living with my enemy's btrother Ch 3

1430/ July 7, 2555(military calendar)/
Bridge of the Light of Truth

Ch 3: Aboard the Light of Truth


"This is Raki K'hanee, shipmaster of the Light of Truth." He announced, looking at the battered ships. The one closest to the pirate's ship looked to be in bad shape. Small fires were going where atmosphere and exposed components were. The UNSC prowler looked pretty bad too, with boarding ships attached at several points. Suddenly an image of a female kig-yar appeared on screen and squawked, "This is our ship! Go find your own!" He bared his teeth and growled at her. "No lower species orders me around. You are attacking an ambassadorial ship. Cease this attack at once, or I will destroy your ship." He threatened, glancing at weapons control. "Heat up the plasma turrets."
"You wouldn't dare!" She squalled, turning to someone off-screen and talking to them in their irritating squawks. "Shipmaster, the kig-yar has turned their weapons on us." He heard someone say. Calmly, he pointed at the ship. "Fire a warning shot at their prow. This is your last chance, shipmistress, leave now or we will destroy your ship." He smiled as the kig-yar argued among each other. Suddenly he heard one of the yell something and the prowler launched a huge ballistics round at the kig-yar ship, smaller guided missiles quickly perused it.
The round punched through their shielding and ripped through their ship from prow to stern. The missiles slid in to deal the killing blow, destroying the interior as well. A few seconds later, the shipmistress' image changed to static. The other human ship  turned and entered slipspace, badly damaged.. "The shipmaster of the prowler is hailing us." The communications station reported as weapons reported that the human's weapons were deactivating. "Put them on-screen." He ordered and an image of an elderly man appeared. A Sangheili also stood next to him, acting as translator.
"I am Admiral Hood." The Sangheili said after the human spoke. It was impossible for him to understand the human language. He had to commend the Sangheili translator, "I wish to thank you for distracting the…" He turned to the admiral and spoke quickly then turned back to the screen, "the kig-yar so we could charge up our MAC cannon and take the out." Raki was a little confused, but nodded. "You're very welcome, but let us come to why we are here, Hood."
"Of course."
"The arbiter has already sent our ambassador ahead to your world. I was sent here to acquire yours."
"Yes, I received word that they had arrived yesterday." The human turned to someone off-screen and motioned them forward. "This is Jasmine Lunari, the ambassador." He said as a small female stepped into the screen. She was covered in purple kig-yar blood, but held herself high as she bowed to him. "She says it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Humph. I am sending a squadron of seraph fighters to your ship to bring the ambassador over. See that she has everything she needs for transit. She will not be returning to her ship." With that, he cut the transmission and turned to a major ranked Sangheili. "Launch the fighters and see that the ambassador is brought to me as soon as she steps foot on my ship." He nodded and walked out of the bridge.
'First impressions are sometimes deceiving' he thought, 'I wonder how she'll react to seeing me in person? She did not seem intimidated by the Sangheili next to her, so she must have fought in the war.' On screen the seraph fighters were just beginning to fly towards the human's prowler.




The Hiroshima…


"Well, looks like we better go grab our things, eh Jul?" She said, turning towards the door. "Sir, their squadron is launching and heading straight toward sour ship." weapons reported and put it on screen. "Good…You had best hurry, corporal Jasmine. Your escort is on its way." He nodded and followed her out, listening as she whispered something to her AI. "What are you asking it to do?" He inquired, startling her for a moment as eleven soldiers stepped in front of her and saluted. She recognized them and returned the gesture. "I see you lot did your jobs well." She said, pulling out a pay card, "When you guys get planet side, buy yourselves a drink on me." She handed the card to them, "And wish me luck as an ambassador." They smiled and patted her shoulder one at a time, a simple way of showing respect for her leadership. "We had one helluva time, even if it was only for a little while, Corporal." They saluted as she walked away.
"Reggie has kindly given me a copy of the language decoder. He thought it might come in handy where we're going." Tibar informed her as she opened the door to her room. "Thanks, now can I get some time to myself?" He didn't respond which meant he would leave her alone for the time being, and she took that time to check her suitcase and make sure no one would notice the hidden clips of ammo.
Suddenly her door opened and a tall shadow blocked her light. Instinctively, she went for her combat knife as she whirled around, but a strong hand stopped her attack as it touched their throat. A drop of blood pooled on the blade as she looked at her attacker's blue eyes. She quickly put the blade away. "Sorry O'Brian. You startled me." She said, turning back to her suitcase, "I'm still on a bit of an adrenaline rush from the battle. You should have said something before opening the door." He chuckled and closed the door behind him. It wasn't unusual for a male and female officer to talk with the door closed, but for some odd reason, it made her feel uncomfortable.  "Yeah, guess I should've remembered how you used to get after combat training." He said, rubbing the blood off his neck, "I just thought I'd come and say good-bye, seeing as you're leaving." She shrugged, trying to hide her sadness, "Yeah, I guess I'll miss you too." She muttered, finding some clothes to change into. The jackle's blood was already beginning to stain the clothes she wore. "You know, I think Tibar can patch calls through the local satellites. So we can still talk to one another." She said, shedding her vest and shirt in favor of a pink, bell sleeve dress with a wide purple waist belt. She could wash her hair some other time, for now, she just twisted it into a bun and pinned it there with a set of hair sticks. She then turned to O'Brian, "Well, how do I look?" She inquired, twirling to face him as she locked on her weapons' belt to hold her newly acquired trophy, the jackle's energy cutlass. "Odd, I've never once seen you in civilian clothes." He flinched, expecting her to punch him in the shoulder, but instead she was looking at her sniper rifle as it lay on the bed. "Guess I'll have to leave this behind…O'Brian, do you think you can look after it while I'm gone?"
"Sure, I'll keep it cleaned and primed for when you return."
"That is, IF I return" He reached over to ruffle her hair, but thought better of it. Instead, he stepped forward and drew her into a tight hug. "Just come back alive. That's all I ask." He whispered in her ear, then let her go and walked out of the room. She stood there for a moment, a little stunned by the odd way he had asked her that, and then smiled as she picked up her suitcase.
As she opened the door, she nearly ran into Jul who had just been about to knock. "I suppose they're waiting for me?" she said, slipping by him. He nodded, unable to speak for some reason, but she didn't bother to ask as she followed a group of pilots to the docking bay. He had no choice but to follow her. They lead her to where a violet seraph fighter was waiting with several Sangheili warriors wandering around, but as soon as they saw them approaching they turned to look at them. Jun stepped closer to her, a strange tone in his voice as her said, "Let me speak to them first." She nodded and stood back some. "Tibar, activate the language decoder." She whispered, as a red Sangheili and Jul clasped forearms.
"It is good to see another of my kind."
"You must be the kaidon who went missing in the neighboring keep.
"Yes, a group of humans captured me and I spent some time in one of their prisons, but I learned their language and gained a position that would enable me to return home." The red one looked in her direction, "is that the ambassador?" He looked towards her and smiled. "Yes, she is called Jasmine," He said turning back to the other. "Does she already know what our kind wear?"
"That is what I thought when I first saw her wearing that, but I do not think so." He switched back to English as he waved her over. "Jasmine, please come meet my brothers. They are like your friend O'Brian, not related but they watch out for each other." She walked towards them, a calm look on her face, not betraying her excitement as she bowed to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, listening as Jul translated and tried to memorize the complex words. "Our shipmaster told us to escort you to the ship. No other human is allowed to accompany you on this journey." She nodded but her gaze roved over the people in the bay, hoping to see O'Brian one last time before she left, but he was not among the present people.
With a sigh she stepped onto the ship, Jul followed her in, attempting to appear calm, but she could see the happiness in his eyes. The seats were meant for their kind, but she did her best as she sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Are you alright. Jasmine?" Tibar asked from her handheld as Jul spoke with the other Sangheili. "All I've ever known is gone, just like that." She said, snapping her fingers. "I understand your loss, Love, but you cannot shut down now. You have a job to do after all, and Admiral Hood is depending on you." She shook her head, "you're right. I have to find that guy…what's-his-name."
"Professor Philips"
"Yeah, that guy has been MIA for some time."
"It's imperative that we find him. His knowledge of their culture could benefit us by letting us know what to do and what not to." She nodded and looked up as one of the Sangheili walked over to her. "I figured you might get bored, ambassador," The decoder said as he spoke, "so this arum might help you to pass the time. It's a puzzle that you might enjoy." He handed her a softball sized sphere with a myriad of slots, "The main goal is to retrieve the marble in the middle of it." She shook it gently and heard it rattling around inside. She began twisting the inner sphere as Jul walked over to her. "Where did you get that?" He asked, sitting beside her as the other one walked away. "One of them gave it to me. Could you thank him for me?" She asked, aligning the first of the six inner spheres.
The second one was a bit harder and by the time she figured it out, they had landed in the Light of Truth and a group of Minor Sangheili were waiting for her outside the ship, lead by a major. "Our shipmaster has requested your presence on the bridge." It said as the minors formed up around her and Jun. "Of course we will come," Jul said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Shipmasters are never kept waiting." She nodded and allowed them to lead her through the maze-like interior of the ship to the bridge. The purple lighting cast everyone with a strange glow, and it startled her when a Sangheili stepped into the hallway. She grasped Jul's hand in fright and he looked down at her, "What is wrong?" He asked, as she slow lat go and watched the sangheili walk past them. "It was nothing, that guy just startled me is all." She replied, embarrassed at her own paranoia. "Well, do not try to do that again when we are speaking with the shipmaster. He may take it as a bad sign." He informed quietly as they passed another group of sangheili.

Raki quietly paced the length of the bridge, waiting for the ambassador to arrive. He had already gotten confirmation that the fighter had docked, so it was only a matter of minutes before the door slid open and a small human female stepped in. His eyes were instantly drawn to the energy cutlass and he growled, "She cannot be armed." Not that he thought she was capable of hurting him, but it was best not to take chances with these humans. She nodded as id she understood him and relinquished her belt to the waiting major, then pulled out her small combat knives and gave them to her translator. She didn't even mind the pat down one of the minors gave her to ensure that she was completely disarmed.
Once the minor nodded she was allowed approach him, and greeted him with a bow. "I hope your  transit from your ship to our was satisfactory, Ambassador." He said, watching as she touched the computer in her hand, and spoke to her translator. He was oddly familiar, but he speaking to him could wait until introduction with her were finished. "It was acceptable, and the escorts were very kind." He was about to respond when he heard a male human's voice, and quickly looked around to try and find him. "It is only my AI, Shipmaster. He helps me to understand your language without overtaxing my translator." He looked from her to the translator.
"One sangheili to the other, are you translating exactly what she's saying or are you modifying it slightly?"
"I am merely a tool through which ambassador Jasmine can speak," he said with a slight discomfort, "Every word I say is exactly what she is speaking in her language."
"Good, when you have a free moment, I wish to speak with you in private."
"As soon as Jasmine is settled in her room, I will ." The human frowned and tugged on his gauntlet. Despite the calm tone she used, she was obviously annoyed by something. "Forgive me translator, but I merely assuring that the translator was speaking correctly," He said as his stomach twisted at having to be so nice to her, instead of her earning it by proving herself in combat like all the others. "No, it is I who should apologize. I did not mean to interrupt your conversation with him, but Those two minors keep glancing over at me, and it's kind of annoying." He spun around to address the two behind him. "Please speak your mind about the ambassador." Thy lowered their heads, "We were just curious about her, that's all Shipmaster." He growled and turned back to her, "It was nothing of concern, just two curious minors." She nodded and did not press the issue. "I do not wish to appear weak, but I am rather tired from the battle with the...Kig-yar, and would like to get a hot shower." She looked sown, seeming a little ashamed,  but the other sangheili on the bridge did not hear her so he nodded. "Major, escort the ambassador to her room, and treat her kindly." She smiled and followed him, but turned when her translator did not follow. She spoke to him, but he shook his head and waved her off. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to follow her guide.
"She can handle just walking to her room. Now, you wanted to speak with me, Shipmaster?" He nodded, "Yes, first off, why do you look so familiar?"
"I am kaidon Jul." He began explaining his predicament and why he was her translator. With this new information he began to piece together Jul's past. 'There's a possibility of going back to war with the humans?' he realized, 'No telling how many other Sangheili they still have in their prisons.' He paced for a moment, then smiled, 'I wonder what value this information will be to those who still wish to fight?' "What is your opinion of the ambassador?" he asked the bemused Jul, "And I want your truthful option."
He scratched his head and replied, "To be honest, she is a unique human," he began, "She's almost like one of us, hard to believe as it is." This caught Raki off guard, "Despite being severely outnumbered, she insisted upon protecting he bridge from the kig-yar pirates, and when the enemy formed a phalanx, she risked her life by jumping into their midst to take their attention from her squad. Naturally I joined her in the close combat."
That's when he noticed the bandage on Jul's shoulder. "What is that?" He asked, pointing to it. He nervously covered it with one hand, "The one who put this on was no medic. but they thought it was serious enough that it needed this." He quickly pulled it off as he chuckled. "So you figured it was a sort of loophole...That's very cunning. You must have picked it up from the humans."
The insult hit deep, but he remained passive. "They taught me a few things yes, but that was not one of them." he calmly countered. Suddenly one of the screens flicked on and a bruised sangheili appeared. "Shipmaster, you won't believe this but the ambassador came into the training room, and she's beaten all of our best fighters single handedly. You must come see this!" Raki growled and turned off the screen. "There is no way a human can best my warriors." He said and walked out of the bridge. "You may be surprised at what she can do." Jun whispered.



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Her new change of clothes were soaked with sweat as she dove under another opponent and delivered the finishing blow to their back. After a good shower, she had decided to go for a walk and stumbled across the room by accident. it looked alot like a normal gym, but what immediately caught her attention were a couple of sangheili doing some hand-to-hand combat in the ring. As she watched them, they laughed and invited her to try her luck with them. So far she'd beaten them all.
Suddenly the doors opened, she turned to see Jul and Raki enters, but the distraction cost her. Her sparing partner took advantage of it and sent her across the mats. "Hyia Jun! Could you tell this guy that was a good punch. My jaw's going to be sore in the morning!" She said, standing back up and coming at him again. "Are you alright? I thought you said you were tired?" He asked after translating. She shrugged and dodged another strike as Raki set aside his weapons. "I don't know, but after that shower I had tons of energy to burn so I thought I'd practice my fighting skills." Her sparing partner looked over as Raki took his place. "The shipmaster wishes to test your skill." Jul informed, but she relaxed her stance upon hearing this. "I did not challenge him, so I do not want to fight you, Shipmaster." He caught her with a swift leg sweep that dropped her to the mats. "I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice Jasmine. No one on Sangheilios declines a challenge, and a shipmaster has the right to challenge any aboard his ship." He informed as she slowly stood up. "Alright then, I'll give it my best shot Shipmaster." She said and wiped the sweat off her forehead.
Jul's advice became a background sound as she circled her new opponent. She threw a few practice jabs, testing his defense. He countered with another leg sweep, but she leapt over it with feline-like grace. "You can't get me with the same old trick." She turned her jump into a drop kick, catching his helmet. With a yelp she kicked away and rubbed her calf muscle. "Forgot I wasn't wearing armor" She hissed softly, "won't make that mistake again." Raki pounced at her, "Never show weakness!" She heard Jul advice as she ducked under him and kicked up into his gut. The blow drove the air from his lungs and he tumbled to the mats. He didn't move for a few moments which made her worry, and she walked over to his side. "Shipmaster, are you alright?" She asked as she bent down.
Suddenly their roles were reversed as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the mat as he got up. He growled low in his throat and Jul said, "Never let your guard down..." She slowly stood back up, shaking the fog out of her head. "Okay, let's try that again." He nodded and stepped back. "You are determined to win? That's commendable." She shrugged and rolled her shoulders, "Not to win, just to survive. Live to fight another day and all that. But yeah I kind of want to win."
He let out a warbling laugh and came at her again, on the offensive. He threw a quick right hook, but she ducked under it and punched him in the knee then went for the gut. He jumped away, on the defensive again as she tried to kick him in the jaw. encouraged by the withdrawal, she ran forward to attack, but he was waiting for her to get overconfident and do so.
She found herself flying into the air as he grabbed her wrists and threw her up. As she came back down, he sent a vicious kick meant to send her off the mats, but she crossed her arms and set her stance to absorb the shock from it. It still managed to slide her to the edge though, and she struggled to shake the stunning blow. Before she could move, he charged at her and knocked her off the mats. he laughed and growled, "It would appear that you have lost again. Care to give it another go?" She shook her head and laughed too. "I know when I'm outclassed by a better warrior." She said, sitting up as he offered her a helping hand. "It is wise to know when you are beaten."
She smiled, believing that she had made another friend as she followed them out. "Hey, umm Jul could you take me back to my room? I've sort of forgotten where it is." She asked hesitantly. He looked at her, then spoke to Raki and nodded. "Very well. Raki tells me that he respected your determination during the fight, and that you now have access to all parts of the ship, so long as you don't go causing and trouble." She nodded and followed him, not noticing the strange look Raki gave her as she left.