Tapo'hatam was intrigued by the number of guests he was receiving during the meal. A few humans tried once in a while to share a table with him, some out of respect for the still fresh alliance between the Swords and Earth, others he had a feeling did so on a dare from their fellows. The scientist that was first to approach him received a curious tilt of his head to the side and a gesture that indicated the seat was open and available. Tapo'hatam tried to gauge the man's intentions but human's used more facial features to convey their thoughts than Sangheili, who were used to emptying their body language completely as a form of respect to one another.

The humans attempt to speak Sangheili was amusing, they all sounded a few octaves too high to Tapo'hatam's ears. Like a child that was reading from a book of higher learning. Of course he assumed he must sound the same to their ears. 

[color=a36209]"Tapo'hatam,"[/color] the warrior returned the greeting by extending it's own hand and engulfing the scientist's up to his wrist. Tapo'hatam had learned early on with this that he could not bring any real strength to the greeting. Normal human bones snapped and ground together into so many shards at the flex of his alien muscles. He switched to the terran english language effortlessly to make conversation more comfortable for those around him, [color=a36209]"You are welcome here, if you do not mind the fish's smell. The aroma is part of the enticement."[/color]

They exchanged some polite conversation about their duties aboard the station, with Tapo'hatam expressing an interest in the Mjolnir shield technology. In some ways, it was superior to the Covenant's designs and one of the few edges humanity had over their previous foes. There had been some discussions about Sangheili armor being outfitted with terran technology, but there were still a great many purists among the Sangheili who saw such desecration of their armor and weapons as offensive no matter the gains to be had. Tapo'hatam had similar views but saw it as a personal choice and offered no grudge against those Sangheili embracing terran technology. After all, their demons had proven-

As though thinking of them had summoned one, their table was approached by one of the advanced modified humans themself. Tapo'hatam's mandibles moved in a slightly inwardly drawn motion, the equivalent of a grin for their species. Many former Covenant species still feared the demons, but for some Sangheili it was like being in the presence of a grand enemy warrior. Someone who's innate existence bought a level of respect reserved usually for other Sangheili warriors. The respect was always a bit of a double edged sword though, the same grin that greeted a fellow warrior was also the grin that anticipated an epic amount of skilled violence. 

[color=a36209]"Of course, Spartan-Captain,"[/color] Tapo'hatam said, combining the human's word for their demon soldiers with what he assumed was her rank. He was still getting used to UNSC insignia. 

[color=a36209]"We were discussing the pros and cons of Mjolnir shield technology versus Sangheili adaptability. Our Active Camoflauge is still superior to the terran equivalent, but your shield projectors compensate better for extreme ballistic impact-"[/color]