Ten Days Later...
"Gah..! Damn, that shit burns." Sierra hissed as the medic assigned to her cleaned out the bullet hole in her leg from the day before she was re-wrapped.
"Just, try to hold still." The medic asked.
Sierra tried not to flinch as best as she could, but her discomfort was getting too much.
"Now, I know that you're supposed to be training today, so I'm going to be giving you some new wraps if they get too loose, else you'll rip open your wounds again." She said, handing them to her.
"Thanks."
"So, any more discomfort or pain?" The medic asked.
"Very little, I'll manage. If that's what you're asking." Sierra said.
'Christ, is she ever gonna let me leave? '
"Hmm... Very well. Then, my suggestion to you is to take smaller assignments until you don't feel any pain in those areas. Keep carrying the aids with you. Come back straight to me if they open. I have Bio-foam on hand if need be."
Sierra stood up and took the medic packs handed to her with a nod.
"Thank's, doc." She said.
"I mean that, Sierra. Take things as easy as you can."
She nodded and walked out of the medic bay to return to her bunks.
'Tch... Like I "can take things easy". As if.'
Roman was standing inside the bunks, his attention quickly turning to Sierra as she came into his line of sight.
"Statis?" He asked, almost eagerly.
"Green. With some restrictions." She said in a quick tone.
"That's better than nothing. Get geared up. Live rounds." Roman ordered.
"Live rounds?" Sierra's brow furrowed.
"We're walking the highwire, today."
Sierra's eyes widened slowly.
"We're dropping into an active firefight zone... Some Covies just hit one of our Intel posts."
'Oh, no...'
Sierra quickly went inside to grab her armor, stashing her packs on her torso piece, strapping her armor tightly to not disturb her wraps.
Grabbing her helmet and her DMR and hastily holstering her Magnum, she rushed out the bunks, joining Victoria and Zorren as they went up the ramp inside the Pelican.
"Today just keeps getting better, and better..." Sierra said aloud as they took their seats.
"You good to run this?" Zorren asked in a raised tone over the turbulence of the Pelican.
"We're gonna find out!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Phantoms are ready whenever you are." Ryke said quietly to Torok as he watched Valass and Veran in the training area.
"Understood. I'll be there in a moment." He replied in the same hushed tone.
Torok took a breath before he strode down to the flat ground, still watching his son train with such great force with his ally.
Torok smiled pridefully and interfered with the boys' training.
"You two are doing very well." He said, looking at them both.
Veran beamed happily at the praise, but Valass half shunned his head away.
" I'm sure your father would be proud of your progress, Veran, but we'll have to continue this later. I've cut my time rather close, and I need to speak to Valass." He said.
"Yes, sir." Veran said with a dip of his head and left, leaving Torok to step closer to Valass, taking a knee to his level.
"Valass?"
Valass still didn't look up at his father even after saying his name.
Torok took his forefinger under Valass mandible to lift and turn his head to face him, widening his eyes slightly for him to know to listen.
"I know you're indifferent with me at the moment, but will you listen to me..? Please..." Torok spoke softly.
Valass only nodded.
"You know where I'm going today, yes?" Torok asked.
"The Intelligence Outpost."
"Yes... Do you know why?"
"... No. Most likely Glassing Schematics, and City Topography." Valass assumed.
"Mmm... True, I need those, as well, but... Not this time."
Valass furrowed his brow.
"Then... What?" He tilted his head.
"I'll show you when I get back." Tork said before he nuzzled Valass as he giggled from the show of affection.
"I'll return soon." He promised.
"Be safe, Father."
Torok gave a nod to his son and headed for his ships, the heavy clad of his boots sounding as he stepped into his Phantom.
"Everything is ready, sir." Ryke said, joining his side as the Phantom enclosed their men inside as they took off from camp.
"Good."
"Are you sure that one of us shouldn't have stayed behind?" Miirdan questioned.
"The Zealots will protect the camp. Ryke, however, is being dropped near Garrix." Torok explained.
"So what are our orders, Ship-Master?"
"Our objective is one of their Terminal DataBases, Phy. My phantom as well as one other will drop there to secure any and all information on the children splinter groups they have... For now, I want low profiles. Disappear when you need and do not engage in combat unlet it is silent and swift. We must not let ONI know we are skimming through their project."
Torok's comms rang with conformations from his men.
"The rest of you will be causing interference for the Humans to keep them off our backs, and away from the outpost. But not too closely. I want this mission to go smoothly."
His comms rang with more responses as Ryke was released from the Phantom.
"Very well. Happy hunting."
The Phantoms had cloaked themselves from being detected as they approached the outpost.
"Active Camouflage."
Torok's chosen men and Miidran cloaked themselves as they leapt from the Phantom on top of the outpost, making their way inside from the rooftop.
They crouched down on the pipework inside, scouting from above where the control room was located.
Torok had given a nod to signal to Miidran to assassinate the guardsmen at the door, and down the halls from above.
Torok and Miirdran free fell atop of the soldiers' shoulders, plunging their energy wrist blades into them for a quiet kill as they then opened the door with the keycard found on one of the soldiers' bodies.
The room was surprisingly empty and only held one console with multiple monitors.
"You two, guard the exit." Miirdran ordered, receiving nods from the two men as they returned to their cloaked state.
Torok activated the console, lighting up the monitors with bright blue iridescent lights.
He inserted a data latch key into the console and began scraping through the data he pulled.
Minutes felt like hours, making Torok paced impatiently back and forth with a snarl.
"Hmmm... Come on... Where are you, little one?" He grumbled under his breath, his mandibles, almost bearing as he concentrated.
Soon, small files of other SPARTAN-II IDs trickled in but were mainly ones marked K.I.A, which struck Torok and Miidran oddly.
"Gods... I thought the human was causing an exaggeration, but this..?" Miirdan commented as he peered over Toroks' shoulder.
"... Why? Why all this death? The UNSC has never used its children in their battles before. Why now?" Torok questioned aloud.
A new monitor lit up, showing more case files, revealing Sierra's in the midst of it.
"There!" Torok pointed as he opened the file, looking through each detail and word.
"This is what you're looking for? The girl?" Miidran questioned, but Torok didn't give an answer.
He'd accidentally opened one of the audio logs in his reading.
"Shit! How did I-"
"Turn it off! What are you thinking, man?!"
' This is Doctor Katherine Halsey,'
Torok froze, seeing the I.D. image attached to the voice signature.
'Spartan log number, 216, subject for inquiry is Sierra. I've found, in question to my own work, that this subject's augmentation process had altered its own strain. Nonviolent, but irregular in which I have no legal means to cull her for her imperfections, although she may show promise... She is outside the mold I've forged in my project. Although the surviving children are now showing signs of their effects, Sierra remains untouched. I supposed that is my fault, testing on a human bloodline such as hers... No matter. She will slip, and fall, like the others. Her individuality is reason alone for her failure, and the new unfortunate nuance of her fixation of the Covenant race, the Sangheili. I think more... Drastic measures are in order. Whatever the cost.'
Torok looked at Miidran, and his men who seemed to have had their share of the log, looking for confirmation of what befell him, only seeing them look for the same answer.
"This... This obviously changes things..." Miidran admitted, looking at the image of the girl.
"... You're not truly suggesting what I believe you are, yes?" Miidran questioned hopefully.
"We take the girl. When the time is right." Torok said, turning to him.
One of the other men roared as his armor shield flickered from oncoming Assault Rifle fire as they'd been discovered.
"DAMMIT! FALL BACK! WWE GOT WHAT WE CAME FOR!"
Torok snatched the latchkey and bolted behind his men as they fired their way out of the outpost, leaving a trail of bodies behind.
Torok made sure that Miirdran and his men evacuated to the Phantom safely, gunning down any other soldier pursuing them.
"TOROK! COME ON!" Miirdran shouted for him.
He turned around to look at the Phantom, trying to keep his eyes on the door and make his way to the ship, yet as his back was completely turned, a soldier had jumped from behind him, driving a serrated spine knife into his shoulder repeatedly.
Torok roared out in agonizing pain, trying to grab a hold of the soldier as his shoulder became mangled in the attack.
Even with the additional fire coming from his men, Torok struggled to grab the soldier to finally rip him from his back and crushed his neck in his hand.
Torok exhaled in pained groans, folding over his injured side as he clasped his shoulder, the deep violet blood running through his hands and out of his injury as more fire ricocheted from his armor.
"TOROK-"
"GO! GO! GET OUT OF HERE! LEAVE ME!" He ordered as the Phantom rose up, closing its bay doors.
Torok fired as many rounds as he could as he fled into the cover of the woodlands and found himself in the old ruins of a runoff building.
All the gunfire had stopped, and silence filled the trees.
As he panted, Torok tried to ease himself against the wall and slid down to meet the ground as he held tightly to his wound, groaning towards it as his helmet chimed.
"... ... Ryke?" He panted.
"What happened? There's Pelicans taking off everywhere here. I've lost sight of Sierra."
"A patrol came back to the outpost, by the looks of it... I sent Miidran with the Phantom, I'm wounded. Badly."
' Do you need my assistance? Should I come to aid you?" Ryke questioned with high concern.
"No. We got what we came for... ... You said she's not there? Where'd she go?" Torok asked in a pained hiss.
'A Pelican, most likely. I lost sight of her."
Torok heard a Pelican fly overhead to the outpost, growling at t's arrival.
"Damn... Get out of there. Get back to the Camp... I'll figure my way out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the Pelican lowered down beside the Intelligence Outpost, it was apparent whatever happened ended quickly.
'I'll return on request. For now, only search around and inside. Your training had prepared you for what you might see. I'll be on the outskirts. Stay safe, and radio for help if you need it. Roman out.'
"A base just got aced, and we're handling it?" Victora stated.
"We'll be fine. You two just stay inside, I've got the perimeter." Sierra said.
"You gonna be fine out here by yourself?" Zorren asked.
"Yeah, I got it. I'll check on him first." She said, motioning to the soldier at the entrance.
"Alright, then."
Sierra walked to the soldier's body as Zorren and Victoria went inside.
She knelt down beside him, removing his chest plate, searching for entry wounds from the fact his right hand was covered in blood.
"... What the fuck? Not even one? Then why is his hand-"
Sierra stopped mid-sentence as she looked at the same blood on her hand, realizing that it didn't belong to him.
But Violet.
"I... Is that..." She stuttered nervously, retracting from the body as she saw the splatter on the ground.
She had continued in removing his helmet, seeing the normal red human blood coming from his nose and mouth, yet it looked as if it had small air pockets in them.
"Then... He was..."
She pulled back his undersuit around his neck, seeing the imprinting of the large, four-unit handprint around his throat with mass bruising.
Sierra stood up from the body, taking in what she now knew.
"Okay... So, if he pissed off an Elite, but died in the process... Where did he go?" She said quietly to herself, looking around to find anything she could use.
Then she noticed the soldier's knife, caked in the Sangheili blood alongside a jagged trail leaving into the treeline.
She followed the trail deeper, seeing small pieces of red fabric on the trail, taking a piece as she examined it.
"Torok..." She hissed through her teeth as realization hit her, pursuing the trail with a different purpose.
She eventually tripped on an old industrial-military cable that once powered an old runoff building used for the outpost.
Sierra took a deep breath and readied her DMR in terms of the worst as she slowly came upon the structure, following the blood.
Yet, it seemed to have just stopped in an odd place, leaving her puzzled as she stood stumped.
"N... No. No, there's gotta be something more here. Where'd he go?" Sierra said aloud.
She heard a noise behind her, making her spin around with her DMR, only seeing an all too familiar helmet in front of her.
"You're quite the bloodhound, aren't you?"
She knew that was Torok's voice as it made her breathing hazy in a fear of respect.
He was only just a shimer in his cloaked state, but his gold eyes showed through as his cloak wore off, revealing his messy white armor and his red cloak, now tattered at the bottom.
Sierra lowered her weapon, laying it on the ground as she removed her helmet, showing empathy for the Ship-Masters' wound.
"How did I know that it would be you to show?" Torok sluggishly turned his head towards her, exhausted from his pain.
Sierra faintly chuckled at him.
"I've... been known to have my nose where it doesn't belong more than once... So much for never wanting to see me again." She half-joked, getting a wry chuckle from him before he winced in pain.
"Shit..." He hissed, trying to hold pressure on his shoulder.
"Damn... It looks worse than I thought." Sierra said softly, but Torok only scoffed at it.
"I'll be fine, little one." He assured her, but he could tell that she didn't take to his words.
She took a knee beside him and pulled out the medic pack she was given previously.
"What're you doing?" Torok questioned her.
"These were for me, but you need them more than I do, now." She said, setting them aside.
Torok hissed out through his mandibles at the suggestion.
"I've NEVER had to treat myself for my wounds. I'd sooner slit my own throat if you think I-"
"Hey! I'm not a healer, or a medic, for one! So, you can sit there, bleeding out of your arteries and act like a pissy child if you want, but you're worth more alive to Valass, Ryke, and the others with your blood inside your body, not all over the floor and my hands!"
Torok's brow furrowed harshly at her, surprised that such words came out of her mouth, let alone towards him.
Sierra sat there, shocked at herself as she looked mortified.
"Where the hell did that come from..?" She asked herself aloud as she glanced away.
Torok felt conflicted, but he knew that she held some truth in her words, and surrendered.
"Alright, girl... You may, as stubborn as you are."
She was surprised that he agreed after being back-mouthed by her, but she did jump at the acceptance and urged him closer into the light where she could see.
She tried to detach some of his armor to get to the area, but Torok was struggling to keep from moving against her to the point he growled at her.
"Sir, with due respect, if you don't stop thrashing, you'll bleed out more. Please, hold still."
Torok nodded, sighing out in defeat, actually assisting her in removing his armor.
She took a small wad of gauze and dipped it in an antiseptic to clean the entry wounds.
"Now... This may sting like a bitch..." She warned him before pressing into his shoulder, Torok hissing out loudly in pain as he yelped a few times, but held as still as possible for her.
"I'm sorry." She said softly to him which earned his attention.
He watched her tend to him with care and purpose, intensely focused on remedying his ailments with her sharp silver eyes as her bangs hung low in her face.
He was intrigued by how gently she moved his arm as she began to bind it in wraps.
"There... That should do for now." She said as she finished, setting his armor back in place.
Torok, without thinking, brushed her bangs back behind her ear, which made Sierra freeze instantly, looking at him.
Sierra swallowed and inhaled to reset her speech.
"So... What now?" She questioned.
"I'll make my way back to camp... You should return to your own." Torok said, getting to his feet.
"Will you be alright?" She asked him.
"For now... I thank you."
Sierra's eyes widened in surprise with a small smile as Torok gave one in return.
The moment came to a screeching halt as the air filled with a horrendous scream coming from the base.
Sierra's throat began to burn as she jerked herself back into reality as she sprinted off towards the screams, not hearing Torok calling her name behind her as he followed.
As she got there, all she could register was Victoria with tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes extremely bloodshot as she coughed, choking on her own blood, her hand reaching out for Sierra as Zorren was on the comms desperately trying to call for Roman and the Pelican.
Sierra half sobbed the entire time she coddled behind Victoria, holding her upper half as she held her and sat underneath her.
She knew that her vain attempts were just empty promises as she cried, 'You're gonna be alright! Keep fighting! We're not losing you, too.'
"Pelican's on its way!" Zorren shouted before he ran to the girls, falling to his knees beside them.
Victoria only smiled, despite her death gripping her harshly.
With what strength she had left, she managed to wrap an arm around both of them in one final hug before she whimpered, 'It's been an honor, guys...'
After that, Sierra felt shattered, and sobbed out violently, begging for the nightmare that was happening to just be a projection.
But Victoria was gone, leaving Sierra with the sole comfort of Zorren as he held her in her sobbing, broken state.
Sierra tried to look through her tears, only locking eyes with Torok through the brush along the treeline as he stood there in a grueling frozen state at what he'd witnessed first-hand.
Torok then slowly receded back into the woodland as the Pelican above slowly descended down on the two teens.
Zorren left Sierra's side to be escorted onto the Pelican, yet Sierra was grabbed by both shoulders and dragged away from Victoria's body as some men were left behind with the body as the bay door to the Pelican shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You should've made the Phantom turn around to get him!"
"He ordered us to leave! I had no other choice, you prestigious, little-"
"Enough! The both of you!" Vexxa stepped in between her mate and Miidran as they argued back and forth.
"Both of you were to be in charge of the camp in his absence, and you're bickering back and forth like pups! The children have more well-formed disputes than you!" Vexxa glared at both males, but her attention went to the tent opening as blood-stained Torok finally returned.
His face was still gripped with the horror he watched only a few hours ago as he stepped further inside his tent past Ryke and Miidran, heavily taking his seat.
"Torok..?" Ryke questioned his name, only getting him to shift his eyes towards him.
"... one of the children is dead... To Sierra's squadron." He said quietly, almost pained.
Ryke hissed under his breath, Vexxa pressing herself into his side as Miidran just stood out to the side.
"What killed it?" Miidran questioned.
"The augmentations, most likely... I... Never knew there could be so much blood coming from a child, like how I saw." Torok clenched his fist, the memory hitting him as he spoke.
"Torok, what of the girl? Sierra?" Vexxa questioned.
"She's... She's alright. Grieving. They had to drag her away from her companion's body."
The room echoed with a sniffle, everyone darting their attention to the splinter room where Valass stood, a small trickle of tears down his face as he feared the worst.
"Oh, Valass-"
Vexxa was first to jump to the boy, but the action of Torok rising out of his seat stopped her.
He gave no word to them as he picked up his son, and slipped into the splinter room of his tent, but it was certain he would not re-emerge for the rest of the day.
Torok took his upset youngling to his quarters of the tent, sitting himself down in the middle of the bed as he propped Valass in the bend of his knees.
"Valass..." Torok cooed softly to the boy, drying his face with his cloak as he cupped his face.
"Sierra is just fine. I promised you that I would not harm her," Torok lowered his head level to Valass, caressing the boy's cheek with raised brows.
"Did I not?"
Valass nodded.
Torok gave a soft smile, looking at his shoulder.
"You know she did this, right?" He directed Class's attention to his damaged shoulder.
"The wrapping... She helped me today." Torok told him.
"Hmm... So much for you saying you'd never want to see her again." Valass commented.
"Heh, She said the same thing to me, today."
Valass gave a smile before exploding into laughter and protests as Torok grabbed the boy, nuzzling into him as he fell backward.
"Father! Stop!" Valass said, almost out of breath as Torok held his son close to him.
"Remember when I said I'd show you what I was doing when I got back?"
Valass nodded at his father, eager to see what he had to show for.
Torok pulled out his tablet and opened all the data that had Sierra's name plastered to it, which made Valass look back at Torok.
"Wh... Why did you... What do you need this for?" He questioned.
"Well... For you, my boy. You'll have a sibling, once more."
Valass beamed in a gasp, jumping up to look his father in the face.
"IF! The Hierarchs approve of the mission. Only then, we can make a plan to retrieve her away from ONI. But I will do everything in my power to get her here." Torok assured him.
Valass nodded and agreed to his fathers' words.
Hours had passed into nightfall with young Valass asleep in his father's bed, leaving Torok to slip out of his Tent to Ryke's tent.
Torok quietly opened the entrance, only to see that Ryke was sitting off to the side, watching his mate and daughter sleep soundly.
"Ryke."
The hushed call was enough to draw Ryke's attention to Torok as he waved his head for him to follow him out the tent.
Ryke carefully stood, leaning over the bed, and gave a soft touch to his mate's forehead.
Vexxa's deep blue eyes peeked open, lifting her muzzle for a more intimate touch which was happily given before she allowed Ryke to leave the tent.
Ryke opened the drape and stood outside with Torok.
"Yes?" He asked.
"I want you to go and check on Sierra." Torok asked of him.
"This late at night?" Ryke cocked a brow with a slight growl.
"Just to see if she's alright. You're not staying out." Torok said as he began to step away.
"And where are you going? Why not go yourself, if you're excusing yourself from camp?" Ryke questioned, only seeing Torok look up to the Cruiser.
"Oooh..." Ryke took a step back, realizing what he was to do.
"If you plan of sleeping with your mate and pup, I'd leave now, if I were you."