It was like one of those nightmares, the ones you couldn't get yourself to wake up from no matter how hard you tried. It was one that felt so real you couldn't tell if you were dreaming or not. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong, but even from those dreams you wake up at some point. In Akito's case, he was already wide awake and the nightmare was happening right in front of him. His family was gone, his sister and mother weren't where he had left them or in the nature reserve where he had been heading. Though, he didn't expect them to really be waiting for him in the nature reserve, he hadn't exactly told them to go there if they were to be separated. They had disappeared before he had a chance to even tell them where they were going.

At this point, he could only pray that a friendly civilian or nearby militant had found them and whisked them off to safety. He didn't want to think about the worst happening or having had happened to the only family he had left in the city. He wanted to believe that they were alive, safe somewhere and not risking their own safety to find him. He could only pray that they one day be reunited.

All of Akito's thoughts shifted when his eyes dropped to the data chip he was holding tightly within his hand. He knew it had to hold the answers to everything that was going on, who these creatures were and how to reclaim their lost city from them.

That's what he was praying was on it. Being from the UNSC, it could have been anything for a number of military issued orders or plans. Even so, it could only help the human race at this point, anything could and would.

Standing from his crouched position behind the foliage, Akito lifted his eyes from his hand to New Mombasa. The entire city was up in flames, the screams from within the city had been eternally silenced by the gunfire echoing from within. Down below him in the nature reserve, numerous types of alien species roamed freely as if they had made the reserve their new base. Akito was completely disgusted by the sight, but it made him just as nervous as well. If he were to go back into the city he would need to cut through the reserve to do so. With the invaders amassed in numbers below was going to complicate him doing so.

"Hey, you know you're not supposed to be out here."

Akito's attention was pulled from the enemies down below to the voice that captured his attention. As he turned around, he slipped the data chip into the pocket of his pants as inconspicuously as possible.

His eyes fell upon the young woman that had gotten his attention. Akito could only offer a forced sheepish, yet apologetic smile to the woman.

She was a part of a small group of people that had managed to escape New Mombasa and found refuge within the forested area that surrounded the city. When they had met she had looked an absolute mess and totally distraught from the events transpiring. Now cleaned up and more put together she had managed to pull herself together and take up the role of caring for everyone there. It was the only reason he could think as to why she was there.

Eyeing the young woman, her thin arms crossed over her chest while she jutted out a slender hip told Akito she was growing impatient with his silence. His eyes drifted to meet with her ebony gaze, questioning silently and waiting for him to speak as well. Her skin was dark, reminding him of freshly melted milk chocolate, hardened into the beautiful figure of the girl. Her hair was kissed by the night, black with a hint of a blue shine that was all done up in tight dreadlocks swept to the left. Golden hooped earrings adorned her ears with a matching nose ring on the left side of her nose. It was amazing she hadn't gotten the hoops ripped from her ears when running away, that she managed to look like she was going shopping with friends rather than running from an alien invader.

She was a walking dark angel, ready to sweep anyone off their feet. That was, if they weren't being wiped off the face of the planet and at risk of being the extinct species.

"It was Akito, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

Having to force his mind to work properly, pushing himself out of his deep thinking once more to pay attention. He found it amusing how the annoyance radiated in the woman's ebony eyes as she rolled them. His own emerald orbs sparkled from the amusement he was feeling, no matter how hard he attempted to hide said amusement.

"Well, Akito. . . usually when someone is talking to you, you typically answer in some form out of respect to the one speaking to you."

Akito's amusement vanished almost instantly the moment he started getting lectured. It wasn't like he was some kid misbehaving, he was a full grown adult of twenty-one and knew exactly what he was doing. However, to avoid any hostility between the two of them, Akito nodded gently and relaxed his posture ever so slightly.

"You're right. I'm sorry. . ."

Realizing he didn't know the woman's name yet, Akito sent a curious yet questioning gaze in her direction. He only hoped she knew what he was asking of her when his apology had trailed off into the wind.

"Namoi."

"Right, Namoi. I'm sorry Namoi, I didn't mean to ignore you. I just have a lot on my mind right now and got lost in thought."

To Akito, it felt both right and wrong to apologize for being out there on the cliff side. He hoped that Namoi was more understanding than she let on. Everyone needed time to themselves, especially to think and figure things out when your family was taken from you, as well as your home.

"Understandable, just. . . do your thinking closer to the group next time."

Namoi's body relaxed and her arms dropped to her sides. Her ebony gaze shifted around the foliage as she fought to find something to say. It only made Akito feel awkward, wishing the darker skinned female would say something or leave him to his thoughts. He didn't do well with awkward situations like this.

"So~ Just thinking, huh?"

"Yep."

"You know, if you need to talk. . ."

Akito had to force down the groan that wanted to escape him. It was even harder to not be disrespectful and roll his eyes as the offer about to be given to him. If he wanted to talk about what was on his mind, he wouldn't have come out there to think through his thoughts.

"Thanks, but I needed some time alone to think."

"Fair enough, I guess we all have quite a bit to think about."

Akito nodded, turning to face the alien assailants once more while Namoi came to stand beside him. They stood in silence, both watching the enemy move about as if conducting some form of mobilized operation. Some of the creatures were randomly zipping around on flying vehicles as if they didn't know where they were to go. The whole species seemed unorganized and misguided, like they were given orders only to invade and disregard those orders immediately to do their own thing.

"You know, while we were escaping the city, I overheard some people referring to them as The Covenant."

"The covenant? I still don't understand what they could possibly want with New Mombasa. We didn't do anything to them."

"I know."

It was such a soft solemn response, Akito forced his attention from the covenant to look at Namoi.

She was looking at the alien invaders with such sadness, Akito nearly missed the malice mingling within her eyes. There was a burning hatred for the covenant that scorched her soul. It was the same hatred that burned within him, raging hot at his core. All he wanted was to see them eradicated and wiped from the world.

"Akito, what are you really doing up here?"

Akito dared a moments glance back at the covenant, but it returned to Namoi upon her question being asked.

She was looking at him now, those fiery ebony eyes pinning him with their dark flames. Akito was questioning himself mentally, trying to decide whether to be completely honest with Namoi or not. He couldn't risk a sudden outburst that attracted the covenant to their location or a hitch in his plans to leave. He was plenty aware of the data chip hidden within his pocket, burning a hole right through the cloth and to his skin. His secret from those around him, but he could tell that Namoi already knew about it. She knew he was hiding something and knew he would be the one to leave the safety of the group for whatever reason.

"I'm leaving."

A partial truth was what he had offered the woman. It was better then giving the full truth and having Namoi alert the elders within their group of his hidden treasure. Akito could not risk the data chip being taken from him and his plans -though small- being ruined.

"I figured as much, you've been analyzing each and every one of those creatures down there for some time now."

Had she been watching him? If so, for how long and had she seen him fiddling with the chip earlier?

Even as Namoi turned her gaze onto the covenant below, Akito's own defenses shot way up. His body becoming instantly rigid while he took an involuntary step away from the girl. He suddenly wanted to put as much distance between himself and Namoi as possible. He felt that she could be a danger to him, his plans, to anyone with the way she was able to watch him without being known. He hadn't been able to detect her presence which made her a deadly enemy or a dangerous ally. He wasn't sure which she was. He had to be careful.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to snitch on you."

When Namoi spoke, it snapped Akito out of his paranoid thought process. His emerald orbs trained on the dark skinned woman, watching her every move carefully. He wasn't going to let her get the jump on him, especially with how racy his mind was at the moment.

"How do I know you aren't lying, just saying that to make me trust you?"

"That's not the type of person I am."

"How do I know that?"

"You don't, we barely know each other. However, I've seen the way you sit and stare at your little trinket, deep in thought when you think no one is watching. You know something that we don't and I believe it might save what remains of our people."

Only confirming Akito's thoughts, she was dangerous and very perceptive. Akito didn't know if he could trust her or not. He could let her spoil everything, not when he was so close to leaving and figuring his way back into the city.

However, something about how calm and honest Namoi was being struck him as odd. Why would she be so open with him, allowing him to leave if they had just escaped death from within the city?

"What do you want?"

Akito's emerald gaze never left Namoi's burning ebony eyes. They stared at one another for a split second, a slow smile creeping onto Namoi's lips that left Akito feeling even more uneasy than he did earlier. The action forced an uneasy chill to run down his spine. One he had to fight to conceal if he wanted to continue to stand his ground as firmly as he was now.

"Take me with you."

There it was, the thing that he could feel coming. It was the missing part of the puzzle and the reason she wasn't ratting him out to the others. It was why she hadn't forced him back to their hiding spot, keeping him safely there while their home became overrun and destroyed by the covenant beasts.

"No, just. . . no."

His answer was definite, absolute. Akito didn't want to worry about another person while searching for a computer he could stick the chip in. If anything happened to Namoi, he would never be able to forgive himself. He already felt he had enough blood on his hands after watching his father's murder in their home and the disappearance of his mother ans younger sister. He didn't need anymore added to the short list he had accumulated.

Finally turning from the cliff's edge, Akito began walking into the deep green foliage behind them. It was his way of stating that the conversation was over, but Namoi wasn't done yet. She quickly followed after him, making sure that he couldn't escape from her plea to join him.

"Please, I could help you."

"I said no, and how can you help me anyways?"

Akito stopped, letting the the tree branch he was pushing out of the way fall back into place. He turned around, coming face-to-face with Namoi. She had a look of desperation on her face as her eyes connected with his own.

"Please, you could use someone to watch your back. It'll be safer with the two of us together, more eyes on the area."

Making some good points, Akito considered the proposition. It would be good to have the extra pair of eyes while out there, especially when he would be outnumbered by a substantial number. However, he still remembered how he had the eyes of his mother and little sister, the two still having gone missing. That alone he would never forgive himself.

"As right as you may be, I can't risk it. If something were to. . ."

Akito quieted, both he and Namoi turning their attention to the direction they had just come from.

The sound of small pebbles falling against larger rocks had reached their ears despite their whispered bickering. Not only that, but something was rustling in the nearby foliage and it was coming in their direction. Akito could feel his heart rate pick up, only able to imagine how Namoi was feeling.

The high pitched grungy sound that emanated from the foliage told the pair that it definitely wasn't a human coming their way. In fact, Akito was almost certain that it sounded like a higher pitched version of those large gorilla looking aliens.

In a panicked rush, Akito began searching the nearby area to hide. If it were the larger covenant species, he didn't want to be caught on the ground level where they were sitting ducks. He wanted to be as high up or far away as possible, safe to some degree with hope of surviving any encounter.

His eyes shot upwards to the tree they were standing under. It wouldn't offer as much cover as he wanted, but it would get them off the ground and give them some degree of cover from whatever was coming. It was their only chance to stay hidden from the enemy long enough for them to pass by.

"Can you climb?"

"What?"

Namoi quickly turned and looked at Akito, her eyes wide with panic and confusion.

"Can you climb?"

Following where Akito was urgently pointing, she understood immediately what he was asking of her. Her eyes shot back down, nodding quickly in understanding. She was certain her brain was shaken into some sort of putty by the time she stopped nodding her head.

"Yes, I can climb."

"Good, start climbing as high as possible."

Without another spoken word, both Akito and Namoi began to scurry up the tree.

Akito made sure that Namoi was always a branch higher and the furthest from the ground. If anyone was to get spotted he wanted it to be himself.

Both Akito and Namoi stopped climbing when they felt they were high enough not to be spotted easily. Akito's brow covered in little beads of sweat that ran down the side of his face and dampened his hair. His breathing was coming in short, heavy pants while he tried to catch it from the extensive climb. Exhaustion from the record breaking climb was taking over the both of them making it painfully obvious that both of them were not prepared for the sudden cardio workout they were put through.

While hugging onto the tree trunk for support with one arm, the other lifted so he could press a finger delicately to his lips. It was the quietest way he could ask Namoi to stay silent for the time being.

His hand lowered, eyes following to the ground just as the creatures walked underneath their hiding spot and revealed themselves. There had to have been at least half of a dozen of them, all similar in appearance. The creatures must have been all the same species, but they didn't appear as intimidating as the other two that he himself had encountered just the other day.

There weren't many defining features aside from their small stature, over sized forearms and the tanks they carried upon their backs. Masks covered their faces hiding any facial features they may have had. They walked like little monkeys on their legs and knuckles, the creatures seeming less of a threat then Akito imagined them to be. The little alien critters did seem to have some form of intelligence, the group of six having some sort of conversation, laughing at what one would say. Another would playfully shove another as if they were joking about and having the time of their life hanging out with one another.

It was obvious they had no place on a battlefield.

Akito and Namoi watched quietly, both filled with an overwhelming anxiety, fear and panic. They counted each second within their head, waiting for the group of tiny aliens to disappear wherever they were trekking off to. They knew they were heading in the direction that their camp was currently residing in, but there was nothing they could do to stop them at that moment. Not without getting themselves killed in the process.

As the last tiny alien disappeared with the rest of the group, Akito and Namoi let out a slow breath each. Both of them relaxing as much as they possibly could given the circumstances. Akito lifted his head and was going to say something when one of the freaky aliens slid back into view. It was looking right into the tree as if it knew they were there. Akito could feel himself shaking, his nerves about to get the better of him as the enemy sniffed the air and scanned the branches it could see. Fate seemed to be on their side, a second covenant soldier popping into view beside the first one, only this one seemed a bit annoyed.

The two humans watched as the second alien seemed to scold the first, adding a smack to the back of the other's head. It started a small argument that led to the creature's retreat from under the tree.

Akito once more released the breath he had been holding and carefully lowered himself down onto the thick branch he had been standing upon. He sat down and leaned back against the trunk, collecting his wits and calming himself as much as possible. His emerald gaze lifted upwards to make sure that Namoi was alright. She must have had the same idea as him, her ebony gaze dropping to meet his own emerald one.

"Guess you have to take me with you now."