Just a fun little idea I had, don't think about it too much.
"Am I the only one here who finds it odd that you're cleaning guns?" the A.I. asked the Spartan.
"It's mundane," the Master Chief answered, "but necessary."
"I know, but when was the last time you actually came back with the same gun you started with?"
John paused for a brief moment. He then brought the pistol he was polishing up to eye level and answered, "This is the same side-arm I was given."
"Well, while your doing that..."
"You're going to dig classified information?"
"Technically not classified if I have easy access to it."
"Just be discreet. I don't need ONI on my back."
"Oh, what are they gonna do? Send a squad of rookie Spartans after you over something I did?"
He knew Cortana was just joking, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding in her quip. He just picked up his battle-rifle, which he took from a dead ODST in the field, and put the cleaning rod into the barrel.
"Oh my..." Cortana said after a minute or two, "So, I was looking through some Human Genome Project and looked through your family tree..."
"That's a little invasive of my privacy, isn't it?"
"No, but look at this! After tracing your ancestry back to Earth, I found that one of your great grandfathers is be Sterling Archer!"
Chief almost dropped his rifle. "The Sterling Archer? The 21st Century's most dangerous espionage operative?"
"The same!"
John was almost overwhelmed with a sense of pride and honor. He knew that the candidates of the Spartan II project were chosen based on their genetics, but to learn that he was descended from such a famous warrior.
Cortana, however, was becoming a little less impressed though very surprised the more she read up on Archer. Given how she came to know John and what she learned about his ancestor, some things she just couldn't wrap her head around while others began to make more sense. For example, she always thought that the inhumanly high alcohol tolerance was a Spartan thing. And apparently luck was genetic. And almost every time he entered the field, something was bound to blow up. She wondered if Halsey was aware of John's heritage when she chose him for the Spartan II project.
"What else can you tell me?" Chief finally asked.
"Uh..." Cortana just didn't have the heart to tell him about anything she found out. "Hey, don't we have another drop in a few minutes? We should probably get prepped for that!"
Chief was a bit confused by her sudden disinterest in running her mouth. However, he just holstered his pistol and shouldered his rifle before moving on to the landing deck.
As the Pelican's bay doors opened, Chief began humming to himself. Cortana recognized the old tune a little too well.
"Really?" she asked with a hint of irritation.
"Gotta do something to calm my nerves, Cortana," he answered, "after all..."
"Don't..."
"We are heading..."
"Chief, don't do it!"
"Into..."
"I'm not listening!"
"The..."
"Lalalala! Can't hear you!"
"...Cortana," he said after a pause.
The A.I ignored him.
"Cortana..."
She kept trying to ignore.
"Cortanaaaaa!"
"What!?" She finally answered, with aggravation.
"Danger Zone!" John sang aloud.
Cortana sighed in disgust. "Johnson should have never introduced you to Kenny Loggins."
"You should have never showed me Top Gun."
