[h1]Tar 'Mdalak[/h1]
[i]Paxopolis Broadwalk[/i]
[hr]
Her mind was still racing from the Sim and the confrontation when Tar passed the train centre's double entry doors. The cool morning breeze of Paxopolis whispered through her armour. The base's clean, wide streets were starting to fill up with people on their way to work.

Tar's stomach complained; she realised she hadn’t eaten yet today. She set off for one of her favourite places, courteously waiting for a pair of ONI analysts to cross her path. Tar had never fought Humans during the war. She’d wanted glory in battle like all her brothers, but hadn’t been allowed to enlist on account of her gender. As a result, she’d never even seen a Human until her flight to Paxopolis almost half a year ago. 

Although comparatively puny, they were generally quite clever and resourceful. A lot of their behaviour was dishonourable by Sangheili standards, but mostly they were at least civil around her. There had been a few insults, but they were quickly pounced on by superiors who seemed under orders to make the co-deployment a success.

Tar was particularly impressed by their weaponry. Considering they hadn’t been blessed with reverse engineered Forerunner technology until recently, their ground armaments felt powerful. She was particularly enamoured with their M90 shotgun. The pump action seemed inconvenient, but it had the stopping power of a Gravity Hammer. She’d used a variant with an extended trigger (to accommodate her large Sangheili hands) on a few exercises already.

She crossed the street from the training centre, walked a few hundred metres down one of the main thoroughfares before heading down a side street. She saw the neon sign which read ‘Refreshment Area #0259’, and the smaller, homemade sign underneath which read ‘The Kel ‘Darsam’ in Basic Sangheili.

Two Sangheili conversing outside the large front door moved aside to let her enter. The interior was high-ceilinged and surprisingly spacious. It had been designed specifically for Elites by sympathetic builders. A bar separated an open plan area with chairs and tables and space for activities from a full kitchen. A stairway off to her right led to a mezzanine level where she could hear a group meditation being guided. Several Sangheili sat at tables nearby playing complicated games with dice and other small objects. A group of older hands loudly discussed epic poetry in the corner.

Tar moved to the bar, where an attractive young cook took her order for a mixed bowl of meat and vegetables along with a nutritious shake. She stood at the bar with her eyes closed, following the instructions of the meditation guide upstairs.

The Major had managed to push her buttons earlier; she'd almost been compelled to fight him for her honour. Perhaps she should've done - It would've forced the other traditionalists on the base to respect her, at least for a while. The meditation helped, and she slowly felt her battle reflexes quietening.
 
After a few minutes, she heard the door behind her open and close. He was right on time. "What're you eating?" She called out, opening her eyes and turning round.

The Sangheili that approached wore his full, crimson-colored armor, with the exception of his helmet. He was a Ranger, so a vacuum-sealed helmet was not particularly convenient attire for breakfast. “Roasted colo, I think. I need proper food to get this foul taste out of my mouth of a fruit a Human gave me. I cannot conceive of how they stomach such things.”

The Sangheili stood alongside Tar, repeating his order to the cook. His name was Kryu, and they had known each other for about as long as they had been stationed on Sarcophagus. They were both crew of the same cruiser, and though they served different units, they did often have cause to be deployed together.