"Actually, I was going to say [i]lover[/i]. All I am saying is that if I didn't care for Sorran's memory, would I be here? Risking my life and freedom to get you to safety? Yet you appreciate none of what I am doing; instead, you languish in futile sanguine over a man you barely knew. Why hold on to this... [i]lunacy?[/i] It's a great, big empire - surely there must be other eligible men worthy of your love, men who aren't months dead--" "I'm carrying his child!" she blurted out, feeling tears trickle down her cheeks. She unfastened the lower half of her coat, showing him the slight swelling in her belly. Zharn said nothing; simply stood there staring dumbly at her pregnant state, blinking. It was as if a dam inside her had been thrown open, and all the emotions she'd kept bottled up for months poured out of her in a great flood. "I didn't notice until a few months ago, but then I took a test and it was positive. And a DNA test showed it was--" "Sorran's," Zharn finally spoke, and for the first time he spoke the name without a trace of reluctance. "You're pregnant. With Sorran's child. You. Pregnant." [i]Gods, are all men so hopelessly awkward when it comes to the affairs of women?[/i] "It's a boy," she told him, and that brought a foolish smile from him. "Healthy, and strong." "I can scarcely believe..." Zharn muttered to himself, and it was as if the tension between them had never existed. "How many months along?" "Could you not figure that one out yourself, Zharn? I haven't been with him since you three left to lay siege to the city of Eridanus II. Seven months." "So around halfway?" Zharn asked uncertainly. "That is the gestation time, is it not?" "You're not a complete idiot then," she smirked at him; for a minute, she'd wondered if he knew of anything other than war. "There are still some eight months to go, more or less." "Sorran's son..." Zharn wondered, eyes glistening. He was looking at her in a whole new light. "Savara, you do not know how much this means to me. When he died, nothing ate at me so fiercely as the thought that it should have been me. He was so young, so inexperienced in life. To learn that he has left behind a legacy... it brings me some relief. I promise you will not be alone in raising the child. I will be as a father to him: I will teach him to be a true Sangheili." "Take it easy there, uncle," she chided, and almost felt like laughing for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. "Have you forgotten we're being hunted by half the sanctum?" "I dare any of the fools to cross our path," Zharn vowed, and some of the pride seemed to seep back into him - he stood up a little taller, and colour seemed to flood his face. His hand played about the energy sword at his hip. "I will ferry you and your unborn child away from here, if it kills me." "And now do you see why I want to believe Sorran's alive?" she asked him, and saw his face cloud with shame. "He's not just the man I love; he's the father of my child. If there's any chance he's still alive, I can't rest until I find him. Even if that just means knowing for sure that he's dead." An array of emotions played across his face, as he seemed to wrestle between his skepticism and his honour. From what Sorran had told her of Zharn in their brief time together, she knew which would win out in the end. "... very well. Hear me clear: I'm not saying I believe he's alive, and I think you'll end up harming yourself through this endeavour. Still, you're right in one thing; if there exists the slightest chance, then we should follow it up. For your son's sake, if nothing else. I will help you find Sorran, but once my fleet arrives we are gone from this place regardless of what happens." * He was only a major, and as soon as Sorran saw the man he felt sorry for him. Communicators were blinking all around the make-shift office, and the major was clearly out of his depth. Such lower-ranked officers were usually only given the command of a lance or two. This man had been burdened with an entire evacuation effort. Even so, he still straightened up when he saw Sorran approaching, snapping a quick salute across a sweating brow. "You must be the honour guard," the major greeted, extending a hand. Sorran grabbed it; a firm grip. "I'm Puis Toul'ee. "Well met," replied Sorran, looking about the room. A large section of it was taken up by a holographic representation of Harvest and its immediate area. Sorran had known it was guarded still by a small UNSC fleet, even though much of the planet had been glassed during the second siege under Regret last year. What surprised him was how much UNSC activity there was; a full fleet, including a destroyer. "A bloody mess," Toul'ee remarked, seeing the object of Sorran's attention. "Sanctum told us it was an impulse drive malfunction - what a load of sh­it. First they tell us there's a plague outbreak, then we get reports of humans on the station! And now this. There's something bigger going on here, honour guard, and a fool could see it. Not to mention we jumped without Thierr'ee's fleet; I'm telling you, the hierarchs need to--" "That fleet was Zharn Thierr'ee's?" Sorran questioned sharply. "Apparently. Though to call him a fleetmaster is a bit of a stretch in my opinion; he only won his title through some outdated tradition. Even so, I'd rather have him here than no one. We're helpless." [i]Zharn was so close. No doubt his fleet is chasing after its lost ward as we speak. I've already revealed myself to Ahkrin, surely Zharn deserves as much?[/i] No, that would be the wrong thing to do. He'd told Ahkrin the truth about the Journey, and now his brother was going to die because of a sudden crisis of conscience. Zharn had a good life; a fleetmaster, like his father had been. If Sorran told him the truth, it would ruin all that. "The humans haven't moved yet," Sorran observed, more to himself than to Toul'ee. "It's almost as if they're... protecting the planet." "Protecting Harvest?" Toul'ee asked skeptically. "Most of it's glasslands. They're probably just scared; they've never seen High Charity before." "Humans don't scare easy," Sorran contested. "In first contact, a vessel of kig-yar pirates boarded one of their trade ships. The humans responded with a strike team, killing the kig-yar and destroying their ship. Even we were not so brave, when the prophets first arrived on Sanghelios with the keyship." "You sound more like a scholar than an honour guard," Toul'ee grumbled, obviously taking issue with being second guessed. [i]How right you are.[/i] "Alright then, let's run with your theory. They're protecting Harvest. Why?" Sorran had already moved around the other side of the holographic planet, feeling that something was off. He spun from one side to the next, and finally realised what was wrong. "This hologram is looped," he told Toul'ee matter-of-factly. "Look. The northern pole is mirrored on the southern pole. Our deep-scans are being scrambled." "What?" Toul'ee demanded, pushing past him to look for himself. "Why are they shrouding the bottom point--" "The south pole," Sorran corrected. "[i]The south pole[/i] from our scans? Are they hiding something there?" "Possibly," Sorran remarked ambiguously, knowing full well it was true. "It would explain the unusual UNSC presence." "Good work. I'll forward this to the sanctum," Toul'ee decided, moving across to a terminal. Sorran decided not to tell him it would be pointless; they were in no position to investigate now, and by the time they returned at a more opportune time whatever the humans were doing would be long-buried. Still, anything to distract the sanctum was a good thing in his books. Toul'ee looked up from the terminal as he pressed buttons. "Did you serve in the army, or have you always been in the guard?" "I've seen my share of battle," Sorran answered. "I've killed humans." [i]I've killed Covenant.[/i] "I've never left this station," Toul'ee confessed sheepishly, looking around at all the evacuation maps and communication tethers around him with despair. "Space travel terrifies me." "... but--" "Yes, I am aware High Charity is a space station. Much in the same way a planet is just a ball of rock in space. It's not the same as a ship; there's a natural atmosphere, buildings, a sky. This is all the home I've ever known, honour guard. If it's destroyed..." "That won't happen," Sorran found himself saying, and checked himself. He wasn't here to help out a beleaguered major. He was here to find a banshee, rescue Savara, and keep a promise to Restraint. [i]That last one is going to be difficult.[/i] Yet... he couldn't just leave this poor man to it, especially with this all being Sorran's fault. Not without leaving a little help behind, at least. [i]I was a scholar, once. I can handle the logistics needed to co-ordinate the evacuation so much better than Toul'ee.[/i] "Brief me on the situation," he ordered, decision made. "And I'll need a rundown of all statistics - population, route numbers, force count, threat assessment." "... they teach you to interpret all that as an honour guard?" Toul'ee asked uncertainly. "Sure," Sorran lied. "We do more than hold fancy sticks. The name's Sorran. You're lucky I was in the area."