Chalan stood on the 'bridge' of the ship just behind the captain's chair where the human Adam Vir sat tapping his Drev foot nervously against the ground. The creature called 'dog' was sitting next to him, its head resting against the man's leg, its large ears straight up and attentive.

However, neither she nor the human were paying attention to the dog. Instead they stared out into the vast darkness of space, and the rainbow orb that hung there.

Anin.

She had not expected to see her own planet so soon, and it was likely the human never expected to see it again.

Chalan stepped forward as if a simple step was enough to give her a better view.

Under the murmuring voices around the bridge, things seemed oddly quiet.

The human leaned back in his seat, "Out of all the places in the galaxy, this is the one that I never expected to see again..."

And likely one he never wanted to see again.

Her heart grew sick.

The chair before her swiveled to face her, and the human's warm green eye fell on her, "Where might it be best to look?"

Her hands tingled, "Near my home on the fertile belt, there is a Tesraki mining station and docking port. Seeing that entities other than Drev are involved, the best places to look would be there."

"Alright."

He stood and barked an order at his communications lieutenant. It was important that the GA and UNSC know where they were if they were to find something. He was not going to go into this unless backup was nearby.

A marine, the one named Ramirez, walked over to stand next to the Commander. He rubbed a hand through his dark, spiky hair, arms crossing over his chest, "How do we want to go about doing this?" He asked.

Captain Vir nodded to the planet, "A single shuttle and one six man fire team plus me and the Drev." He jerked his head back at Chalan, "She knows where we are going, and I don't want to risk docking the entire ship there if there is something bigger going on.

Ramirez nodded, "Don't want another Noctus incident."

The captain shot him a look and Ramirez grinned, his pearly white teeth sticking out in contrast against his darkly tanned skin.

"No, we don't." Captain Vir mused.

Chalan closed her eyes. It was best not to think about the future though she felt like a coward as she tried to hide the thoughts from herself. What was she even doing?

She shook herself, she knew what she was doing.

It was for the greater good.

A face appeared in her vision as she thought, and she flinched under the eyes of her mother, which –even in memory – were capable of beating her down and making her feel low.

"Take us into a low orbit." The captain ordered one of the crew members to initiate an automatic system that brought them closer to the planet. Rather than an orb hanging in space the horizon rose closer to a tight parabola outside the viewing screen.

Looking down Chalan could see a patchwork of colorful mossed, towering volcanoes, volcanic glass, and –in the southern hemisphere, great lakes which dripped a splash of blue onto the colorful surface.

In the north, she could see towering mountains covered in ice.

She shivered. Just thinking about it made her feel cold.

"Do a scan of the planet. I want to find any radio signals and where they emanate from. If anything, it will give us a good idea of where they COULD be."

One of the officers nodded.

Captain Vir stood and adjusted his jacket, "We should get ready. Send the details down to me when you have them."

He turned to look at Ramirez, "Is your team prepped?"

The other man nodded,, "Ready to go, and I had the shuttle crew head down into the docking bay to prep our ride."

Captain Vir clapped the other man on the shoulder, "Good work."

Ramirez grinned and followed him out of the room and down the stairs with Sunny trailing after.

She was finding it hard to listen to the plans of the two humans as they spoke.

All she could think about was returning to Anin.... Returning home.

The very idea filled her stomach with writhing corpseworms until she felt so sick she was almost dizzy. Thoughts of her mother kept leaping unbidden to her mind, while thoughts of her father were having trouble chasing those images away.

She was alone.

But no, she reminded herself.

Her brother Kanan was still out there somewhere, and hopefully he was safe.

Images filled her head of her crippled brother and the fire of the ship's engines as he had been shot into orbit on a ship shouldn't have been on. Thinking back, she hoped he was out there.... She hoped he was doing alright.

Making their way into the docking bay, Sunny couldn't push the thought of Anin and her family from her head. She had defied her duties many times, but the biggest one was in helping to rescue her brother.

Injured during the Drev war, tradition dictated that he should throw himself into the fire.

Against her mother's wishes, and in secret, she had accompanied him at his slow limp to the edge of the flames and stood with him on the brink for comfort.

He hadn't been able to do it.

For his own salvation, she should have pushed him in and lied to their mother about his death, making it honorable and saving her family from his disgrace. Barring that, she should have killed him herself, or at least initiated his exile.

Instead she had smuggled him to the launch field and watched him board a ship. She had defied every tradition and every belief she held.

And staring out through window of the shuttle, She wondered if she had ever really believed.

Those philosophies were once of people who had shunned her, beaten her down and betrayed her on multiple occasions.

Why should she believe it?

She looked up at the humans, where they sat in the darkness swaying in their seats with the subtle motion of the shuttle. How strange was it to be here with them.

With humans.

With the ones that had taken so much from her.

Yet?

Something was different about this she mused quietly as the light of Anin glowed down the faces of her human companions. The last time that light had shone on a human face, a war had just ended and thousands had died.

Funny how, she thought, she found more acceptance here than with her own people. Funny how, a human of all creatures could throw off his hatred and mistrust for her in less than a week, when it had taken her mother a lifetime to even tolerate her.

Something about that seemed wrong.

Mothers were supposed to love their children, weren't they?

Her loyalty shouldn't have to be conditional.

It shouldn't be conditional on what she was about to do.

Was it cruel?

Or was she a coward?

The shuttle rattled as they hit the atmosphere, and Chalan clutched her hands around the restraints as they began to rattle back and forth. Across the shuttle, Maverick smiled at her, bony human teeth glittering maliciously in the darkness.

Fire licked up at the edges of the shuttle wings, and Sunny took a deep breath.

Also strange how this had come to be a normal occurrence in her daily life. Less than a lunar cycle ago she had never so much as ridden a vehicle with an engine, only to go racing across galaxies.

She had gone further than any Drev before her.... Accept maybe her brother of course.

And all for what?

To return to the mossy planes of Anin and fight for the rest of her life?

Battle was important to her, and it always would be, but what was wrong with wishing to fight for something.... More?

The ship rattled harder as they broke through a thick white cloud. Below her, the fertile belt stretched out beneath them from horizon to horizon a patchwork of yellow, red, blue, teal, green, orange and purple.

The Coil trees were in blossom, and even from here she could see their white blossoms budding against the striped tree trunks.

She jolted forward in her seat as Captain Vir fired the thrusters, cutting their quick descent to a slow drift.

"Unknown aircraft, please identify yourself."

"Mining base 3 this is Harbinger 1 requesting permission to land."

There was a pause on the line before, "Permission granted Harbinger 1, land tarmac grid 1,3."

Sunny closed her eyes tight against the rocking of the ship.

The ship landed like a whisper, with the delicacy of a Coil blossom coming to fall on the mossen ground.

Captain Vir cut the engines, and the marines unstrapped from their seats.

Chalan clutched her hands tightly around her spear as she followed the marines from the shuttle and onto the tarmac. Looking around, she couldn't help but muse how much more intimidating the launch field had looked in the dark.

Tesraki stepped back as the group of humans and one Drev stepped off the ship.

There was a sort of commotion across the field, and one of the fuzzy little creatures marched over, "Who gave them permission to land without asking me first? It's like you all don't even listen to me." He marched up to where the captain was standing, "You have to leave right now. You should not have been allowed to land."

"Well too bad we are already here, and I have already turned off the shuttle."

The Tesraki shook his head, "No, you will be leaving now."

Captain Vir tilted his head, "On whose authority?"

"On MINE this is my mining site, this is MY landing strip, and this is MY responsibility."

Captain Vir stared down at the little creature for a long moment before, "That's funny because I work for the GA, which means the entire solar system is under MY jurisdiction, MY protection, and you must abide by OUR rules.... How does that sound?"

The Tesraki's ears flattened far back against his head, "No.... no you need a.... a warrant."

Adam snorted, "I don't need a warrant to land on your launch field." He leaned in a little, "You're implying that there is something here that you don't want me to see."

The Tesraki stammered.

Adam smiled, "Besides.... Who is going to stop us.... No you surely?"

The Tesraki turned to look back at his employees, but found himself to be standing alone. He turned back to look at the Captain, his ears plastered against his head, "I uh...."

"Tell me, have you had any outside shipments come through your landing strip recently? Perhaps equipment.... Human made."

The Tesraki opened his mouth, and Adam took a step forward, "Now try to remember as best you can. I wouldn't want to have to ask.... A second time." His voice dropped low and menacing.

The Tesraki shivered, "I.... Yes m-maybe."

The Tesraki glanced at Chalan, catching her eye, and she looked away, "I... yes." He pointed south, "Crates are occasionally taken in that direction. I assumed they were for mining.

Adam crossed his arms, "But there is no mining in the south. All the mines are north of here.

He swallowed, "I... I have learned not to ask questions."

Adam grunted and then stepped forward, "Where is the nearest Drev village?"

Chalan felt her stomach churn as she grew sick clutching tight onto her spear. Off in the distance she recognized some familiar volcanic mountains black against the blue sky.

Why did it feel so long ago that she had seen them?

Like a different lifetime.

Captain Vir turned to look at Chalan, "Do you recognize this area...?"

She paused and then nodded slowly, "I have done battle here.... Before, though it is difficult to recall."

He turned to look at the Tesraki, "How do we reach the nearest village?"

The Tesraki backed away, hands held up, "I don't know. I have never been."

Chalan's voice was quiet when she spoke, "I can take you."

He turned to look at her, "You know where it is? I thought you said it had been a while?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I know the general location of every tribe in the fertile valley."

He paused and then nodded, " Lead the way." He turned his head down to look at the cowering Tesraki, "We will deal with you later, so don't move."

He stayed put eyes wide and ears back as Captain Vir motioned Chalan to lead the way. She motioned with her spear towards the south east, and they followed stepping off the tarmac and onto the moss.

A few of the marines muttered in surprise and delight.

Ramirez bounced up and down in his boots.

Sunny glanced over her shoulder and back towards the tarmac, watching as the Tesraki slipped behind one of the other docked ships, a radio in his hand. She thought she heard his voice, but the wind was blowing up from the south, and so she could not be sure what she was hearing.

"So colorful." Jackie said with pleasure reaching up to pull one of the little white petals from a Coil tree.

"Stay sharp." The captain ordered, and the marines went silent focusing on their task at hand despite the awe in their eyes as they looked around. Glancing over at Captain Vir, Chalan saw that his back was straight and his hands were clenched hard on his weapon.

Her heart thundered in her chest as the moss passed by below her feet. The land slowly dipped before them as she began to recognize things. The rocks off to either side, the shallow gully. The steam rising from a nearby hot spring.

She led them forward, cutting low along one side and between two towering walls of stone. Above her, on the cliff-face, a single, solitary coil tree grew from the sparse rock and moss, its petals sparse and weedy.

She knew this place.

She knew this place very well.

Captain Vir and the marines continued walking the sound of their feet echoing up and over the stone, kicking up clods of colorful moss as they did. Sunny lifted her head feeling the little white moss spores as they brushed against her skin, kicked up by the movement of their feet through the moss.

The day was quiet.

They were almost towards the edge of the gully, and the rocks were narrowing in on them, leading them towards its sharpest point.

Captain Vir had moved forward.

Chalan swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut for a single moment before opening them.

A bellowing war cry rang out over the rocks.

The marines started and looked up, and Sunny lunged forward. With the flat of her weapon she swept Captain Vir's legs out from under him, and he tipped forward into the grass falling on his weapon, pinning it under himself while leveling the spear at hir back.

The marines were not quick enough and too much was happening at once.

Sharp cracking noises filled the air, and little clods of moss and dirt flew up into the blue of the sky as bullets tore into the rock beside them.

The marines froze, looking up at the assembled Drev soldiers standing above them in the gully weapons pointed down into the kill-box.

Heretical, human machines glittered in their upper arms dark and violent against bright carapace, and the beautifully crafted Drev armor.

There were no spears to be seen.

Captain Vir attempted to struggle to his knees, but Sunny pressed her foot into his back.

She lifted her head to the blue sky her heart sinking, "Forgive me.... "She whispered.

"Drop your weapons!"

The cold whip of the voice caused Sunny to flinch as if she had been hit despite the words not being meant for her.

"Drop our weapons NOW!"

Weapons thudded against the moss and clattered on stone.

They knew what hopelessness looked like. There were easily twice as many Drev as them.

A shadow passed over her, and Sunny slowly lifted her head, eyes falling on the towering figure standing on the rock over her purple carapace shining in the sun under her glorious war armor.

General Kazna stood over them in all her glory, golden eyes glaring down at the humans with an ugly expression of hate and smug triumph that Chalan couldn't bear to see.

"At last!"

With a great bound, she leaped down from the rock, falling the height to the ground with a crack against stone, shaking the rocks around them.

"Lift him up!" She snarled, and Sunny reached down, hauling Captain Vir to his knees by the back of his jacket.

He struggled against her, but she held him fast.

General Kazna stood over him, her chin raised, her eyes burning with malice, "Finally after all these years." She muttered.

Teeth gritted the human spat at her, but general Kazna didn't even flinch, reaching out and grabbing him by the throat. Hauling him off his feet and into the air. He choked and gasped, clawing at her hand with his fingertips.

"Pathetic creature." She snarled, throwing him to the ground where he lay gasping.

Chalan kept her head down, feeling the eyes of the marines, and the eyes of the captain on her as she stood.

General Kazna's shadow passed over her eclipsing the sun and the moon above, "It is fortunate that you lie better than you fight, daughter. Good work."