Troy struggled against the Elite holding him down. His face was pressed against the cool metal of the torture table. A Brute held up a white-hot brand. Troy struggled even more, but it was no use. The brand was scorched into the human's skin. Troy screamed.

Troy sat up quickly in his bed. He was gasping for breath and covered in sweat.

"Nightmares again?" Sally asked from the bunk above him. Troy slowed his breathing and said "Yeah." No more words were spoken as Troy and Sally tried to go back to sleep. Troy knew he never would.

Troy pulled his ODST Jumpsuit over his head. He shivered as the cool material brushed against his skin where he had been branded so long ago. All his other wounds had healed, but this one never would. Over the months spent on the UNSC frigate, he had found the only person he could talk to about his past was Sally. Troy hated the Covenant so much, and when the UNSC allied themselves with the Elites, he still hated them. No matter how much of an asset the Sangheili were, he would never forgive them for the part they played in his torture. He had counted 27 days, and each day there was a different, more horrifying pain. He would never forget the joy the Elites received from hearing him scream. He grabbed his ODST helmet and ran to the briefing room.

"Corporal Steel, glad you could join us," Troy's commanding officer, General Derz, greeted him. Troy gave him a quick nod and took a seat. "Fireteam Cobalt, we know that this may be a bit fast but... we have a replacement for your deceased teammate. I know I know, we haven't given you enough time to mourn him, but you're one of the best teams we have; we need you operating in the field again ASAP." None of the three ODSTs in the room were happy with this.

"We've lost people before and managed without them," Sergeant Hoi, the leader of the Fireteam, pointed out.

"You want to operate a team with three people?" the general demanded. Hoi relented. "Your two new teammates may take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll manage. Their names are Calsu and Yuri."

"Calsu and Yuri?" Hoi repeated.

"Friends of yours?" Flint, the team's heavy trooper asked.

"I have never heard the names before in my life," Hoi said suspiciously. Hoi had been to over three hundred different planets, if he hadn't heard the names before... There was no time to think about it, as the doors opened and two figures stepped in. Flint choked on his coffee, Hoi let out a little gasp and Troy fully fell off his chair. The two... things in the middle of the room looked about in confusion.

"Have you not informed them of who we are?" the first one inquired.

"I thought you would like to do that," General Derz answered. The first one stepped forward.

"I am Yuri, former Zealot in the Covenant ranks," he introduced himself.

"I am Calsu," the second Sangheili told them, glaring at her companion. "I have been unable to get past the rank of Minor as I am of the female gender, but I assure you I am perfectly capable in combat situations." Flint managed to stop spluttering for long enough to study the newcomers. Yuri was, like all Sangheili, tall and broad, with plenty of muscle. He wore shiny orange armour with intricate glowing red accents. Calsu was of a significantly more slender build with a face that was slightly more angular than the males. Her armour was a simple but bold purple. She had captivating sapphire eyes that stared at her new team, not too impressed with their reaction. She took careful note of all of the humans as they were introduced. A gruff man who was of a large, strong build with short, dark grey hair that matched his shaggy moustache went by the name 'Flint'. He refused to do anything else but offer his name though, further exaggerating the feeling of hostility the humans had towards them. The second was the team's leader. He was a 'Chinese' man who was quite skinny, but moved in a very graceful way that seemed to suggest he calculated every single step he took. He bowed slightly as he exchanged his name, not giving up his first name though, saying that they would only need his surname, as it is the only one you need to put after the word 'Sergeant', suggesting he had no intention of befriending them. Calsu and Yuri looked towards the last human expectantly. He had short musky blonde hair and intelligent greyish-blue eyes. He was shaking, on the floor, raising a hand as if to protect himself. He had previously been fumbling for his gun, only to remember he didn't wear a sidearm around the ship anymore (he had been forbidden to after shooting a Sangheili in the leg when it tried to sit next to him in the cafeteria. His COs had let him off lightly, reasoning that everyone had been a bit jumpy when the Sangheili were allowed on board, it was only a matter of time before someone snapped, they said.), so now he was just sitting there, refusing to look at them.

"Troy, what the hell are you doing?" General Derz growled. Yuri stepped forward to lend him a hand, but 'Troy' just scrambled away. He finally managed to get to his feet, using the wall for stability. He hadn't turned his back on them once.

"Are you alright human?" Yuri asked. Troy just shook his head and sprinted out the door.

"Troy! Get your ass back here!" Derz yelled after him. After a few minutes of awkward silence, General Derz turned to Hoi for answers. "What's wrong with that kid?" Hoi shrugged.

"He's never done anything like that before sir... then again, this is the first time he's been near a Sangheili without a way to kill it." Hoi paused for a bit. "Apart from..." he trailed off. Derz gazed at him questioningly. "Apart from '49." That wasn't helpful. The two Sangheili had been forgotten, excluded from the conversation between the humans. Derz clearly didn't know what '49 was, so Hoi elaborated. "In 2549, Troy's whole Fireteam was murdered. He was the sole survivor, and was taken back to a Covenant outpost where he was tortured for twenty-seven days." Hoi shot the two aliens in the corner a look, as if daring them to add anything. "This was way back before he joined my Fireteam. Hell, he wasn't even an ODST back then. I only know as much as the files tell me."

"Why hasn't this emerged before?"

"He had a way to deal with it before. Kill any inhuman son-of-a-bitch dumb enough to get close to him. Now, he's cornered. The things he hates most are supposed to be his friends." Hoi shook his head sadly. "I guess that's why he was one of the best; he had a lot of motivation."

"Do you think he'll be okay to stay on the active roster?"

"As long as he finds a way to hate Brutes more than he hates Elites."

"Fat chance," Flint grunted.