Halo 3: ODST Operation Cup o' Doom

Chapter Two

Aria and George hung out on the observation deck. They pointed out different patterns in the stars as they laughed and made up new constellations.
George chuckled. "That one looks like a piece of broccoli."
Aria looked over at him. "Are you hungry? Everything looks like food to you. I suppose it is almost time for dinner. I wonder what's keeping our new officer? I hope everything is okay."
"I heard rumors that there are some Elites on this flight that they had to wait on, and then they had to deal with some last minute issues with the Pelican."
"More Sangheili?" She smiled. "More eye candy for me."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Little do you know." He thought. "Let's get some food. I'm sure we have time. I am pretty hungry now that you mentioned it."
She smiled and nodded. "Same."
They made their way to the mess deck.
"I'll meet you there, Aria. I need to grab something from my room."
"Okay."
They parted ways and she continued to the mess deck where she waited for him.
Once he made it, they grabbed a quick bite to eat with Kayla and Yuri. Muhmep was off in her own world with the Unggoy.
Aria looked over at her. "It's sad she doesn't have many friends with us Humans, but I'm glad she's getting along with the Unggoy."
Kayla nodded. "She's just too crazy and weird for most. She does fit in with them nicely though, that's for sure."
"Watch out, she may go kamikaze on us and whip out some grenades." He joked.
They looked at him funny.
"What?! You know how those Grunts get when they're desperate! Remember that train I had chasing me around for about five minutes?! They just kept yelling, hooting and hollering as they chased me with their active grenades!"
"The fact that they didn't blow up the entire five minutes is just insane!" Kayla added. "I thought all grenades had a three second time delay?!"
"That was pretty hilarious, to tell you the truth." Aria broke in. "You should have seen it, Chief. I was watching them through my sniper scope the whole time."
"Someone had to take out the enemies instead of just playing with them." Yuri joked.
"I couldn't even focus!" Kayla replied. "I was laughing so hard, I nearly rolled off the rock. Thankfully, Muhmep was beside me and caught me."
"I took them out!" Aria stated. "Just... after George started crying that he was getting tired of running. The chain reaction of the explosions threw his ass into the river!"
"That water was so fucking cold!"
"Yeah, it was not fun treating your hypothermia in sickbay." Kayla smirked. "I should have just sent your whinny ass to your room."
"Who would have waited on me then?" He teased.
She looked at him and shook her head.
Aria finished off her dinner and cleaned up, bringing her tray to the dishwasher conveyor belt before walking back to the group. "I'm headed back up to the observation deck. This Blue Giant is throwing a lot of solar flairs and it is quite pretty."
"Blue Giant?" Yuri questioned.
"Yeah, that blue sun way out off our starboard side." Kayla replied.
"Ah, so that's what it's called."
"Hang on, Aria." George quickly stuffed his face and cleaned up. "Okay, I'm ready."
They went back up to the observation deck and continued with their stargazing.
George handed her a camera. "Here, I grabbed this for you. It takes the best pictures."
"Oh, thank you, George! I really should get myself a camera at our next stop."
"You can have that one. I never use it anymore."
"Really?! Thanks!" She began snapping some pictures before looking at the digital camera and going back through the images. "Wow! These are perfect!"
"Oh, look!" He interrupted, pointing out the large bay window suddenly. "Our division officer is supposed to be on that flight."
Aria looked out the window, spotting the docking pelican.
"Come on!" He grabbed her arm. "Let's greet him." He yanked her with him as he started running for the corridor.
"George, stop pulling me!!" She broke free and nearly tripped. Regaining her footing, she followed after him, stuffing the camera into her pocket. "What's the big hurry anyway? It's not like we won't be seeing him soon."
He looked back at her with a sly smiled. "He is an Elite! I'm sure you want to make a good first impression, Aria."
"What?! Really?!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
They made it to the docking bay in time to watch the Pelican depart.
A medium sized group of guests congregated near the cargo; a handful of Sangheili among them.
"Oh wow!" Aria gasped, her eyes catching a Sangheili Ultra.
George looked over at her. "What?"
"An Ultra! That has to be the sexiest Sangheili I have ever seen!" She replied, pointing toward him.
He draped an arm over her shoulder. "That is Ultra Bahtiyaree. He is our new division officer."
"No! Are you kidding me?! Damn it! There goes my fantasy. How do you know these things?!"
George chuckled. "Colonel Mason told me to pass the information to you. I ran into him in the corridor on my way to the mess deck."
"Oh, and now you tell me?!" Her shoulders sank. "God, what a heartbreaker!" She watched him almost intently as he talked with a Zealot.
He took a glance around the room as if he was looking for something before his eyes were on her.
Her lips parted slightly in a silent gasp. She felt her face burn as their eyes locked. "Oh, god! He's looking at me!" She thought.
After what seamed like forever, the Zealot broke his attention by waving a hand in his face. The Ultra apologized and continued with their conversation, occasionally glancing in her direction.
"My, my." George chuckled and looked over at her. "I think the attraction is mutual. You only lit the beacon with those cheeks. You are blushing quite brightly over there, Miss Peril."
"You shut up! It's...It's hot in here!"
He snickered. "Yeah, I can see things heated up pretty quick with that eye contact. Anyway, you best introduce us, Aria. After all, you are our division sergeant, and it is your job."
"But I..."
He began to push her toward the Ultra. "Go on now."
The Ultra looked over at them as they approached, a slightly confused look on his face.
Aria bit her lip, too nervous to speak and too much in awe.
"Too love struck to speak now, Aria?" George mumbled before he sighed and rolled his eyes slightly. "Hello, Sir." He began. "I am Sergeant Waters and this is Sergeant Peril." He pushed her before him. "She is your division Sergeant."
"I am Ultra Rha' Bahtiyaree." He replied, holding out his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Aria hesitated before slowly reaching for his hand, grabbing it.
Rha' smiled, shaking her small hand.
She looked at their hands, her eyes fixed on his. "My god his hands are huge!" She thought. "And sexy!" Her eyes trailed over him. "My god! He's so tall and muscular!"
Her face started to flush once again.
"Is something the matter, Sergeant?" Rha' asked. "You're face is a bit red."
Her head snapped up. "No! No, Sir! It's just warm in here suddenly."
"Ah, okay. You had me worried for a moment." He looked down at their hands and smiled. "Can I have my hand back now?"
She quickly released his hand. "Sorry, Sir." She whispered.
"No harm done. We will have our first meeting tonight at eighteen hundred. I will fill you in on our duties. Until then, I am going to find my room."
"Yes, Sir." They both replied.
He smiled and pulled on his headdress as he walked away, following the Zealot.
"I am never going to wash this hand again." Aria sighed, watching Rha' depart. "God, I love his armor! And his tall, muscular body! Ooo, he has a nice ass too!" She leaned against a cargo box. "He is absolutely perfect!"
George laughed and shook his head. "You are too much, Aria."
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" She asked, ignoring him.
He shrugged. "Maybe, but he's an Elite and you are a Human. I don't understand how you can find him attractive."
"Sangheili. He is a Sangheili, George." She smiled. "It's part of my uniqueness. I find him extremely attractive!"
"Don't you mean your craziness?"
"Oh, you hush!" She punched him in the shoulder playfully. "Why don't you go bug Kayla for a little while so I can hang out in the gutter I just crawled into."
"Dirty fantasies about our division officer already?"
"Hey! I can still dream can't I?!"
He smirked.
"Go find Ranger Mansooree and round up our division if you don't want to hang out with Kayla. I have some last minute Unggoy Minors to debrief anyway."
"At this time?"
She nodded. "Their transport was caught in an asteroid belt and got a little pummeled. They all made it through fine, they're just really shaken up."
"Ah, I remember my first time going through an asteroid belt! I was in my pod though... Remember that?"
"How could I forget?!" Aria snickered. "I also remember it threw off your gyroscope and you crash landed upside down. Kayla and I had to rescue you."
"Good times!"
"Good times?!" She questioned. "We had to outsmart two fucking Mgalekgolo just to get to you!! They followed us into a building for crying out loud! You know how difficult it was to get back out when they fill the entire space in a dead end hall?! God, I remember Kayla behind me saying 'I think they're coming', and me replying with 'no, we're fine'. I've never had them follow me into a building before. I decided to turn around and there was one of them! I yell 'oh, shit' as I yanked her to the floor. We nearly got blasted!"
He started laughing. "You never told me that!!"
"That's why my right arm patch was singed. That shit was fucking scary!!! I still have nightmares about it!! Thank god the blast blew a hole in the wall and we made an escape!" She shook her head. "You'd probably still be stuck in that pod!"
"Where was Corporal Hicks when all this was happening?"
"We found her later, remember?"
"Oh, right. Right. I remember now. She was pretty shaken up when we found her. That's when she changed. She still hasn't talked about it, has she?"
"No, not to me anyway. Well, the rumor is she apparently did talk to a counselor and that counselor ended up in a psychiatric ward afterwards. How Muhmep didn't is beyond me."
"Damn!!"
"Go on now, we don't want to keep our officer waiting."
"Yes, Serge."
After debriefing the Unggoy, Aria gave them the opportunity to unpack before formation. Once they went on their way, she met up with Kayla.
They chatted as they made their way to the formation room.
"Oh my god, Kayla! Our new officer is so fucking hot!!" She gushed. "He's a Sangheili Ultra. I am in love!!"
Kayla laughed. "Now I have something to tease you with!"
She gasped. "Don't you dare!! I am confiding in my sister here! Let me enjoy my eye candy!"
She giggled. "Oh no. It's on!" She teased.
****
"Good news." Rha' began, entering the room.
"Attention!" Ranger Mansooree ordered.
The division stood tall.
Rha' looked over at them, surprised and slightly confused. "Oh, that is not necessary, Ranger. That is a Human custom I am not yet familiar with."
"I like him already." George whispered to Kayla.
She nodded in agreement.
"What is the good news, Sir?" Aria asked, turning to him.
"Huh? Oh, we have no duties until further notice. It appears a couple divisions got themselves into some serious trouble and are going to be taking over the duties for the next few months."
A cheer escaped the division.
"That means you are all free to do as you please, but we will have formation every morning at zero-seven hundred. We will do room inspections once a month, starting at the end of the month, so that gives you a few weeks to get things squared away. I also want uniform inspections once a month. Those are the only things I ask of you until we are back on duty rotation. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir!" The division replied.
"Very good. Dismissed. Have a good evening!" Rha' turned to Aria as the troops filed out the doors. "Unfortunately we do not get much of a break right away, Sergeant Peril. I need you and Ranger Mansooree to help me go through all personal files tonight. As your new officer it is my duty to make sure all my troops are up to date and healthy." They both nodded. "Meet me in my office in ten minutes. The sooner we get started, the faster we will get this done and be able to enjoy some of this time off."
Aria watched Rha' as he left the room. "Mmmm." A slight shudder escaped her. "God, he is so damn hot!" She thought.
"Are you okay, Sergeant?" Ranger Mansooree asked, seeing her shudder.
"I'm fine." She replied. "Just a bit of a cold chill."
"Indeed, it is a bit chilly in here." He moved to the door. "We best get this started. We have quite a large division."
She nodded and followed him down the corridor.
She kept a small distance between them as she followed behind him, her eyes focused on the ground as her mind became lost in though. "I hope I get my own record." She bit her lower lip. "I know I'm behind on my shots and a few physicals. What would he say if he knew? What would he think? I'm the sergeant of this division and I am behind with my own health record." She took a quick glance at the Ranger who walked tall and without worry before looking back at the floor. "I will not say anything. I will grab my folder first, and put it to the side. He will trust my answer, I hope."
Soon they were at Ultra Bahtiyaree's office door.
Ranger Masooree knocked.
"Enter." A deep voice replied.
The door slid open revealing a bit of a mess.
Rha' looked up at them as they entered. "Sorry about the mess. I'm still trying to organize things to my liking."
The Ranger entered the office and pulled up a chair before taking a seat in front of Rha's desk.
Aria held back for a second. She could feel her heart racing as she focused on the glowing blue eyes of Rha' headdress and she didn't know if it was from the fear of him finding out about her being behind, or if it was lust. Perhaps it was a little of both. Either or, her emotions blended together in a chaotic dance of uncertainty.
"Sergeant?" Rha' looked at her and cocked his head slightly. "Sergeant Peril, are you okay? You look a little pale all of a sudden." He rose from his seat as he removed his headdress and lowered it to his desk. "Do I need to escort you to sickbay? Your face seems to be experiencing an array of different colors."
She snapped out of her paralyzing thoughts. "No, Sir."
He pulled a chair beside him. "Come and sit then. Let's get started."
She nodded and entered his office, taking a seat. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me. Th....Thank you, Sir."
He smiled and nodded, grabbing a stack of folders and dropping them on the desk before her. "Here is your stack." He grabbed another pile and dropped them in front of Ranger Mansooree. "and here is yours. I will handle the rest. If you come across any missing physicals, shots, training, basically anything they are behind on, you put them here." He placed his hand on the desk as he took his seat.
They both nodded and began going through their stacks.
"Oh, Sergeant Peril, you have your own record in that stack of yours. I trust you will be honest when looking it over?"
She swallowed. "Y....Yes, Sir."
He smiled. "Very good."
She lowered her gaze to the folder in her hands. "He knows!" She thought, looking over each page carefully. "He's testing me. He must have looked at it already." Closing the folder, she put it into her done pile. "No, perhaps not. He would have just taken it out himself." She grabbed another folder and went through it. Everything was in order so she placed it in the done pile as well.
Thirty minutes passed and they continued in silence, folder after folder, page after page.
Ranger Mansooree yawned slightly. "Are we going to do this until they are all done tonight, Sir?"
Rah' nodded. "Even if we are up all night, Ranger. Those are the joys of being in charge." He chuckled.
"That will be a challenge for me, Sir. I have not pulled an all nighter in years."
Aria smiled inwardly, grabbing another folder. Upon reading the name, she paused for a moment, seeing it was hers. A slight tremble shook her hands as she opened it slowly. She paled. "I'm that far behind!?" She thought. "I better not tell Ultra Bahtiyaree." She glanced up at him as she closed the folder and tucked it into the done pile before anyone noticed.
"How is it going over there?"
She jumped slightly. "Good, Sir. Everyone is up to date on everything, so far."
"Excellent!" He replied, looking over at Ranger Mansooree. "How about you?"
"Same here, Sir." He answered, laying it onto the pile. "Not a single one is behind."
"Very good! Sergeant Peril, you have definitely kept a handle on things in the absence of an officer."
"Thank you, Sir!" She lowered her eyes. "Except for my own stuff." She thought.
"We're almost done. I have fifteen left, how about you, Ranger?"
"Looks like twenty-five, give or take a few."
"Sergeant?"
"I'm down to twenty-one." She replied.
"Good. We'll be done by midnight."
Aria groaned and dropped her head to the desk.
Rha' chuckled and grabbed another folder.
Ranger Mansooree patted her shoulder. "You'll make it, Sergeant."
At long last, midnight rolled around as Aria placed the last of the folders into the done pile. "Everyone is up to date." She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I have not been up this late in a long time!"
Rha' smiled. "I appreciate your help, both of you. I will finish with everything else. You two get some sleep."
"Yes, Sir." They replied, standing up.
"I will see you both bright and early before breakfast, I presume?"
They both nodded.
"Very good. Have a good night."
"You too, Sir." Ranger Mansooree replied, leading the way out the door.
Aria nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yes, Sir. Sleep well."
He smiled as she turned and followed the Ranger from his office. His eyes trailed over her slender, athletic form. "She is quite beautiful for a Human." He thought, digging through the files and grabbing hers. "She thought she could be sneaky and pull one over me. I admire her courage." He chuckled as he looked through her folder. "She had a reason for lying to me. I'll wait and bring it up in a few weeks."
****
With a groan, Aria rolled out of bed, hearing the knocking at her door. She opened the door, looking up at her visitor with tired eyes. "You better have a good reason for waking me! I literally just fell asleep!" She gasped, realizing who it was. "Sorry, Sir! I didn't mean to talk to you like that."
"It's quite alright." Rha' raised his brows before looking her over. She was in her pajamas; a silk lingerie sleepwear. She got it mainly because she preferred light and cool nightgowns. It wasn't one of those 'show all' kinds, but it showed just enough to tease the eyes. It plunged into a v shape between her slightly large breasts and hugged her hips nicely. It stopped half way down her thighs. His eyes continued down her legs. "Wow!!" He thought. "I want to wrap those beautiful slender legs around my waist all night long!"
She rubbed her eyes. "Can I help you, Sir?"
He quickly raised his eyes and smiled beneath his headdress. Seeing her like this almost made him forget what he had come for. "Good thing I have my headdress on. I am practically drooling." He thought.
She yawned, but then her eyes snapped open, realizing what she was wearing. She smiled nervously as she raised her eyes to the glowing blue eyes of his headdress. "Hold that thought, Sir!" She about tripped going to the chair that her robe hung on. Pulling it on to conceal herself, she moved back to the door. "What is it, Sir?"
"Um...oh, uh." He was nearly tongue tied. He took a breath. "A handful of our troops got into a fight about an hour ago and are still going at it."
"At this time?" She sighed and yawned again forcing a tear from her eye.
"I know how you feel. Ranger Mansooree come to me first, but I told him he must follow the proper chain of command. If you cannot settle this, then I will, and I don't think they are ready for that kind of punishment."
"No, I can take care of it, Sir. I'll be out in a minute."
Rha' nodded as she closed the door to get dressed. He sighed and leaned against the bulkhead next to her door. "I should not be thinking this about my division Sergeant, but she is so beautiful!" He thought. "Ugh, this strong attraction is going to be the death of me! Why couldn't she be from another division? I want her!"
Within five minutes she was out the door, following Rha' to the mess hall.
Upon entering Aria's eyes widened.
Four Sangheili Minors and seven Recruits were in a fist fight and throwing each other around.
She sighed. "This is ridicules."
Rha' nodded. "I couldn't agree more."
Ranger Mansooree ran to her side. "I am so happy to see you, Sergeant! I didn't know what else to do."
"You should have come to me earlier, though I really hate being woke up after only an hour and a half of sleep, but I'll handle this." She stepped in the room. "That is enough!" She yelled suddenly.
A collective silence filled the room as they looked upon their Sergeant. They were doubly surprised, and terrified, to see their division officer behind her.
"What is this nonsense!?" She hollered. "This is absolutely ridicules! We are a team! You are all lucky Ultra Bahtiyaree didn't just punish you himself." She said, gesturing to him. "I am very disappointed that it had to go this far! It should have stopped with Ranger Mansooree. As punishment, you will all stand double security watches for two months!"
"but Serge, that's a little harsh!" A Recruit whined.
"Harsh?!" She laughed. "That's nothing compared to what Ultra Bahtiyaree would have done. Maybe this will teach you a lesson?! Now get to bed! Ranger Mansooree, will you make sure they all get there?"
He nodded and followed the group from the mess hall.
She rubbed her brow. "That gave me a headache. I would not put it past the Recruits to start this." She looked up at Rha'. "I am so sorry they have to be that way, Sir. I don't understand what their problem is."
He smiled and touched her shoulder. "They will learn to accept and respect us as their leaders have. Go back to sleep, Sergeant. Five a.m. comes fast."
She smiled. "Especially when you have been awakened at two a.m."
He chuckled, following her from the mess hall.
****
Aria came up behind Rha' in line for breakfast.
"Sir? Why are you here? They have a special dining room for the officers."
He looked over at her. "I know, but Sangheili officers eat with their troops."
She smiled. "That is very nice. Oh, good morning by the way."
He returned her smile. "Good morning to you as well. Did you sleep well after what happened last night?"
"I tried. I am still rather tired, but I think I'll make it once I get some coffee."
"I didn't sleep. I decided to tackle a few things. I have quite a bit on my plate being your new officer."
"Wow! Sir, you must be exhausted."
He shook his head. "No, not really. We are trained to stay up for days at a time, so this is nothing."
She smiled in response and grabbed a tray.
Rha' touched her shoulder suddenly. "You may go ahead of me, Sergeant."
A tingle moved through her body as she looked up at him. "Oh, it's okay, Sir."
He smiled and gestured ahead of him. "I insist."
"Okay." She moved around in front of him. "Thank you, Sir."
"My pleasure."
She moved toward the fruit first. "Mmmm, pineapple." She said, grabbing a bowl and looking up at Rha'. "They are delicious! Have you tried them yet, Sir?"
"No, not yet...."
"Pineapple!?" Someone hollered, stopping Rha' abruptly.
"Grenade!?" Another person screamed, causing a panic.
Aria, Rha', and a handful of Sangheili were left in the middle of the chow line, dumb struck, as the others scattered and ran from the room.
"What just happened?" A Spec-Ops asked bewildered, looking over at Rha'.
He shrugged and looked down at Aria.
She scratched her head, lowering her eyes to the pineapple. She laughed suddenly. "Pineapple? Oh, gosh!" She looked up at the Sangheili. "We refer to our grenades as pineapples."
"Ohh....." They replied together.
"Why?" A Ranger asked.
"Because they kind of resemble them."
Rha' looked around the room which was basically turned upside down. "Well, that's one way to clear a room." He chuckled.
Off in a corner was a small group of Unggoy seated at a table. They looked terrified and completely lost.
"Things have been a little uneasy with most of the crew since you guys came aboard. I hope they get over it soon." She spoke suddenly.
"That's perfectly understandable, Sergeant. This war has taken quite a toll on everyone." A Zealot replied. "It's been a little uneasy for us as well."
"That's part of the reason I was so late getting here." Rha' added. "There were a few Humans who refused to get on that Pelican with us on board. I agree, it has been uneasy seeing as we used to be enemies, but all things considering, we chose to join the Humans. I wish they would understand that."
"In time, Sir, just as you said early this morning."
He smiled and nodded.
Muhmep suddenly came walking into the room, humming, five Unggoy trailing behind her. She stopped suddenly just passed the doorway making them to crash into her. "Wow!" She gasped. "What happened?! We darn near got trampled on the way here!"
The Unggoy looked around her before spotting their friends and running to them, jabbering. Those at the table began to relax and started chatting back.
"One word, Muhmep; pineapple." Aria laughed, holding up the bowl of pineapple.
Muhmep shrugged and grabbed a tray. "No lines this way. Thanks, Serge!" She said, loading it up. "You should talk about pineapple more often." She joked as she grabbed a drink before joining the Unggoy.
****
Aria left the table to grab another cup of coffee.
George watched her as she chugged it down and refilled it before moving back to them.
"That tired, huh, Serge?" Yuri asked, drinking his protein shake.
"Ultra Bahtiyaree made Ranger Masooree and I stay up with him going through the files. Then a few of our troops decided they wanted to fight the Sangheili. Ugh!" She face planted on the table. "I don't think I'm going to make it through formation." She muttered.
"One more hour." Kayla brought fourth. "Then you can take a nap."
They continued chatting and eating their breakfast. Aria, on the other hand, ended up falling asleep with her face pressed against the table.
George chuckled and grabbed her coffee, pulling it from her hand before she could spill it.
Muhmep soon joined them, a few Unggoy trailing along with her. "What's with the Serge?"
"She's tired." Yuri replied.
A large shadow fell over them suddenly.
"Sergeant Peril?"
Kayla looked up, recognizing the voice. "Ah, Shipmaster! Good morning!"
"Good morning! I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all. I was just finishing up." She looked at George. "I have to take care of some things with him. Can you let Aria know I won't be at formation?"
"Of course."
She got up and cleaned up her mess before following the Shipmaster out of the chow hall.
Ranger Mansooree soon walked over to them. "Ultra Bahtiyaree is ready for us to form up." He looked down at Aria and touched her shoulder. "Sergeant Peril?"
"Hmmm?" She mumbled before waking with a start and nearly jumping from her seat as she shot up. "Yes?!" She looked up at the Ranger. "Can I help you, Ranger?"
He smiled. "Ultra Bahtiyaree is ready for us to form up."
She yawned. "Okay."
****
During formation Aria had an extremely hard time staying awake as Rha' laid down a few new rules. She found herself doing touch and gos as she fought hard to stay awake. Before long, her eyes fell shut and she began to sway.
George chuckled. "Look at her, Chief. He must be boing her to sleep!"
Yuri snickered. "I have never seen her this tired."
Rha' passed behind her just as her legs gave out. He caught her as she fell backwards. "Sergeant Peril?!" He touched her cheek, gently turning her head to face him. "Are you okay?"
She looked up at him, her eyes focusing on the glowing blue eyes of his headdress. She gasped and tried to jump out of his arms, but he held her kind of tightly. "I'm sorry, Sir!"
He chuckled. "Am I boring you, Sergeant?"
"No, Sir!" She nearly gasped. "Not at all! I'm sorry. I am so tired. I..."
He smiled. "I am only teasing you. I know you're tired. I kept you up way too late, didn't I?"
"He kept her up late." George joked, bumping Yuri as he moved his eyebrows.
"No." She yawned making her eyes water. "If the troops wouldn't have got into a fight, I would be okay."
"I promise I'm almost done, then you can get some sleep."
He straightened her before letting her go.
She shuddered gently as he pulled his hand from her back, his fingers gliding upwards as he pulled it away.
"As I was saying, just because we won't have duty rotation for a little while doesn't mean we're not going to keep up on our physical training. Now, I will go a little easy on you guys and we will group up once a week for that, I'm thinking every Monday, but I expect you all to do regular exercise on your own time, be it two or three days a week. I will leave that up to you. Also, I am not going to make you guys wear that uncomfortable exercise gear you've been issued. I understand Sergeant Peril has been lenient in that department and that is perfectly fine, as long as it's appropriate." He looked at George. "Sergeant Waters, why do I have a feeling I had to say that for you?"
He grinned at him. "Perhaps you have heard rumors, Sir?"
Rha' chuckled. "Perhaps I have. Do any of you have any questions for me?"
"No, Sir." They all replied.
"Very good. Dismissed!"
Aria followed them out the door, dragging her feet as she went.
Rha' pulled off his headdress as he watched her intently.
Ranger Mansooree stepped beside him. "I know that look, and I am very surprised to see it on your face, Sir."
He looked over at him. "I know you believe in love at first sight." He whispered.
"Indeed."
Rha' shook his head and looked towards the door. "I'll be in my office if you need anything."
"Yes, Sir."
****
Aria pushed her door open and stumbled to her bed, collapsing onto it and passing out immediately.
George and Yuri passed by about two hours later, seeing her door open. They both looked in and saw her sprawled out on her stomach, completely passed out.
"You know you're tired when even the coffee doesn't work." Yuri whispered to him.
He chuckled. "He really wore her out!"
"What are you guys doing?" A familiar male voice spoke suddenly.
Startled, they jumped away from her door and whipped around.
"Sir!" Yuri nearly gasped.
"Ultra Bahtiyaree, you should know better then to sneak up on people!" George stated almost angrily.
He raised his brows.
"Sorry, Sir! We were just passing by and happened to find her like that." George said, lowing his voice.
Rha' looked passed them, looking into her room.
She was still completely dressed, even her boots were on. Her legs hung off the bed from her knees and her arms spread out above her.
He looked back at them. "Move along, gentleman. Leave her be."
"Yes, Sir!" They replied, running off.
He snickered and looked back at her. "How can that be comfortable?" He thought. "I guess ODSTs learn to sleep anywhere and in any position." He pulled her door closed.