Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 25: A Bright Past

P.O.V: 3rd

     The group sat in the living room as they all ate. "All Ruby's life we've called her Rosebud" Yang teased.

     "Oh yeah? What about Sunny Little Dragon?" Ruby counted, obviously flustered

     "I wonder if Onyx had any" Blake thought.

     The young spartan smirked as he crossed his arms. "Nope, neve-"

     "It's Rocky" Chief interrupted. Onyxs smirk faded as a light blush crept to his face.

     Everyone stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. "How'd you get that?!" Yang asked between her laughter.

     Onyx gave a sigh. "It was from a good friend of mine, Karliah. Back when I was in boot camp."

     12 years ago

     "Karliah, I said no" young Onyx said as he was studying.

     "Oh come on Rocky!" A young brunette said. Her hazel eyes practically begging her friend. "You're the one with the highest scores out of all of Beta company! Even most actual Spartans can't match your skills! Don't you want to fly a real Saber instead of some dumb simulation?"

     "Yes, but I also know that we'd be breaking multiple protocols" Onyx replied as he continued to study.

     The ten year old girl shrugged and turned away. "Fine, I just didn't take you for a bitch." Onyx looked up from his textbook with a piercing glare.

     "I can't believe I let you talk me into this" Onyx said as the two ten year olds snuck around.

     Karliah giggled as she looked at him. "Well you shouldn't have gotten distracted by a pretty face" she teased. She peaked out from behind cover to see if the coast was clear. With a quick wave the two ran for the nearest Saber ready for take off.

     Onyx climbed into the pilot seat and looked at the controls. "Oh come on, don't get cold feet on me" Karliah said.

     Onyx looked at her with a bright smile. "Nope, just excited." The two buckled up and Onyx ignited the engines.

     A marine looked over to the sound and saw the fighter lifter into the air. His eyes widened as he turned and ran yelling "UNAUTHORIZED TAKE OFF IN DOCKING BAY TWO!!!"

     The two kids laughed as the Saber they were flying shot out of the base and into the skies. An alarm caused Karliah to look at her monitor. "Got two bogies on our tail!" Karliah warned. Two more sabers blew behind them and tried to shoot their with EMP rounds, however Onyx was able to effortlessly dodge them. The kids flew down into a canyon to try and loose their pursuers who followed them.

     The young pilots eyes widened in surprise. "Hang on!" He warned his copilot. Onyx tipped the Saber sideways, fitting through a narrow gap and forcing the pursuers to pull up. Onyx corrected their flight when they got out of the gap, causing Karliah to scream in excitement. Suddenly most of their systems shut down. "We're hit!" Onyx yelled. He dove the plane down before pulling back up, causing them to slide to a stop instead of crashing in the canyon.

     A third Saber gently landed in front of them, and out climbed none other then Master Chief. "Oh crap" the two juveniles said in unison. They climbed out of theirs as Chief began to walk over to them. Onyx had his head hung low and stood still. Karliah however turned to make a run for it, only to feel like she ran into a brick wall. The other three members of Blue team stood behind them, blocking their path of escape.

     The two sat side by side as Chief drilled into them. "I trained you two better than this! Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused?!"

     "But dad, we wer-"

     "That's enough!" Chief snapped, causing Karliah to sit back down. He took a deep breath before looking at them. "You two are lucky Halsey stepped in, otherwise the situation would be worse. Onyx, you're going to train on the planet Onyx while Karliah stays here on Reach."

     "Yessir" the two said in unison. Onyx went to go get ready for departure. Once done, he headed to the pelican waiting for him. "ROCKY, WAIT!" Karliah called out as she ran up to him.

     Onyx sighed as he looked at her. "I'm sorry for what happened."

     Karliah shook her head. "Don't be, I'm the one who pressured you into it." Onyx hung his head low, causing Karliah to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't cry. We'll see each other again."

     Onyx looked up to her and saw her beaming smile, causing him to give a small smile in return. "Yeah, see ya soon." With that Onyx turned to enter the pelican, and leave planet Reach.

     Present Day

     "Dang, that's rough" Yang said, breaking the silence everyone gave to let Onyx recall his past.

     Onyx nodded. "Yeah...but I'll see her again." He looked up to the ceiling, as if looking at the night sky it blocked.