Brothers

Downtime

The small contingent of Spartans and aliens raced to the outer edge of the control center. They stood in a clearing of snow, the cold wind blowing around them. Orn stood shakily on her feet, while the human biofoam did alleviate a great deal of her pain, she was still uncomfortable with the slight pain that remained and the cold.

"Foehammer, do you read me? This is Commander James, Sierra-104, requesting pick up at my location, over."

"I read you, Commander. Inbound, ETA, two mikes."

"Forhammer, be advised, The Chief and myself have allied with a group of potential AWOL Covenant."

"Say again, Commander, you said friendly Covenant?"

"Affirmative, Foehammer." The radio is silent for a moment until Foehammer confirms James' transmission. James looks over at Orn and notices she's shivering while hugging herself. Even the other Elites are showing signs of being uncomfortable. "Dont like the cold, Covy?"

"N-no.." Orn shivers. "We c-come from a warm.. planet.."

"Really missing Sangheilios right now." Luur commented. Mora nodding in agreement, kicking some snow. Kilu sighed, but he seemed to agree with the sentiment.

"At least you have a planet to go back to." James said bitterly.

"James.." Chief said, trying to quietly get James to focus.

"What do you mean?" Orn asked. This proved to be a mistake as James snapped his head to her. Although she couldn't see his face, she could feel him glaring at her.

"The Covenant burned my home to glass." James spat. "Your people invaded and destroyed everything on Reach. My home is dead!"

"James!" Chief shouted. James, hearing Chief raise his voice for the first time in a very long time, stopped talking and stood quiet. Chief leaned towards James and lowered his voice to a whisper. "You need to focus. Stay calm."

It felt more like an order than a suggestion. James nodded and glanced back at Orn for a moment, noticing she seemed surprised by his outburst. He looked away from her as the group heared the roar of an engine. Above them, Echo-419 was lowering her pelican to the ground. She touched down and opened the rear door, allowing the group to enter.

"Where to, Commander?"

"The last location of Captain Keyes. He may be in danger."

"Understood, pinging his transponder now... what about our.. friends?"

"We'll take care of them if they cause problems. Just get us to the captain."

"Yes, sir. Itll be a few hours before we get there, i suggest getting comfortable."

The pelican lifted off the ground and soared across the sky, making for the access port she used to get down into the inner sections of the ring.

Chief and James sat on the left side of the pelican, while the Elites sat, rather awkwardly, in the seat directly across from them. The Hunters, being too large, simply stood.

As they flew, the hold was quiet except from the occasional grunt of the Hunters. Kilu took the opportunity to mend the bullet hole in Luur's arm, using a small canister no larger than a cigar filled with a glowing, blue sludge. The strange material seemed to function like biofoam, closing the wound and allowing Luur to move unhindered.

Orn on the other hand, seemed to be breathing irregularly and more labored. She was clutching her wound, the biofoam seeming to not entirely fix her situation. James noticed and sighed. He got up and grabbed the first aid kit from the wall and knelt down in front of Orn. He opened the kit and took a quick look at what supplies he had.

"You.. you're a healer, aswell?" Orn asked, her voice low and strained.

"I've fixed up a few Marines once or twice, and the odd Spartan if needed." James didn't look up at her, but what he did next made her forget the cold entirely.

James positioned himself closer to her between her legs. He grabbed her hand and gently moved it, taking a look at her wound. The biofoam had failed to entirely seal the injury, blood slowly pouring from her abdomen.

What James didn't realize, is that the position he was in was making Orn's heart race. In his attempt to closely inspect her wound, he had shifted very close in between her legs, resting his right arm over her left leg. He reached down to the first aid kit with his left hand and grabbed a small scalpel to cut away at the failed biofoam.

"I'm gonna have to cut away at the biofoam to properly treat your wound. This might hurt."

"Why.. are you seeing to me?" Orn asked "Are we not enemies?"

"Not right now we aren't." James replied. He stopped and sighed, being quiet for a moment. "I hate the Covenant..."

The sudden statement took Orn by surprise. She stared down at him, not knowing why he said that.

"I hate them for what they did to my people... but... I was foolish to get angry at you earlier. I've been a soldier for a very long time, and all I've ever known is the war. I can't blame you for something you can't control.. the same way I can't control what my leaders do.."

"I've never been a soldier.. I've only ever just translated what the ruins told me... I despise what the Prophets have made my people do..." Orn looked down and met her eyes with his visor.

"Hmph.. maybe we aren't so different.."

James scooted closer to Orn, resting his elbows on her knees and pressing his right hand against her lower stomach. He cut away at the biofoam, taking several chunks of it out. As he did, more blood vessels were exposed. James quickly reached down and grabbed a handful of gauze and wiped away the blood before grabbing some salve and a tube of red gel. He took the red gel and, similar to what Kilu did with Luur, rubbed it into Orn's wound before applying the salve, closing her wounds.

"That should keep it from reopening, but I'll apply more biofoam to make sure." James said, taking a canister of biofoam from the kit. He sprayed for foam, making Orn flinch. "How do you feel?"

"Better... much better..." Orn sighed, her pain finally gone. James nodded and started putting the first aid kit away. He stood up, but unintentionally pressed his hand to Orn's inner thigh. He seemed to rub a sensitive spot, as Orn held back a moan but it came out as a grunt.

"Sorry, didn't mean to hurt you." James said, standing up and putting the kit away.

"It- It's fine.." She breathed heavily, her heart racing. Her thoughts raced as James sat back down next to Chief. A male so close to her core in such an intimate way, and he was so gentle. But she was not a fool. He was simply treating her wounds, not trying to court her...

... No matter how much her mind raced with the possibility of such a union.