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"We're being swarmed. Start making your way to the evac zone - I'll hold them off."
When a Spartan gave you a command, you listened - even if you were an Arbiter and kaidon. Thel had learned, over the years, when to reign in his pride in tough situations like this, rather than stubbornly fight for control when that was the least of anyone's worries.
Yet a minute later, he disobeyed anyway, returning to give Spartan Commander Palmer cover fire.
The times that they were in combat together were few, given that they were part of different factions that didn't always team up for the same goal. Even then, there were plenty more Spartans than just Commander Palmer.
Therefore, his opportunities to repay her for saving his life on Ealen-IV during those sabotaged peace talks were limited. She refused any other method of gratitude - feasts, gifts, favors - out of classic Spartan professionalism, so repayment on the battlefield would have to do.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, without even looking back to check whether the cover fire was his or not. "You realize how much falls apart if you die here?"
"I am well aware," he replied. "That is why I shall not die."
"I gave you an easy way to do that, and you blew it. Why would you come back for me?"
Thel was about to comment about "getting even" and "paying things forward", only to pause. If the events at Ealen-IV didn't happen - if he didn't consider himself in her debt - would he have acted the same now?
Yes, of course. That's who he was.
"Because it is the right thing to do," he answered, his combat not having skipped a beat even as he ruminated. "Status is responsibility, not a privilege. My importance should not mean I leave everyone else to die behind me. I could never call myself 'Arbiter' if I acted in such a way."
In the beats between the death of one Unggoy squad and the arrival of another, Commander Palmer's helmet turned just enough that the side of her visor could see him. It was back facing the encroaching enemies - more specifically, their collapsing bodies as she shot them dead - after only a moment of studying him.
"Your people can get really weird," she finally said. He imagined she'd been mulling over his words - and specifically, how it ran counter to some of human philosophy. He wasn't unaware of just how many "important" humans were cowards hiding behind meat shields, and how her attitude of sacrificing herself to keep him alive didn't come from nowhere.
"I consider that a compliment."