house took me in as one of their own; our two houses had long been friends. I was always a source of embarrassment for them though; they'd never admit it but I knew. My very existence was shameful, and Zharn's house lost a lot of standing as a result of my adoption by them. When I was of age I left to save them further shame and joined special operations; they don't care about your past, as long as you can kill without mercy. I didn't have a whole lot of mercy in me back then, Orpheus." "And Zharn joined with you?" Orpheus questioned. "No. It would be another eight years before I saw Zharn again. And a good thing I recognised him too, or he'd be dead. That... that is a story for another time, though. You know now why I hate your kind; they cost me everything." "I'm sorry I made you relive that, Ahkrin. It must have been terrible." "It was. But you weren't even alive then, and it would be petty for me to be hostile towards you as a result of ancient history. So forgive me if I am ever horrible towards you, Orpheus. I do not mean it." [Edited on 04.09.2011 4:30 AM PDT]

This early part of the story with Sorran kind of reminds me of Sledge in the Pacific WWII mini series.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Ktan Dantaktee [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] SpazDragon1397 [url=http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/060/a/1/elite_troll_by_spazdragon1397-d3ape7g.png]THIS LINK IS SO FREAKING RELEVANT!!![/url] Wait, never mind. Do you know how bored I am now? I'm just going around, Elite Trolling everyone. :P Anyway, great story man! Dude? Thing? Wort? Ugh...[/quote] Everybody just report this idiot.[/quote] I have a problem with sugar... Sorry.

EDIT: Sorry, I posted this in the wrong thread. [Edited on 04.01.2011 8:25 AM PDT]

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Fly Boy 2113 Best story ever, and I feel this is only like half way. Now every time I play Reach and kill an Elite I'm like, "oh now what if that was Sorran?"[/quote] Everytime I see an ultra on Reach whilst playing LASO. I'm like; "Fug off Zharn!" everytime he sticks me with a plasma. [Edited on 03.29.2011 7:01 PM PDT]

Best story ever, and I feel this is only like half way. Now every time I play Reach and kill an Elite I'm like, "oh now what if that was Sorran?"