Arhma 'Katumee's Story

>--------MED-BAY---<
Malcolm Duke, the Commander of painted spear came into the room with the spartans. All had a certain background ripe for use. He stood over them waiting. "Wake them." He told the nurse then sat down next to the beds. After a few seconds they were awakened. "Hello. I am Commander Malcolm Duke. You can call me Duke." He leaned back. "You are lucky we were there to save your asses."

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>--------BARRACKS---<
Armah has been with the humans for some time now. She was fluent in their tongue. She has her favorites and her dislikes toward some things that they say do or how they react. But one thing she loves are the nicknames. Some get them so they don't live moments down. Hers was Armagedon. She still had yet to understand why. She left her room to go to the med bay. They were to be the new members of the squad. Better them get used to her now then never.

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>--------HALLS---<
All C.S. did in these times were walk the halls. Nothing to do. The team was almost ready to come out of med bay He knew this. But going there was another story. But he has to go because if he didn't they would call him there anyways.

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((OOC: Sorry it took a year to reply to this. This week has been hell. Just one thing after another. But hey here It is! lets see how long it will last shall we?))

James Barret woke up in the med-bay of a foreign place. The nurse was nice when she woke him up. He stood up and came to attention when he noticed the man with commander ranks. He stood there as the Commander spoke. When he finished James looked at Commander Duke. He saluted and asked " Sir where are we, and what happened sir, also thank you sir for saving us." He looks at the Commander puzzled about what happened. He then remembers to list his position "Sir, Captain Barret Fire team leader."

He Looks around at what is left of his team and wonders where the rest of them are.

It's rare to have dreams during Cryo, but it does happen. Some people describe it like going home, like the smell of cut grass and the warmth of the sun. For other's, only the darkness slips through. Only the fire and war. For Spartan 121, it was only ever the smell of hot ashes, and the sound of hellish thunder....

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Skopje, 2547. His legs burned. Seared. Molten plasma still clinging to his suit's alloy plates, radiating unbearable heat straight to his flesh. It didn't matter. He had to keep running. If you could just save someone, anyone, wouldn't it make things matter? Wouldn't it be worth the pain? Yes.... He had to keep running. A young woman, age 20-something, civilian, clung to him as he carried her in his arms. She felt as light as a doll to him, but she meant something. She was alive. Thunder rolled above. Clouds parted with alien designs. The Corvette moved into position. He had to keep running. Canons fired, plasma batteries bombarding the city ruins around him. Plasmatic radiation sizzled at his back. He held her tighter, shielded her from the fire. He ran faster. As fast as he could. He had to keep running. White-hot slag and vehicle debris erupted from a all-too-close explosion. Didn't matter. He put his shoulder to it, charging through the scrap heap with little resistance. Evac was close. It had to be. He had to keep running.

....The ground beneath him erupted into cobalt flames. The blast knocked him off course. The woman... He reached out to her, his vision blurred. She... her form was rendered into nothing but blue, sizzling ashes. Popping with small flurries of cinders. She was gone. But he... he was alive. Evac was close. He.... had to keep running......

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Vitals in his armor barraged his waking senses. Cold sweat covering him beneath the skin-suit. His eyes opened for the first time in... where was he? How... His muscles struggled, but his armor refused to budge. Locked in place. "Easy, Spartan. You're safe. It's okay." A voice came to him within his own armor. "W-..who are...?" "Shh. We'll chat later. Right now, you're under inspection. Commander on deck." Through his visor, he ID'd the man as his superior officer. The pod opened as he greeted them. Brian was not alone. He was cold, confused. He remembered.... Didn't matter. Instinct and discipline took over. His armored hand snapped into a salute with robotic precision. A Spartan trademark. Duty always came first.

"Spartan 121, reporting active for duty, sir."

UNSC “PAINTED SPEAR” - CRYO SYSTEMS SECTOR - S-A155 “ELIZA” - MJOLNIR MILITARY CLOCK MALFUNCTION

The cryo gel injected to prevent her organs from collapsing rushed out as she choked. With her helmet off, Eliza went through the ordinary, yet nonetheless unpleasant cryo-exit procedure she and billions of other UNSC personnel had done many times since the invention. Her suit’s power supply remained stable, but it looked like it would need a replacement within the next few months at the very least. Eliza’s MJOLNIR armour, malfunctioning internal systems aside, remained perfectly fit for combat for the next couple of months.

“Hello. I am Commander Malcolm Duke. You can call me Duke,” the voice of a seemingly distant male voice filled Eliza’s ears as she took deep breaths. "You are lucky we were there to save your asses.”

With one last controlled breath, Eliza planted a boot underneath her bent-over torso, picked up her helmet, and rose. Glancing around, Eliza saw her teammates going through the same process, some were further in than others. Barret and Brian both stood with a solid salute. As soon as Eliza spotted the man her teammates were saluting to, she identified the tiny Commander's pin on the man's gray coat, and Eliza's extensive training kicked in. She swapped her helmet to her left hand and saluted with her now-free right hand. Her dark hair was unusually long, despite the cryo sleep, which implied she had been under for a lot longer than she thought... or maybe her particular cryo chamber was just a botched, yet functional POS.

A strand of hair drooped over one eye, but her hand didn’t budge to move it out of her way. The unprofessional look couldn’t be helped, but she just stepped out of cryo. A haircut would need to wait until the CO’s dismissal. “Commander, Sir. Spartan Eliza- Alpha-one-five…” She paused. The third digit temporarily escaped her. For a split-second, she thought the cryo may have done something to her memory- something that would have rendered her unusable as a military asset. Her left hand gripped tightly, yet subtly around the rim of her helmet. The fear nearly began to flood through her body. “Alpha-one-five-five, feeling fine.” She finally said in her calm baritone after clearing her throat. The earlier fear completely vanished.

James hears the rest of them waking up and thinks to himself " good at least i didn't loose my whole team." He refrains from smiling as for the fact that he is happy both Eliza and skopej survived. " They are great soldiers" he thinks and wonders if they know anything about what happened on board. His eyes dart around the room but he doesn't see any other soldiers besides them. He does not know what to fill. He soon realizes that a court marshaling could come of this and he would be the one responsible. The punishment can be either loss of your command to extreme cases of death. He continues saluting.

Arhma stood in the corner and watched the "Spartans" as they were called introduce themselves. They seemed in good health. Moving would not be a good idea so she stood there and waited to see what would happen.

Soon Child came in. His polished black armor. EVA Helmet's visor was solid black. It shown no reflection. He sized up his new team. After looking at them and their armor he stood at the end next to Eliza. When he removed his helmet his face from what you could see was scared up to the point you couldn't tell his age. From the looks all 14 on one side of his head were battle scars. Yet his armor looked new. Child then did a half ass salute.

The commander sat there and looked at the team. "At ease." He held out his hand. "Like I said befor you are lucky I was there. This is what was left of the crew. The body's have been disposed of." He held out 3 dog tags. 2 of them were marines, The last one was that of a spartan. One that was well known but was in another squad. "This is your new squad. I will be back in a bit you guys need to get to know each other." He walked to the door and said "Have fun." just before walking out and closing the door

Rukan sat in a chair at a table in the ships crowded armory. He barley fit in the chair. It just happens to be that the Painted Spear wasnt outfitted with Elite Custom chairs.

So he sat Uncomforatably in his chair at a table with his Energy Sword by his side and his Carbine on his back. He was Making something. It was Purple at the bottom and had spikes all the way around it. He carefully inserted a Pulse Emitter into the bottom of it next to a Holo transmitter. He set it down and placed his Energy sword in it. With the push of a button the Energy sword Floated into place and A Clear but Noticable Holo box formed around it.

He reached in and grabbed it, then pulled out his hand and grabbed a Nail. He stuck it into the Holo field and it slowly began to Disintigrate. "Her her her..." Rukan chuckled in his Scrathey Elite Voice. He had learned to speak English back at his old base when the humans were still there.

As Rukan placed the Energy sword holder next to a Rocket launcher on a stand and was interrupted by a Crew Member. "They are Awake." He said before slipping out. Rukan Put his Carbine down and Grabbed a Plasma Repeater. He walked down the steps and got on an Elevator, took it to the cryo bay and stepped out. He ventured down a short hallway and turned into the Cryo bay to see Arhma and the Spartans all Together. "Hello Humans."

"Hello Humans."

Brian hadn't noticed them till he heard them. He didn't feel them being there. Not like he use to. His eyes were trained on the Commander. Now, they couldn't be torn from these aliens, these Elites. Chatter went on around him, but it all faded out. All but the itch, the twinge of guilt in his gut. The cold, cruelty of that one, solitary memory that refused to leave him when he laid eyes on a Sangheili. He remembered... her. Her body, gone nearly limp, as the vicious blade of weaponized light pierced through her abdomen. Always, he was haunted by the feeling of inaction. Ever since, he would act first...

"It's a sight, isn't it? Humans and Elites not sh- Wait, Brian!"

In the blink of an eye, Brian had crossed the room. In war, the slightest moment of hesitation could mean death. Spartans were known to execute complex take downs in but a few seconds, overpowering, out-maneuvering, and eliminating their opponents in close quarters before they had time to act. The Sangheili often regarded engaging the Demons in one-on-one melee combat to be the equivalent of honorable suicide. Brian made himself the center of attention, locking Rukan's left arm behind his back, forcing his right, which still clutched his plasma repeater, to train a bead on the other Elite. His armor, however, fought him. He resisted. His suit's AI was trying to force an armor lock to prevent a continuation to this outburst.

"Brian! SPARTAN! Stand Down! They're Non-Hostile! Do You Hear Me? Stand Down!"

Armha kicked the weapon away from Rukan then picked up a human magnum. It just fit in her palm. She held it out to Brian. "If you truly think we are the enemy then kill me. But know that what you would do is irreversible. You will have to Spenser to a lot of superiors. I'm not afraid to die." She looks down to the spartan. "Make your choice. Just don't choose wrong." The pistol was full, the choice was there, and it took one bullet to kill if in the head at this range.

Child stood off to the side. "I think the boss has a few screws loose." he snickers.

Rukan was Outraged at the attacked and roared as he overpowered the Spartan and lifted him off his feet and slammed him in to the ground and put his heavy foot onto his chest. "I may be unarmed but not deadly..." Rukan said as he Slid him across the room and grabbed his Plasma Repeater from Armha. "I was hoping i could get off to you humans without violence but it seems that is all you Humans are capable of..." Rukan said as he turned to Exit.

When Eliza was about to leave to get trimmed to a proper military haircut, the sudden conflict that broke out took Eliza off-guard. This was not how Spartans operated. MCPO Mendez would have stomped the guts out of any Spartan if they dared act this way in front of so many, especially since they’re a symbol of great morale for their species.

Especially an S-II like Brian. Did the cryo stasis do more damage to others than the S-III thought? She did not remember her team being so… unlike a Spartan.

All security personnel who were present would have obviously drawn their weapons and moved to disengage the fight by that point. No permission would have been needed. Even the techies grabbed their emergency pistols.

If she were the fireteam leader, she’d have barked an order for everyone to stand down. She did have the authoritative voice for it, but she was not the fireteam leader; Barret was.

Upon request, one of the approaching security personnel handed Eliza his sidearm. Brian, you just got out of Cryo. What the hell’s the matter with you?

"STAND DOWN BRIAN" James yells as he sees what Brian does. "Drop that weapon soldier now," James yells in the voice he used to use when he trained Spartans before his mess up on one of the ships that left him in charge of a huge fire team. Before they where annihilated. He ran over to Brian yelling one more time, "Stand down and drop the weapon Spartan, they are allies." James puts his hand on top of the gun and pushes it down and then re-leaves Brian of the gun. "Eliza Front and center," He shouts. When she got up to James he gave her orders " watch Brian make sure he doesn't have another episode. He is a good spartan but i cant risk him loosing it on us. I'm sorry it has to be you but i know you have a good head on your shoulders." James says giving one of his rare compliments. " I am sorry for my spartan's actions, Elites. It will not happen again."

The alien was talking to him. Were he of different mind right now, Brian may have found her words strange. They were a warning, not merely threats or gloating. Not typical of Elites facing a Spartan, but it didn't matter. His objective here seemed clear. Aim was steady, trajectory clear, but his trigger finger would not budge.

"BRIAN! Stop!"

This strange AI screamed at him, but he didn't care. To him, she was jeopardizing the lives of everyone in this room.

"What is this? What did you do?"

"I've hard-locked your armor. Please! Put the gun down!"

Before he could respond, S-121 found himself tossed across the room by the Sangheili he once had subdued, unable to fight back. His armor sparked as it skid across the floor, the gun still locked in his hand. Orders to stand down were now being repeated by the CO, but the threat was still present.

"Unlock me. Now."

"Stand down and drop the weapon Spartan, they are allies."

"Listen to him, Spartan."

"I don't understand."

"They are not hostile, Brian. They're friendlies."

A long, uncomfortable silence came from Brian as the elite he 'assaulted' bellowed in rage about this 'transgression'. The last time he saw one of their kind, was on the end of an energy blade. To him, they were and always would be enemies. But.... this was an order to stand down. He couldn't disobey it. Slowly, he relaxed, ceasing his struggle against the armor.

"It's okay. I'm going to unlock your armor now.... Alright?"

Control came back to him as James pressed down on the gun in Brian's hands, disarming him. Slowly, Brian stood up as Eliza was called on. He recognized her armor, pegging her as an S-III. Brian hadn't served much with the next generation of SPARTANs, but he knew what they lacked in raw power they more than made up for in sheer, overwhelming tenacity. She had been given orders to keep an eye on Brian, and after the event that had just unfolded, he didn't question why. Questions and unsurities still swirled in his head. He didn't understand at all what was happening here, but an order was an order.

"Apologies, sir. It will not happen again."

The response droned out of him, robotic in nature. This was somewhat typical for an S-II, but Brian's heart most definitely was not in his answer. He needed to know what was happening, and he needed to know now.

"Requesting a debrief, sir. The armor may need re-calibrations, and I have unfamiliarity with these... systems."

”Eliza, front and centre!”

If Eliza relaxed, no one around her could tell. She instead flipped on the safety and handed the sidearm back to the security personnel she borrowed from. Eliza stepped up to Barret and snapped into a ramrod-straight stance. She wasn’t particularly used to a fireteam, so her body language was not exactly casual or friendly- only professional.

“Sir.” Eliza said. Once again, a strand of hair went over her left eye, but she didn’t dare motion to brush it aside. Damnit, she needed a stupid haircut.

“Watch Brian, make sure he doesn’t have another episode,” Barret ordered, “He is a good Spartan, but I can’t risk him losing it on us. I’m sorry it has to be you, but I know you have a good head on your shoulders.”

The compliment didn’t fill Eliza with any satisfaction. She already knew how good she was, but she also knew her limitations. It’s how she survived many a solo op. “Understood, sir,” Eliza returned.

She approached the S-II and patted Brian’s shoulder. “Remember when you guys switched from Innies to Covvies? How quickly you S-II’s adapted?” Eliza knew her history- all Spartans learned history- and the Insurrection was one of the most important things that happened before Harvest. The shock of first contact and the subsequent war was so great that most Innies joined forces with the UNSC, and the Spartans of that age adapted.

“Plus, there’s security everywhere. If they really wanted to try something, they wouldn’t have made it near this room.”

With the extra baggage of watching Brian, Eliza didn’t see an opportunity to request temporary leave to get herself cleaned-up and back in battle-ready condition. Hopefully the S-II had the same idea.

"Ha!" Child smiles. "They would have ripped their way past the 'security' easily. Its me they would have to worry about. They would have been in here tearing you apart before you woke up from cryo. Leaving me to defend you." Armha grunted. Then walked over to Barret. "We have been put under your command now, from what I was told. Me, Rukan, and Child. What are we to do?"

Eliza lowered her voice so only Child could hear. Still calm as ever, she replied, “Then alarms would be sounding. This condescending talk is not becoming of a Spartan. Will I need to report this behaviour?”

She turned to Barret when the Elite had the right idea to get on with the briefing. Eliza stood at-attention, awaiting orders from the CO. She waited for an answer, but did not plan to respond if the so-called “Child” lived up to his namesake.

The techie who received Eliza's helmet earlier returned and handed it to her. "Systems are good as new," the techie whispered, "Just freezer damage on replaceable parts."

Eliza took the helmet and nodded her thanks. After wiping her hair to the side, she slipped the operator's helmet on. At least the helmet would keep her unkept hair out of the way.

"Ok Spartans i have some good news and bad news. The first is bad, while we where in cryo our station was attacked so we are the only ones left from that station." James said looking around. "Now what i want to know is does anyone else feel like something is wrong or doesn't feel right. Speak now or if i find out later you will be punished." James walked towards Brian, " Now tell me what he hell just happened soldier. I know your better than that. Do i need to get a psych eval on you?" James asked watching Brian's reaction before returning to address the others. " Ok nice to have Y'all on-board" James says looking at the elites and Child. " Now orders have come through. In order to combat the new threat to us command has decided to ally with the elites you see here. They are friendlies and anyone who is caught or even suspected of acts against our allys then you will face me and command. If caught you will be court marshaled depending on the infraction. If it is serious enough command may decide to have you killed, is that understood?" James yells the last part to reinforce it. "Now on to my second part of business thank you all for saving me and my fire-team" James said. "Ok Eliza you can carry on with what you were going todo. Now any questions?" James asks looking around.

Before Rukan could exit he was stopped by a guard. He let out a threating growl and turned to listen.

After they had 'resolved' the Spartans Behavior, The Fireteam Leader gave his Speech of Rules to his Team. Rukan was Not satisfied with being under the command of a Spartan. The Marines that he had served with were Not as Demanding as a Spartan, and Even The Elite General was not as Strict, giving speeches about court Martial, or the obvious.

Questions? Oh boy. Rukan Raised his long Hand into the Air, seeing as thats what the Humans did when they were asked questions.

Eliza saluted in response to the granted permission to leave. She headed out of the cryo chambers and made her way down some corridors. She had been on a Stealth Cruiser before, though this one was quite spacious compared to the two Prowlers she had been assigned to during the war.

The dormitories were marked with a simple sign next to the access hatch. To her immediate right was a break room with some comfy-looking fold-up chairs surrounding a sturdy steel table. The Spartan-Three entered the area and pointed to the nearest crew member. “You,” she said.

“Yes Ma’am!” The crew member stood up and saluted, as did the other three who were present. They appeared to be playing a card game Eliza recognized as Texas Hold’em. There were chips on the table, but it was completely unacceptable to apply real currency to the game, else it be constituted as gambling.

“Who’s the hairdresser on this ship?”

By sheer dumb coincidence, the man Eliza pointed to was exactly the one she was looking for. “That’s me,” the man said.

Eliza took off her helmet, allowing the strand to go over her eye again. “I need this back to regulation.”

“Yes Ma’am,” the hairdresser crewmember replied, with only the faintest hint of resentment in his voice.

Eliza detected the tone. Rather than chastise the understandable unprofessionalism, she pointed to the card and chip-laden table and added, “Afterwards, got room for one more?” The four crew members looked at each other with surprise. “I’ll need to do a rain-check on it, If not now, I’ll owe you all a game,” Eliza said.

The crewmembers seemed genuinely interested with playing Hold’em with a Spartan. The hairdresser and Eliza headed to an appropriate station and got the haircut over with. As soon as the crew member finished wiping the last scrap of loose hair away, Eliza stood and thanked the hairdresser.

“Anytime, ma’am,” the hairdresser replied as the taller Spartan slipped her helmet on once more.

Child left the room. He wandered the halls for a good amount of time. He came across Eliza "About your comment on my behavior...." He stood in a long silence. Child looks up with a look on his face. "I don't give a shit if you report me or not. It will just be another one on a tall stack." A smile sweeps across his face. "Don't ever attempt to threaten me again." He slipped on his helmet and walked off.

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Armha

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She stood in wait of something to do There was a training area that she had heard about where soldiers go to test their strength against each other. So she decided to go watch. The area of fighting was a metal floor with a steel cage in the shape of a hexagon. It seemed to be makeshift. Most were fighting with no armor, some were with. As soon as she got there they wanted to see who could take her on. It was a 1 v 2 Her against 2 ODST's. Rules were no weapons. No deaths. No "below the belt" attacks. Whatever that means. The bell rang the fight was on.