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Legacy of the Precursors

Chapter 14: Acceptance

As Fox anticipated, the next few days had been…strenuous. Six had once more withdrawn himself from the world, spending his days either at the rec center or off in the forest doing god knows what. Krystal had not taken this well, the vixen retreating into her room, most likely to brood on her sorrows. And the rest of the team did as they usually did, not really all that affected, though Miyu also seemed to be in the downwards straights. The feline had attempted to broach conversation with the spartan at the times he was present, but she was firmly rejected at every turn.

Fox could only wonder what was going through Six's mind. The spartan had been doing so well before this whole incident with Krystal, now it seemed he had fallen to his old ways with a silent fury. The vulpine supposed he could have just ordered Six to fess up on his problems, but he feared such a demand would result in the loss of the soldier's respect. No. This would have to be handled a different way. If he could not uncover the reason behind the spartan's reclusion, there was only one who could.

The only problem was that they had run out of time for that. The Great Fox's torpedo bay had been retrofitted to accommodate a tube to fit the drop pod and the machine had been loaded up yesterday.

So, seeing no immediate solution, Fox gave the order for them to return to the ship. The resulting trip back had been mostly noiseless, the ambient moods heavily affected by Six's silence. When back aboard, the spartan was quick to disappear into his quarters as they prepped for launch.

In fact no one heard from him until they were several hours into their voyage.

The first person to see him had been Slippy, the toad encountering the spartan down in engineering, finding the soldier as he tended to his weapons.

*****

“Hey Six…" The amphibian greeted the silent warrior as he entered, heading over to his projects.

The spartan nodded in soundless reception as he oiled the detached barrel of his sniper rifle; the weapon stripped down into its constituting parts and located on the table in front of him with his usual military precision.

As Slippy worked, he glanced over to Six, disappointed at his aloofness. He had thought that Six had fallen out of that, but it looked like he had been wrong. Wanting to at least get a few words out of him, the toad began to speak.

“I'm sorry, but I won't be able to finish work on your weapons by the time that we arrive at Fortuna. There are still a few things I need to do."

Six's gauntlet stopped, the cloth draped over the partially oiled barrel as the spartan glanced up from his weapon. “That is acceptable. I have other equipment to use in the meantime." He grunted disinterestedly, his gauntlet resuming motion.

“Oh okay…cool." Slippy replied, frowning as he went back to work.

As the toad tooled away, the spartan decelerated his maintenance on his firearm and tilted his helm up slightly, studying his alien companion as he toiled away. After a few moments his work speed resumed its pace and the warrior returned his attention back to his weapon.

Trying to puzzle out the problem with the weapon he was trying to design, Slippy heard the door open and close. The toad looked over his shoulder and saw that Six had departed the room, leaving him on his own.

Slippy shrugged, uncertain as to what exactly was eating at the spartan. But there was nothing he could do for him, besides finish what he had been working on for the past two weeks, and so the toad went back to work.

*****

Miyu entered the armory with a sigh, gazing into the mirrored surface of the deck below her. The last few days had been particularly stressful, with Six turning even more antisocial then when they had first met. She remembered the when she tried to speak with him after he and Fox returned from wherever it was they went. The spartan had not even dained to acknowledge her, brushing past the feline as she approached and going inside the villa.

Any further attempt by her to speak with him after that point had ended with similar results, he dismissing her labors at every turn. Miyu was at a loss as to what to do now. The cat was furious with him for being so belligerent, yet at the same time she worried over him. Something had changed in him shortly after they spoke, something strong enough to alter his already heavily reclusive routine.

Coinciding with this, Miyu had also noticed Krystal acting strangely. The usually lively and joyful vixen had become much like the spartan, spending her time in seclusion. Additionally, the unkempt appearance of her friend was great cause for concern. It was as if she just simply stopped caring, and Miyu didn't know why.

Now they had another mission coming up, even more dangerous than the last, and two members of the team were acting out of sorts. Such distractions did not bode well and if it was not somehow resolved before they deployed, it could prove to be a fatal diversion.

“What the heck is going on?" The feline muttered as she entered the armory. At the least she could check on her gear before she needed it. Even though she was going to be using her interceptor, it didn't hurt to make sure her other equipment was functioning. In the extremely unlikely event that she was shot down, she would need that stuff to keep herself alive.

Miyu wandered over to her locker and popped it open with her PIN code, reaching inside and pulling two sidearms from the anchors latched onto the sides of the rectangular container. They were just two of the many she had collected since her first days as a mercenary and it might be considered unnecessary to have so many, but Miyu was a firm believer in one of the several mercenary golden rules…always bring backups. Carrying them in one paw, the feline leaned back inside and pulled out her flight suit, the custom tailored uniform having been patched up a few days after they landed back on Corneria.

Seeing the freshly mended gash in the suit sent a tingle of phantom pain shooting to her side. Even after having been fixed up, her side still occasionally bothered her. The sight of the new repair kindled her memory, the cat recalling how close she had been to death. If not for Six's quick thinking she would have met her end that day. Miyu wondered where she would be at that moment if he had never entered her life. It was possible she would not be standing where she was.

She briefly considered putting the uniform back on but eventually decided against it. Right now she was comfortable in her regular outfit. No need to suit up with the mission still a few days away, Fortuna a two day trip by warpdrive. It sucked that Beltino's Orbital Gate was still offline, the thing was scheduled to be back up almost a month ago, but the invasion and reignited war put that on hold as other projects needed the toad's attention. If it was back in action they would have reached Fortuna within a few hours rather than days.

Shrugging, Miyu hung it back on the hook and shut her locker, turning to use the workbench sitting by the firing range. It was a little on the small side, compacted to fit in the dreadnaughts smaller rooms, but it was enough for the team to use, not that many ever did. Mainly Falco and herself were the only ones to spend time down here, with Fox occasionally making his way down to brush up on his impressive skills with his blaster. Peppy considered himself too old to worry about stuff like that and Slippy was not much of a shooter to begin with. Krystal preferred using her staff, with the rare occasion of bringing her toy out from its pedestal. Miyu was still surprised that a dainty vixen like her could use something like that. And from what she had seen, Krystal's expertise with the hefty weapon was not all that bad either.

Miyu had a random thought, wondering what it would be like to see Six wielding that beast, grinning at the image formulating itself in her head.

It would be pretty badass.

Tossing the pair of handblasters onto the worktable, the feline reached under and pulled out the drawer, shuffling around for a toolkit. As she fished for the pack of tools, her hooped ear flickered, detecting a new noise originating from behind her. Curious, Miyu glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Six standing at the other side of the room.

The spartan seemed to be distracted by the task he had placed before himself, the soldier disassembling one of the blasters that had been hanging on a wall mount. As it stood he had managed to pull apart the main chassis of the weapon and was examining the glowing red gem that had once been locked inside a small crystal tube.

Miyu kept her gaze on him, Six grasping the tiny crimson jewel in a two-fingered grip.

He rotated it in his gauntlet, studying every angle of its multifaceted geometries. Holding the stone up to the device on his wrist, Miyu watched as a blue light traveled up and down the object in his hand. After a few moments the light shut off and Six placed the gem back into its tube, shifting his attention to his wrist mounted apparatus. The spartan waited until the display lit up, a sheet of information scrolling across the tiny rectangular screen.

Letting out a nearly inaudible grunt, Six slapped the device closed and fiddled with the weapon, deftly reassembling it within moments and returning it to the rack on which it had laid before his arrival.

As he turned to examine the next weapon, Miyu fought with herself, trying to find the courage to approach him once more. She wanted to speak with him, but was not sure how. Before, it had been easy for her to just walk up and let it rip, but now she lacked the grit to do even that.

Pondering on her predicament, the feline glanced down at the table, an idea suddenly taking hold.

Leaving her weapons behind, she strode over to him, stopping a few feet away. She knew he had probably already noticed her the moment she arrived.

As predicted, Six set down the rifle he had been inspecting and lifted his visored helm to her, silently observing the now nervous cat.

“Miyu…" He growled cordially, greeting her.

“Hey Six, watcha doing?" She inquired, though she already had a pretty good idea as to what it was he was in the process of trying to accomplish.

“Research…" He replied impartially, picking up the gun he had dropped with the intent to return to his task.

“Do you need some help?" She wondered, hoping that he would take her up on her offer. At this point she was willing to take what she could get from him. Though she wondered why she needed to hear the sound of his voice.

Six mulled over her proposal, palming the blaster in his hands as he deliberated on whether or not to accept it. Shrugging, he gave her a terse nod and tilted his head in a motion for her to follow. “Your aid would expedite my study."

Grinning happily at her success, Miyu followed the spartan.

Despite the rather cut and dry tone of the conversation, she was just glad he was talking to her. It beat the hell out his previous wall of silence. As she instructed him on the finer aspects of the inner workings of blaster technology, the lynx felt a strange sense of content. Six's deep, rolling voice was pleasant to listen to, and while most girls might have been turned off by his gruff speech pattern, to her it was not an issue. She liked things a little rough, it kept life interesting.

She was not sure how long it was they talked, but by the end she was feeling ravenous. She had been denied the chance to grab a meal before they set off and she intended to head up to the common room to rectify that concern.

Putting back together the weapon she had been using as a demonstration tool, Miyu glanced at Six. With him back in his armor she was unable to read his expressions, and with his nearly constant detached tone, that was the only way she could get a sense of his current state of emotions.

Not to mention she had been denied the sight of his fairly attractive features.

“Hey Six, do you wanna grab something to eat?" She asked with an air of hopefulness.

Yet her confidence was dashed as he shook his head.

“I am not hungry, perhaps at a later time." He dipped his head in gratitude. “Your help today was greatly appreciated. Until next…" Leaving with that, Six exited the armory and left her to her own devices.

Although disappointed, Miyu was still happy. It was not often the spartan doled out gratitude, and that made it all the more precious. Sighing wistfully, she too left. After all, she was still hungry, whether he joined her or not

Though…it would have been far more pleasant if he had chosen to go with her.

*****

Peppy turned away from Krystal's room with a frown. The vixen had refused to see him, and he did not know why. He had noticed her grim demeanor shortly before they departed and upon inquiring as to what was troubling her he had been firmly denied. This was not all that uncommon for her to do. Occasionally she would fall into a dark mood, always associated with reminiscing on the loss of her home. But this time felt different. It had been a month by his records since the last time she became like this, stopping almost immediately after Six had joined the crew. And this incident seemed to illicit a stronger reaction from her than any previous. Peppy had a feeling the spartan was, in some way, pertinent to this variation in her usual tempers.

The hare had his suspicions. He had lived a long life and witnessed many things for himself, and he was certain that Krystal had contracted some form of puppy love in regards to Six. He had seen many cases like it, young women falling for bad boys, not that Six fit that type of description in any way. To compare him to them would be laughable, but it was the closest term he could devise. The spartan was a far cry from someone like that. His darkness was a very real thing. Peppy had seen it for himself in Six's eyes. That man had seen and been party to a great deal of suffering in his life, the spartan still carried a plentitude of secrets with him. And Peppy was not all that sure if it was wise to keep him on.

He had seen a few cases like Six in the past, but this had to set the record on the severest he had encountered. The sheer level of disassociation with his environment and lack of empathetic actions was a scientific curiosity. Most serial killers showed more emotion then Six. Yet contrasting his analysis, the hare had never met a single person with such a predilection for loyalty and obedience. It was as if he was hardwired to behave that way. Peppy had a suspicion that if Fox ordered the spartan to pull a gun on himself he would do so without question; such was the belief in his necessity to obey orders. This concerned Peppy somewhat, what his military must have forced upon him to elicit such a conviction. Without a doubt he had been subjected to heavy indoctrination, likely at a very young age where it would be the most effective.

Peppy felt pity for Six. No one deserved to be put through such horrors of the likes he had spoken of and no doubt endured.

He could see why Krystal might be attached to him, something about broken men seemed to draw certain types of women. She was a tender soul and he was unequivocally, a damaged individual. She probably had started off wanting to help him, only drawing herself further in. If this was true, and the vixen had fallen for the spartan, Peppy was not sure if it was a shallow affection or one more meaningful. Perhaps she had discovered something in him that she liked? What that was, he did not know.

But he did know that Six would not understand any advances she might try to make. He was simply not geared to comprehend that type of scenario. If what Peppy suspected was true, and the spartan was a product of the immoral conduct of child soldiery, then he very well might not understand a great deal of the aspects of life that did not involve war.

The more he considered it, the more he suspected this to be the reason for Krystal's dour mood. She had most likely attempted to show her affection, and he had in all possibility reacted in a definitively negative way. Someone like him encountering an unfamiliar situation would withdraw from it and into himself. Yes. That must be it. It explained her mood and the spartan's reclusion.

The hare rubbed his chin, shaking his muzzle in pity.

Poor Krystal, she has no idea what she's getting herself into. Peppy doubted that Six would ever return her affection.

Peppy looked up and was surprised to find Six standing behind him, though he doubted the spartan had even bothered to acknowledge his presence, the soldier reaching for the keypad to his personal quarters.

“Greetings Six."

The spartan's gloved fingers halted millimeters from the entry button, his helm swiveling towards the hare.

“Peppy…." The warrior hailed him with a curt and respectful tilt of his helmet.

“I don't believe we have had the chance to speak in recent days. Tell me, how are you?" The hare was curious to see if he could glean some information from Six, perhaps having a better chance than he had with Krystal. The spartan was likely to speak bluntly, and would hopefully prove to be a better means of learning what exactly was happening.

“I am functioning well enough." Six replied with his accustomed flatness.

“Is that really true?" Peppy wondered aloud.

Six dropped his gauntlet from the doors pad, tightening it. “What is it that you are implying, Hare?" He growled softly.

“Nothing at all my dear boy." He countered with a friendly smile. “But perhaps we can speak in further detail if you are feeling up to it?"

The spartan remained motionless for several seconds and upon finally moving, he keyed open his door and gestured inside, silently.

Taking the signal, Peppy nodded in thanks and entered the spartan's room. This was the first time he was able to see Six's quarters and he could not refute that he was curious to see what the soldier had done with the place.

The hare wouldn't know it, but Six's room could be considered synonymous with his title, spartan. It was devoid of any noticeable personal effects and almost bland in appearance. The only “decorations" as it were, would be the weapons he had lying about in various states. On the table was the long barreled weapon Peppy had seen before, a shotgun he believed it was. Standing erect in orderly columns beside the weapon were the bright red shells it used as munitions. Two other weapons were visible in the small chamber, a small one no bigger than a submachine gun sat on the spartan's bed, next to his pillow, and a mid-sized rifle was leaning on the desk's chair.

Besides those and a few strange devices lying about, not much had changed from when the room had been abandoned, though it had been meticulously cleaned since Six occupied it. Not a spot of dust or a piece of trash could be seen.

Peppy watched as Six entered his room and picked up the rifle, moving it onto the desk beside the shotgun, motioning for him to take the now free seat. As he moved to comply, the spartan took his place against the far wall.

“Now…what is it that you want?" The soldier inquired brusquely, scarcely waiting for Peppy to take his seat.

This elicited a chuckle from the hare. “My dear boy, must every conversation be based on want? Can we not just converse like civilized individuals?"

Six grunted and folded his arms in irritation. “I am no fool. You came here with a purpose, Hare. Tell me what it is and be done with these inane word games."

Peppy could not help but grin and shake his head. “If what you seek is frank and full disclosure then I shall abide." Leaning back in the chair, he carefully removed his glasses and polished them with the hem of his coat. “Tell me Six, what is that you have done to upset Krystal so?"

Almost immediately, the spartan's helmet twitched a fraction. “What are you talking about?"

“Now I may be old…" Peppy admitted with a soft chuckle. “But that does not mean I am senile. I know you are responsible for Krystal's current state." His gaze upon Six hardened. “That young woman means a great deal to me, much like my own daughter. I would like to know if you have hurt her in any way."

“What?" Six demanded in bewilderment. “I would not do something like that…not to her." He added with a quiet rumble.

“That is what you might believe, Six. But there are ways to cause pain without realizing it. And I believe you are rather adept at doing that." Peppy gave the spartan a gentle rebuke.

“I…" Six went silent, his arms tightening together.

“Before you speak, all I ask is that you listen to what I have to say."

The spartan nodded tentatively.

“Good…" Peppy gave his own nod of satisfaction, continuing with his impromptu speech. “Now then, we are all in this team together, and I don't think you have quiet grasped that yet. You may be a great warrior, but that will only take you so far in this life. War is a constant that has existed throughout the ages. But so is love…and family. And we are ever inescapably caught between the two. We can live without one, but not the other. It will be up to you, Six, to find which one that is…. Do you understand?"

“I…I believe so." Six replied hesitantly.

“You would do well to take my advice, Six. I have lived in this system for many years, and though I do not look it now. I have quite a bit of experience in these matters. But I made the wrong decision, and I live with that regret every day of my life. I hope you do not make the same mistake." Peppy informed him with a sad smile, recalling some of the less savory moments in his life.

There was a reason his daughter did not want to speak with him.

If only there was a way to turn back the clock, he would have made so many different choices. But he supposed that's what life was about, making mistakes, learning from them, and teaching the next generation to be that much smarter. And maybe, somewhere off in the future, there would be no more mistakes, no more problems. But that was not now. Now he would have to content himself with helping those he could, like Six. There was hope for the spartan, but not much if he kept on as he did.

“Now with that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, we can go back to my first question. Now think, Six, what might you have done to upset her?"

The spartan seemed to pause, most likely recalling what had occurred days prior_. “She took me to some place in the forest, a clearing of sorts, with a waterfall. We talked, and then she…."_ He stopped, stumbling over what to say next. “I do not what it was she tried to do." He seemed to be genuinely baffled.

Peppy suspected as much. Of course Six would not understand what she was trying to do. He was simply not mentally equipped to handle such things. Knowing that the spartan responded well to candor, it would be best to treat this issue bluntly.

“You must know by now that she has affection for you, Six."

The spartan tilted his helm diffidently, remaining silent.

“Now, I need you to answer my next question honestly. There is no need to be concerned with myself, just speak from the heart. I know you still have one inside there. So tell me, Six, do you share the same sentiment?"

For the first time since Peppy had met him, the spartan turned away. Not once before had the supersoldier ever been the first to flinch. Nor did he answer the question.

“I see… Well in that case I suggest that you find out. " Whatever the case, Peppy had said his piece. Sighing, he rose from his seat, focusing on Six as he made to leave. “Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. And I hope you find what it is you might be looking for, even if you cannot yet see it."

Silence greeted Peppy in response, the spartan remaining as impassive as stone.

The hare grinned, humming to himself as he left.

Six was not as emotionlessly as he led them to believe. It was just a matter of whether he was able to find them before it was too late.

*****

Fox stood beside the holotable in the CIC, waiting for Six to arrive. They were approaching Fortuna's gravity well and would soon be dropping out of warpspace. That would leave them little time before the spartan would have to take his firsthand test with the newly crafted drop pod. In advance of this, the vulpine had to lay the groundwork for the operation. Little intelligence was had on his objective; numbers, disposition of enemy troop placement, and what type of defenses were all unknown. What they did know was where the base was and what needed to be done to prep for the main assault. So Fox intended to do all he could for his friend in the short term he had been given.

He was not kept waiting long, as Six entered within minutes of his own arrival, the spartan assuming his habitual parade rest stance on the opposite side of the war table.

“Fox…" Six rumble quietly in greeting, the vulpine having come familiar with Si's way of address.

“Hey Six, we don't have a lot of time so we'll have to skip on the pleasantries. We'll arrive in local space within the hour and I'll need you in the pod before that so this will be quick."

The spartan's stance shifted ever so slightly.

With that, Fox cut down to business quickly, activating the table's holo projector and pulling up a section of the planet. “The data we have collated on the venomian compound equates to about fuck all. So you'll be going in blind for all intents and purposes. But as you and I know, it is located somewhere along the western hemisphere, around the D quadrant, right about here." He pointed to a small forested region near a towering mountain. “That means you'll have to find it before you hit planetside and get as close as possible with your pod while you are still able to. Beltino has assured me that the pod's thrusters will be up to the task."

As he briefed Six, Fox was concerned. The spartan was devoid of his usual input, choosing to remain mute. But as much as that troubled him there was little time to dwell on it.

“Likewise, General Pepper has informed me that there might be CDF units in the immediate vicinity since a small firebase is in the area, though their current status is unknown. That means you'll have to watch your fire down there. If you find any local units, you have permission to assume temporary command using the challenge phrase Big Dog, and the attached clearance code 580-2950. Once you reach the installation the choice on what to do is up to you, I won't try to tell you how to fight. I know you have more than enough experience to make your own decisions. However, the most pressing objective is to eliminate the venomian reactors. I suggest you take some explosives down with you. Since I didn't know whether you have your own or not, I sent Miyu down to the torpedo bay with a few cases and she should be putting them in the pod as we speak. Their use is pretty artless, just activate with a button and set a time threshold."

Fox took a deep breath from his longwinded speech, “Once the bombs are set, don't stay and fight, just fall back. We'll be up in the skies with the fleet until we get the all clear. Then we'll head down and have someone swing by in the shuttle to pick you up. Sound easy enough?"

All the spartan had to do was assault an entire military base by himself. Yet, judging from Six's unworried stance, it appeared that was of little concern to him. Affirming Fox's hypothesis, the spartan nodded.

“This should be accomplished shortly."

“Right….of course." Fox grinned, it fading slowly. Despite the knowledge of Six's martial prowess, the vulpine could not help but feel worried himself. Six might very well meet his end down there. And to think of the spartan as dead filled Fox's gut with dread. He had already lost his family to war, and he didn't think he could endure any more deaths. “Just remember the most important objective, Six. Come back alive, that's an order."

For the first time since the meeting began, the spartan showed some emotion, a smile in his tone. “Agreed…"

The vulpine's own grin resurfaced and he shut off the projector, turning to head out of the room. “Right then, let's get this show on the road."

Leading Six through the ship, Fox traveled down to the torpedo bay, the only section of the ship on the same level as the hanger, placed at the end of the hallway besides the elevator. Once they entered, Fox noticed that two others were there, though he had expected there only to be one. Miyu was in the process of loading up the explosives in the separate compartment on the pod. But Krystal was also there, the vixen standing beside the cylindrical entry vehicle with a paw poised on its hull, staring deeply into the steel grey plating.

Krystal was a sight better than the last time Fox had seen her. No longer did she appear to be a ragged mess. Any signs of distress she carried previously had been wiped away and her flight suit was as cleanly pressed as the day she first received it.

At the sight of her, Fox noticed Six stiffen, the spartan visibly affected by her presence. Though he continued on, Six lagged behind, stopping at a distance from the pod. Sensing that his friend was troubled, Fox continued the rest of the short way without him.

Miyu slid the final device into its case and stored it inside the pod, turning to Fox as he neared with a toothy grin.

“Heya boss, just in time, I'm about finished and the things ready to go." Sighing, she stepped back and slammed the rear hatch closed. “Personally, I think is a pretty crappy idea you and Six got going here and its probably going to get him killed. But then again, I'm just the hired help." The feline chuckled boisterously; looking over the vulpine's shoulder, her strained grin nearly collapsing.

Fox smiled, choosing not to respond.

Instead he turned to leave, stopping besides Six and holding his paw out.

“Good luck."

In a motion that surprised Fox, the spartan extended his gauntlet past the vulpine's stretched paw and firmly clasped his forearm, just below the elbow. Startled, Fox hesitated to imitate Six's sudden show of comradery, his grip tightening on the soldier's thickly armored bracer.

“I will see you on the other side…Fox." The spartan replied with an unusual demonstration of warmth.

“Right…on the other side." He grinned up into the soldier's expressionless visor, no longer intimidated by the mirrored bulwark of imposing steel, knowing who it was that stood behind it.

Fox left the room with confidence, already conscious of the coming results of the spartan's mission.

*****

Six watched Fox leave, turning from the door to eye both females that had chosen to stay behind. Miyu stood off to the side of the pod, holding something in her paws. To him it looked like a weapon of sorts and he wondered what it was she was doing.

Krystal had not moved from where he had first spotted her, her paw still lingering on the drop pod's hull. Yet as her soft emerald eyes shifted towards him, he found his faculties for movement arrested, those piercing jade irises steadfastly locked onto his visor. Six could not help but feel that maddening upwelling of guilt that had been plaguing him for days, the events back on Corneria consuming his attentions since the moment of their inception. The spartan had thought it within his capabilities to be human, yet he could not even overcome the first obstacle to thrust itself onto his path. Admittedly this was one hell of an impediment.

There was much he was still left in the dark about, this uncharacteristic connection he felt with Krystal, and to a different extent, Miyu. These mysterious impulses that now haunted him and the imbalanced sentiments that confounded his senses. He no longer knew what to think of either women, or anyone in the team. As it stood Fox was the only constant. The vulpine was his commander…his…comrade. At least that's what he thought, or perhaps not. He didn't know anymore. It had been so long since he had someone to call friend that he did not know if this feeling he had was what that entailed.

What were any of them to him now? What was he to himself? Could he still be called a spartan? Or human for that matter? Or was he something hopelessly lost in-between? Forever torn, never belonging wholly to either one?

Or perhaps…he was just Noble Six, the excruciating culmination of a weary existence, just a man trying to find a place in a world not of his own?

There was one thing amongst all these did not to be fact, and it had taken him many days to discover this.

He felt alive, more so then he had been at any point in time during the war. Even surrounded by aliens and beleaguered by uncertainties as he was. Not since he had lost everything as a child had he felt this swell of incomprehensible emotions, though these did not carry the same sentiments behind them.

The knowledge that someone besides himself actually cared about his existence filled him with…was it warmth? He didn't know how to correctly describe the sensation. He likened it to a fire kindling in a hearth long abandoned. As he thought of Fox, Krystal, Miyu, and the others, he felt an upsurge of contentment. These were the ones that had shown him a life where he thought none had existed.

They all meant something to him in some way he could not rightly grasp.

While he mourned the loss of his spartan brethren, they were soldiers like him, uncompromising and resigned to their fates. The minute he had joined them he had already acknowledged the inevitable outcome. But Starfox was different. They were not like him or his fellows. They held onto hopes, dreams…aspirations, to be more than just mercenaries.

He had long ago tossed away any sense of worth to his own life, accepting what it was he had become, acquiescent in the awareness that he had no future beyond death on the battlefield. His only purpose was to martyr himself for mankind. Now, with no mankind to sacrifice himself for, this resolution no longer applied.

It was they who now gave him his worth, without them he had no reason to strive to live. This was not some hurried juvenile assumption. To Six it was purely pragmatic. Without Fox to follow and the team to protect, what other purpose did he serve here? Indeed he had not given thought to the possibility of functioning on his own. His life of service had made him entirely dependent on an existing chain of command with which to unquestioningly follow. He needed someone to lead him, to help him fulfill his purpose.

And for that reason he would rather die than fail any one of them.

Yet he had already failed her…

Krystal, he knew not what it was that she wanted with him. All he knew as that whatever it was meant a great deal to her. Six had previously vowed to protect her from all forms of harm, but he had not counted on him being the one to be the cause. This situation was beyond his current capability of understanding. But that did not matter to him, he did not need to understand. All he needed was to solve this issue.

He recalled his conversation with Miyu days prior, his….embrace, seemed to be what was required to solve that quandary. Perhaps a recurrence of that action for her would bear the same fruit?

Six would have liked to have more time to dwell on a possible solution to his current crisis, but he was swiftly running out of time. The mission was greenlit; he had to be in the pod before they dropped out of FTL. There was no more time to waste.

The spartan stepped forwards and approached the pod, Miyu meeting him halfway.

Six glanced down at the feline curiously, wondering why she had not left when Fox had. Closer to her he was able to identify the weapon she held in her paws, a handgun of sorts, but bigger than any of the ones he had seen before. What she was doing with a sidearm unholstered was beyond him.

“Hey Six, just wanted to see you off, and wish you luck." The feline smiled up at him nervously, fiddling with the gun in her arms. She seemed content with staring at him for a few moments before she jolted out of her reverie, a tinge of rosy flush darkening her muzzle as she held up the weapon for him. “Oh, I brought you this. I thought you might need it. I noticed that some of the other guns were too small. So I thought one of my personal ones might be better."

Six reached out and accepted the weapon, examining it in detail. It was surprisingly large, almost bigger than his magnum. He could clearly see that the cat had lavished her affections on the gun. It was in mint condition and showed no signs of wear and tear, as pristine as the day it had been created. Though he had so far refrained from using cornerian weapons, this one would be acceptable. It had come from one he trusted and would be an adequate replacement for his magnum. He found the gift exceptionally valued with its timing and viability. It would be a textbook support weapon for his sniper rifle and SMG.

The spartan gave it one last inspection before locking it to his thigh plate. “Thank you, Miyu." He ducked his helmet in a show of appreciation.

“No problem, just don't forget to return it." She replied, her smile becoming oddly stressed.

“Of course, I would not wish to steal from you." Why would she give it to him if she was worried he would not give it back? Cornerians were certainly strange.

Hearing his response, Miyu chuckled ruefully, shaking her muzzle. “Right…." She grunted, walking past him with a sigh, muttering under her breath as she left.

Why had she called him an idiot?

Confused, Six shifted his attention to Krystal, the vixen waiting besides the pod with one of those understanding smiles she always seemed to have ready for him. No matter what he did it seemed she had an infinite well of patience when dealing with him.

That gently curled muzzle infuriated as much as it made him want to grin himself. And he was not a man prone to smiling, with very few reasons to. Yet, for whatever the intention, she was apparently one of them.

Krystal was a strange creature to be sure. She could fabricate emotions in him that he had not thought himself having the capability to produce nor understand, not since before his conscription into the spartan program. What was she, to do this to him?

Yet the greater question remained.

What did he think she was to him?

As it stood currently, the vixen was someone he wished to protect. But that was to the extent of what he believed her importance to be. However, it seemed that he meant significantly more to her than she did to him.

Why she placed a person of his….character, on such a high standing baffled him. In no way that Six could tell had he given her reason to.

Then there was Peppy to consider.

The hare had handed him an ultimatum, concealed behind his apparently well-intentioned words.

He must decide what it was she meant to him.

But he simply did not know. She was an…anomaly, an inexplicable variance in his understanding of the world. He knew she was significant to him in some fashion. She was one the one person he had confided in, who shared an understanding of his inner thoughts and motivations. So in a sense, he supposed he did have some amount of care for her. She was…important, to him.

“Hello…Six." The vixen stared up to him with those disarmingly wide eyes.

The spartan had closed the distance to her and the pod, perhaps subconsciously, silently studying the one who affected him in such mysterious ways. Perhaps his eyes could tell him what his mind could not.

In appearance she looked just as the day he had first seen her, wearing that dark blue suit with black underlining. Though, her expression was not the same, holding far more compassion then previous. Just like the others she would forever have to shift her gaze up to speak with him, suffering from a smaller stature. Her tail would always be a source of interest for him, Six doubted the novelty of it or her alien features would ever truly fade, especially with that cerulean pigment to her fur.

With nails more commonly associated with claws and a muzzle full of incisors, alien was truly a correct nomination for her, perhaps even beast, if not for the fact they functioned much like human beings. The spartan found that her appearance and that of the others did not overtly bother him. He had seen far uglier species in the Covenant, Unggoy being the main specimens. In comparison they were rather tame and easily better to look at.

The spartan was instinctively drawn to violence, danger. They had not evolved to wield claws and fangs to better help them garden and chew their vegetables. No. Those were for only one purpose. Perhaps that was why she interested him, the oxymoronic dissimilarity between what she was capable of and what her nature led her to be fascinated him. There was a complexity to her that he had not expected on their first encounter more than a month ago.

It was her alien features and personality. He had never come across someone capable of such a depth of kindness and acceptance. Six would even wager that even if she knew everything about him she would still treat him as she did now.

The spartan found that he was starting to welcome that smile of hers, even anticipate it. Not only had he few reasons to smile, she had been the first to direct one at him.

His opinion on her smile was not the only thing to change. Six no longer viewed her in the same light. Her actions several days ago seemed to have awakened something inside him, something…primal. Things he had previously overlooked about her were at the forefront of his subconscious thought, her distinct aroma being one.

Six's augmentation allowed him to differentiate between the many aspects of her personal scent, the sweet fragrance of the cleaning products she used and the animalistic quality of her feminine musk that was not all that unpleasant, reminding him of his exploration of the forest around the team's villa, of a world untainted by the plasmatic lance of the Covenant.

Eyes sharper than an eagle's now noticed her female form that they had once disregarded. Though not as muscled as Miyu, Krystal was by no accounts frail. Even in her suit he could see the distinct curvature of her lithe build.

This brought back memories of the strange urges that he afflicted him so strongly on that day. He could recall the softness of her fur, the firmness of the flesh underneath as it yielded to his touch. There was something about her sinuous body submitting to his strength that…affected him.

Without thinking, Six raised his gauntlet, the one he had used before and studied it. He was curious to know why these feelings persisted and why she was the root of them. Turning his attention from his gloved hand, Six returned it to the vixen standing in front of him and the source of his musing.

She had patiently endured his silence, though her smile had faded, barely an uplift to the corners of her chops.

“Krystal…" He gave his severely delayed acknowledgement. Remembering what he had to do, the spartan shifted his helmet in curiosity. “Why are you here?"

At the sound of his deep voice her stance shifted and the vixen swept up her tail, running a paw through the plush fur of her extra appendage. “I wanted to see you off…" She muttered softly, though he could hear the beginnings of another response building. “And…I was hoping we could…talk."

The spartan nodded grimly. He had an inkling as to what she might wish to speak of, but now was not the time. The chronometer in his HUD told him that he had no time for it. Perhaps if he had not been absorbed in thought they could have spoken in detail. But that was a luxury currently unaffordable.

“No." He denied her bluntly. Yet as her expression wilted he continued speaking. “Not now, however…I too would like to speak with you. But we will have to wait until this operation's completion. Afterwards on my return I would like to meet with you…inside my quarters." Six hoped to get this issue with Krystal ironed out so that they might be back to….normal, as it were.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth and filtered through his exterior comms system, her muzzle split into that infuriatingly welcomed smile, the tail in her paws twitching happily.

“Yes of course, I would love to!" She exclaimed in anticipation, a complete 180 from the last time they had spoken.

“Good…" He grunted. Now with that taken care of he could focus once more on the mission at hand. Seconds after he disregarded her and took a step towards the drop pod, he felt a force impact his breastplate, alarmed, Six glanced down, seeing the vixen clinging to his armor, claws scraping against the titanium alloy with a clatter as her grip tightened. Confused, bewildered, and baffled, the spartan hesitantly accepted her embrace, awkwardly patting her on the back.

While considering doing this for her, he had not factored in the calculations that she might jump the proverbial gun.

“Just come back in one piece, okay?"

His audio sensors picked up her whispered words and Six nodded, though she could not see it.

“I certainly intend to." He had no desire to die just yet. And he would not want to tarnish the spartan name by getting killed by such underserving foes such as these venomians.

She held him close and just before he pried her off his armor the vixen pulled away, sniffling softly to herself as he straightened out and coughed once to clear his throat.

Wasting no time, Six reached over her and opened the pod, his helmet shifting to face her as he readied to climb in. “Be careful out there and try not to get shot down." It would not do for her to die before they settled this issue.

The vixen nodded, giggling despite the gruffness of his words. She knew that deep down he was just worried about her.

“Try not to die yourself, Six." She retorted, turning to leave the room, her mood considerably heightened past what it had been for the past few days.

The spartan chuckled, shaking his head as he climbed inside the pod. Snapping his rifle onto the anchor next to the seat and briefly familiarizing himself with the controls.

'Strange….absolutely strange…'

He had spent the last day studying up on the pod, it was not all that different from the ones he was used to using, just a few switches out of place and the absence of the controls to deploy the chutes it did not use. As he buckled in, Six glanced down to his thigh and the weapon mag-locked to it.

He would have to thank Miyu properly next chance they met. He really did appreciate the weapon.

Closing the hatch, Six flicked a switch and the pod hooked up to the newly implemented drop rack, dragging the cylindrical hunk of steel over the tube that would soon send him crashing towards the surface, though much more tastefully then what he was used to.

As the spartan waited he recalled a saying he had heard once before.

War never changes.

Obviously whatever philosopher that coined the phrase had never met a spartan.

War would change, and he would be the catalyst.