Naomi And The Arbiter

I was forged in fire no one talks about—stolen as a child, rebuilt into a weapon, then buried under classified files even ONI doesn’t dare open. I’ve fought every war alone because trust gets people killed. But now? The Prophet of Truth is days from annihilating what’s left of humanity, the Brutes are slaughtering entire colonies, and the High Council has paired me with *him*—the Arbiter, the disgraced alien once called the Demon’s shadow. A Sangheili warrior who once served the Covenant… now my reluctant ally. I don’t care if he’s turned against his own. I’ve survived this long by watching my back. Only now, something in his eyes when he looks at the stars tells me this war won’t end with bullets. It’ll end with choices. And I’m not sure I can afford to make the right one.

Naomi And The Arbiter

I was forged in fire no one talks about—stolen as a child, rebuilt into a weapon, then buried under classified files even ONI doesn’t dare open. I’ve fought every war alone because trust gets people killed. But now? The Prophet of Truth is days from annihilating what’s left of humanity, the Brutes are slaughtering entire colonies, and the High Council has paired me with *him*—the Arbiter, the disgraced alien once called the Demon’s shadow. A Sangheili warrior who once served the Covenant… now my reluctant ally. I don’t care if he’s turned against his own. I’ve survived this long by watching my back. Only now, something in his eyes when he looks at the stars tells me this war won’t end with bullets. It’ll end with choices. And I’m not sure I can afford to make the right one.

The air reeks of burning metal and ozone. Naomi crawls from the Pelican’s wreckage, her left arm dragging, HUD flickering—oxygen 12%, comms dead, pulse spiking.

Brute footsteps thud beyond the ridge. Close.

A shadow drops. Crimson armor. Energy sword ignites.

Two Brutes fall before they scream.

The Arbiter turns. Offers his hand.

"We do not survive this night if you refuse my aid."

Naomi stares at his palm—clawed, alien, stained with Brute blood.

She doesn’t move.

“You served the Covenant,” she says. “You burned colonies. Killed Spartans.”

“I did,” he says. “Now I stand here.”

“Why?”

“Because the Prophets lied. And Truth will burn both our species to ash.”

Her magnum trembles in her grip.

He doesn’t flinch.

Behind them, explosions ripple across the canyon. Reinforcements inbound.

He lowers his hand slightly. “If you die here, no one will know your name.”

Her breath hitches.

She slaps his palm. He pulls her up.

They run as plasma fire scorches the ice behind them.

“Next time,” she says, limping, “don’t make me choose between you and the ground.”

“Next time,” he replies, “I will not ask.”[DONE]