Steele's POV

Recap-

Suddenly a red team member came out of the foliage right in front of me.

He was holding a sniper rifle with it slightly lowered so that in my kneeling position I was staring right up the barrel. He noticed me immediately and, trigger happy that he had caught the leader of the squad off-guard, raised his rifle slightly.

I felt the dull thump of the barrel hitting my visor as he pulled the trigger. The visor shattered inward from the rapid change in pressure and the force of the shot, flinging glass into my face at high velocity. The last thing I saw was him stepping back in shock before everything went black.

________________________

I regained consciousness as I heard voices around me, but they seemed like they were coming from somewhere far away. My ears were ringing and my head was throbbing. My face and leg hurt the most, and my face felt like I had rubbed a porcupine on it. I opened my eyes as best I could, the sharp stinging pain all over my face increasing as I did so, and looked around with what blurry vision I had. I could hear people yelling and I saw a group of blurry figures standing above me. One came closer as they knelt down, the blurriness reducing enough for me to identify the person as Seth. He was trying to say something but I could only hear mumbling over the ringing and couldn't make out what he was saying. The rest of the group all kneeled and I closed my eyes as I felt myself being picked up to somehow help with the agony doing so caused. I struggled to open them again and once I did I was looking towards the tree tops and dimly felt myself being carried. My face began to hurt even worse and my leg was in pain with every shake. It was too much! After another big shake I passed out.

------

This time I woke up in a hospital. There were several doctors and nurses surrounding me, all doing different tasks and shouting orders. I squinted my eyes from the bright lights and winced as my the pain in my face flared up. I cried out as I felt someone pulling something out of my leg and tried to move away. I was confused and loosely grabbed a doctors coat, trying to pull him near so I could ask what was going on. The other doctors panicked and pulled him away as they restrained me, strapping me down. I was too weak to fight it and blacked out again.

________________________

I woke up again, everything slowly coming into focus. This time I was in a hospital bed and I was alone except for Scott who was sitting next to me, face down. A heart monitor steadily beeped on my left and I could see the remnants of sunlight fading through the closed curtains on my right. I could feel something wrapped around my head and lifted my hands to my face. I could feel that it was completely covered by bandages except for my eyes and mouth. I groaned and leaned forward, the sound waking up Scott. He groggily lifted his head, jumping awake at the sight of me looking at him. he almost fell backwards out of the stool and I reached out to grab him, but paused as my leg flared up and I winced. Scott, who had easily regained his balance without my help, noticed and said, "Woah, take it easy, you've been out for a while."

I held my head, groaning, and asked, "How long was I out." My voice was muffled and scratchy.

He looked down, "Two weeks. You we're beat up pretty bad." He sighed.

I laid back down onto the raised back of the bed, "Man, that's a long time."

Scott looked like he wanted to say something but before he could open his mouth a doctor entered the room while looking down at a clip-board. He looked up as he approached my bed and nearly dropped it in shock. "You're awake!" He said in surprise, and then seemed to regain his professional composure and continued, "That's unexpected. Well, How do you feel?" he asked, almost eagerly.

"Alright I guess, My head and my leg don't hurt enough to be worried about." I looked down as I spoke, pulling back the covers a bit to reveal the bandages and a brace on my knee. "What happened?" I asked, looking back up.

He started "Well-"

"It's all my fault!" Scott interrupted and put his head in his hands. He looked distraught. "If I had been more careful in breaking the gun, the piece would never have stabbed you and if I had been paying attention, I could have kept you from getting shot point-blank." He cried. "Thanks to my own incompetence, when you were injured I couldn't do anything. I've failed as a squad-mate. I'm so sorry Steele." he said, getting up and running out, hiding his face as I saw a tear drip down it.

I was speechless. No one had ever really cared for me that much before, and as squad leader I had always kept myself distant to reduce the emotional shock should I lose someone like I had on my first mission. I had no doubt that he had never left my side while I was recovering for the last two weeks.

The doctor, uncomfortable, cleared his throat and changed the subject, "The metal fragment pierced your leg quite deeply, it even scraped a major vein, but you got lucky. It did not puncture the major vein or break any bones, it just cut into the muscle in your calf. A very painful but easy fix. You won't even have a bad scar...." he went on but I wasn't listening anymore.

Scott must think it was all his fault, but it wasn't. I didn't physically check to see if it was there and I let my pain get in the way of warning them. If I had simply been more careful, none of this would have happened and Scott wouldn't feel like it was his fault. I sighed, looking down in regret and winced as the pain in my face flared up again. "What about my face?" I asked, interrupting the doctor's admiration of my luck and reaching up to touch the gauze.

"Oh yes, that. That was a little harder to treat, but once again you got very lucky. I don't even know how most of the tiny pieces managed to miss your eyes. Very lucky indeed." he said, contemplating it.

He moved on, "However it seems that visor pieces went nearly everywhere else. It took us a couple days to extract every last piece. You will have some scars around your nose and face but they will surely fade away in a few years. While most missed your eyes, we did have to extract a few from your corneas, but after bandaging them for the two weeks you were out, they've pretty much already healed and there should be no impact on your vision."

"That's a relief." I sighed, closed my eyes, and laid back. Eyesight was one of the most important things to a soldier, if I didn't have that then everything I had done up until now would have been meaningless.

"But..." he started again and my eyes shot open as I looked back at him. Huh? What else was wrong? "the piece of metal did move a few things out of place slightly. You'll be able to use your leg for now but as soon as you have all your augmentations completed we'll put a few plates in there to reinforce it. Just in case since the armor you'll be wearing after that will put a decent strain on your body." he finished. "Ok." I said simply. That's not that bad.

"As for why you were out for two weeks, it seems that you hit your head on a rock after you were shot. There was some swelling so we had to put you into an induced coma. UNSC officials had us add a week to the initial planned time, something about wanting to be careful with your recovery. It's gone down completely so there shouldn't be any issues with that either. Well, If you need anything, press the button next to you and I'll come back. Don't get up either. Walking won't hurt since its already been two weeks, but to ensure a full recovery we'd like to keep you off your feet for a bit longer." he said. I nodded to him and he walked out.

I made a mental note to talk to Scott about the incident later and laid back, closed my eyes, and tried to get some sleep.

_______________________

"Sergeant Major, What should we do about 118's evaluation? His plan was going to work. The scouts had just come back to warn hi-"

"I know what happened Sergeant. I watched the footage as well. I also know that it shouldn't have failed, but due to the experimental and apparently faulty equipment it did." the Sergeant Major replied bitterly. He had been watching cadet 118 exclusively for a while as 118 had progressed more than twice as fast as any of the other cadets. Because of this, he had planned to promote Steele if his squad won. He still planned to, but now he felt 118 deserved some compensation for this incident. The mistake was one made by the scientists, they had forgotten to properly design that area and were too focused on the major protection zones.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"We will promote him as soon as he is back on his feet and give him his secondary armor. Our scientists failure in detecting the weakness cannot be excused and his exemplary leadership deserves it. He has done everything remarkably well since he started training, and was even able to detect it before they could." he said.

He remembered how he had seen on the cameras that Steele looked at that area with disgust when the others failed to detect any problem with it. He had been unsure as to what the reaction was for until the incident occurred and everything made sense.

"Sir, would you like me to check the status of his recovery so his armor will be ready when he returns to training?" the Sergeant asked. "That would be helpful Sergeant." He said. The quicker they could get him back on track, the better.

The Sergeant went to a monitor and switched to the hospital room view. The Sergeant Major turned away and another Sergeant walked up to him. "Sir, it is imperative that we deal with-"

"Um sir?!" The sergeant at the monitor interrupted, almost frantic.

"What Sergeant?" The Sergeant Major asked, annoyed that he had been interrupted.

"Um, He's not there!"

"What?" The Sergeant Major walked over and looked. The bed was empty and the sheets were neatly folded. The only sign of him being there in the first place was a half-drained glass of water on the table next to the bed. "Find him. We can't let him go around injured. The Covenant access point hasn't been found yet and could still be inside the base somewhere." He said.

The Covenant had found ways into the base before and were known to be targeting cadet 118 specifically. Now that 118 was hurt, they could easily take him out if they discovered him alone.

"Yes sir!"

_______________________

I tried to sleep but I was just too restless. I couldn't stop thinking about a million different things. What if my squad needed me? What am I missing in lessons, etc. For all I know, they could be teaching us a new battle tactic that could be the difference between life and death in the future.

To take my mind off things I should probably go for a walk. At that thought I sat up quickly, and then instantly regretted it, for pain shot up my leg at the abrupt movement. I put a hand up to my face and groaned. After the pain dulled, I slowly swung my legs over the bed and looked around for a support to hold my leg's weight. Thankfully there was a pair of crutches next to my bed, probably for me when I was healed enough. Oh well, better use to me now.

Grabbing a piece of toast and a sip of water from a tray on the table next to me, I then grabbed the crutches. I leaned a little weight on my leg before standing up and quickly transferred it to the crutches when the pain became too great. Looks like I'll definitely need them.

I got up and unsteadily walked with the crutches around the room until I got the hang of them. I quickly changed and then I looked out the door. Sighing that there was no guard posted, I went out, crutches clicking against the tile floor. Thankfully there weren't many people in the halls and the only people I did happen to pass simply nodded respectfully or didn't even notice me. I had changed into regular clothes so I didn't have to worry about people wondering what a patient was doing outside of the hospital ward.

I walked with no real destination as I let the rhythmic movement of me walking on the crutches and the fresh air calm my frantic thoughts. I thought about what Scott said. Was he okay? I hoped so. No, you can't be thinking like that, my subconscious contradicted. He's fine, he'll shake it off. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize where I had gotten to. I was in front of the exterior hangar. I looked around and decided to take a look inside seeing as these were the vehicles I would one day ride in.

_______________________

"Sir," the Sergeant at the screen said.

"Yes Sergeant? You've found him?" The Sergeant Major walked over to take a look. "Yes, he's entering the main hangar now." he pointed at the screen and switched cameras as he entered. The Sergeant Major looked at the area by the door and saw Steele enter, walking with crutches as he looked around and inspected the pelicans and other vehicles. The Sergeant Major was just about to instruct the Sergeant to send someone down when he saw movement on the other side of the room. "Zoom in there sergeant!" He ordered, pointing to the left side of the screen. The Sergeant did so and his worst fears came true. The movement was made by a grunt, hiding behind a crate with a large group of other Covenant and an Elite as they watched Steele, waiting for him to come closer.

"My god! Send a squad down there stat and alert anyone in the area. The covenant, they've been waiting for him!" He said in alarm.

Immediately, everyone got up in a flurry of shouting and running and a squad was dispatched. No! The Sergeant Major thought. We can't lose him, not with Chief missing, we still need him.

______________________

I entered and looked around at the massive Pelicans. They were even more massive up close and some were prepped for take-off, altitude-sensing tube covers already off.

Walking further into the room I admired the work that had to have gone into such a complex and multi-purpose vehicle. It was cool seeing the auto-tilting thrusters up close. I made my way around the back of one of the Pelicans and looked up the ramp at the dark bay inside, contemplating going inside. Surely they wouldn't mind me taking a look.

I looked around just to make sure no one would see me go in, but as I did so I saw something in the corner of my eye. I pretended to look at a pelican and secretly inspected the area out of the corner of my eye.

There! Behind some crates I saw the pyramid shape of a Grunt's methane tank and the top of an Elite's head. I moved on from the one I had just been about to go up, pretending to look at the next pelican, closer to the awaiting group. They got excited and I saw more pop up before the Elite shoved their heads down.

I moved farther into the landing area and walked so that there was a pelican blocking the view between myself and the Covenant. I got aboard the pelican behind the first and closed the hatch. The hydraulic sound was loud, but could be mistaken as the central air turning on and would be hard to pinpoint even if they knew what it was. However, as I closed the hatch, I dropped one of my crutches through the gap of the closing hatch and it crashed to floor. That would not be mistaken for a normal sound and would definitely be easy to pinpoint. I winced and my mouth went dry as I saw the grunts and the Elite run out of hiding around the first pelican.

The hatch closed before I could see more so I moved to a window and watched as they inspected the crutch and pointed to the pelican I was in. The grunts climbed up a wheel and I moved away from the window, but not before I saw soldiers enter the room and start firing on the group still on the ground. They began moving towards the pelican I was in as they pushed the covenant back, but the small group of grunts had already entered the wheel wells of the pelican. I ran as best I could towards the back of the ship and looked for somewhere to hide. There has to be somewhere! Then I looked up and saw a space that I could hang from. No one ever looks up! I started to climb, but not before placing a gun on a seat so if I had to go down, I'd be prepared.

I saw a panel on the floor begin to move as the grunts forced it open from inside the wheel well. Dangit! I thought. My leg was in serious pain due to my position. Hurry soldiers I thought as the first grunt entered the back. I heard gunfire as the soldiers outside battled the Elite. I strained to hold myself up as the grunts checked the area, one heading to the ramp to open it and staying there to block the opening as the rest checked the rest of the craft. My breath came out in little bursts as my injure knee strained and pain shot up my leg. The grunt cocked it's head as I made a sound in reaction to me shifting my knee. The gunfire got closer and I saw a grunt outside die. The grunt below me got nervous at the sound of it's dying comrades and began to move back towards the opening. My knee was slipping.

Just as I saw marines come into view, my knee slipped. I gasped as my feet swung down and pulled the rest of my body with them. My hands couldn't hold the bar I had held onto as my body swung down and I fell.

I heard a single shot being fired and I hit the ground on my back. My leg was throbbing in pain and I gasped for air and sat up. I looked to my right, towards the back and the two grunts who searched the ship came out and one raised a shard gun, preparing to fire. I held up my arm in defense and I heard a loud Bang!

I flinched, but seeing that I wasn't hurt, lowered my arm. The grunt was standing there with a surprised look on it's face. It stood for a moment longer before it crumpled. The other did the same. I sighed and looked to the right where a soldier was reloading a gun and standing in front of a squad. "Let's get you back cadet" he said and two soldiers helped me up. I slung my arms around them and they started walking. One of them spoke into his helmet com saying, "Sir, 118 is alive and on his way there, no casualties were suffered and he is not injured further. Over and out."

________________________

The Sergeant Major listened to the com as the commanding officer relayed his info. "Sir, 118 is alive and on his way there, no casualties were suffered and he is not injured further. Over and out."

"Ok, Good work. Over and out." The Sergeant Major replied and sighed in relief. That was close. He had postponed his other meetings to watch everything personally. One second later and 118 might have died, and the UNSC would not have been happy with that.

"Sergeant Major,"

The Sergeant Major looked over at who had spoken. "Everything is ready sir."

"Good," he replied. "There has been enough postponement and tests. He is definitely ready for this. He'll be here soon."

"Almost here." the sergeant reported and the Sergeant Major stood at the opposite end of the door and waited. "Door is opening" the base AI announced.

________________________

We walked down the hallway and I expected us to turn to go back to the infirmary, but we walked straight, heading towards the command center where the Sergeant Major was.

What's going on? Where are they taking me. This can't be good, I thought.

Although, as we walked, my leg didn't hurt as much. In fact, by the time we had made it near his door, I could walk on my own with a limp. It still hurt, but not enough to walk with help.

We neared the door. I heard the AI say, "Door is opening." and we walked in. As I saw what was behind the door, the only thought I had was, What?