[But it helps, the Spartan thinks. Without it, even the strongest can be subdued.

The problem is, those same reasons bring mix her feelings concerning fire. She understands the need of a new weapon. But first she must overcome her viases -- just like her xenophobia.]

Same as when fighting. [With only one difference that made Eferin has been a difficult spirit: For a while, she related fire with the carcasses of human ships above a burning planet.] Eferin told me the same more than once.

I'll have to be honest. I think I've been having difficulties because of it.

[But she puts her hand forward again to try it. The Spartan keeps her hand from shaking, but the fires seem to reply to her thoughts.

The massive monsters she tore in half for her survival and that of her teams.
The memories of shooting, stabbing, and breaking fanatic enemies. The Third Party Elite she seared and quartered with a plasma blade of the Covenant. The fighting in the jungles amidst rain and thunder, with masses of winged enemies screaming for her death, beyond what even her eyes could see.

The rush of blood. The times she kills. The times she wins.

The battlefield. Her home.]