Success
By Kool Killer
Tailored for Drako :D
Disclaimer: Calla Anderson is strictly RedDrako7s' character, which she was kind enough to let me use, THANKS DRAKO!
UNSC Controlled Space, Pelican, troop transporter 8/3/2540 6:34am
Calla Anderson was sitting in the back of a pelican that was inbound to the SilverSides, a UNSC Destroyer. Callas' short spiky blonde hair tingled from the cool air that was blowing out from the pelicans' ventilation system. Her blue eyes held pride and determination. She had been very lucky in combat; bullets and plasma that were fired from her enemies never hit their mark. Calla had cheated death more than once, and had even managed to put an elite into an early grave. That elite was not forgotten though, Calla smiled while she looked down at her fine black leather boots. The boots weren't made out of regular leather, oh no. They were made out of a much more rare type of hide. A hide that was almost impossible to kill. But if her attacker hadn't been so keen on heckling her, he might have noticed the combat knife she had concealed in her sleeve.
Calla smiled and looked around the pelican she was currently in. The only other people in the pelican were the pilot, he had a humors' attitude. A lieutenant who wore green fatigues and his escort, a corporal that was dressed in a standard uniform, just like Calla. Both the corporal and the lieutenant must have been good friends since they chose to sit right next to each other. The ride to the SilverSides was long and quiet. Both the Lieutenant and his escort had decided to sleep all the way to the SilverSides. Being a ten hour flight, Calla couldn't blame them. Since they had fallen asleep Calla did not have anyone to talk to, which was a good thing, since she did not like to engage in conversations, normally.
Calla was, for the most part, a loner. She had grown up on a rebel controlled planet with her family. Calla remembered that the times were very tough and living on the planet was pretty dangerous. It didn't help matters that her family, mostly her father were helping the rebels attack UNSC controlled territories. Callas' family did not have a choice though, you either did what you were told, or the rebels made an example out of you and everyone you loved, hell, even anyone you talked to. So on top of all that, Calla and her family lived in constant fear of the UNSC finding them. Even though they were civilians, the UNSC would consider them terrorists since her parents had helped the rebels a great deal. If Calla and her family had been caught by the UNSC, they surly would have been lined up against a wall and gunned down along with all the other rebels.
But sadly, when her parents had been killed, it was not the UNSC that had done it, but her own people. The leader of the rebels, General Mahuad, thought Callas' parents were secretly giving the UNSC information on their whereabouts so they could get their daughter to safety and away from the rebels. Of course this was not true, but general Mahuad, on suspicion, had her parents shot in front of her. Calla wondered why the general's troops had shown her mercy. Since it was normal for the whole family to be executed when such an event would occur, maybe his troops just didn't feel like murdering a helpless child that day.
Calla shuddered as tears fell from her deep blue eyes. She remembered exactly how her parent's deaths had played out. Calla, her mother and father were just getting ready to eat dinner, when Mahuads' troops kicked in their door. The troops barged in with their rifles trained on her mother and father. Her father was killed immediately by the rebel troops, but her mother's death was much slower and horrifically painful. They had shot her in the lungs and left her to die while they searched the rest of the house. Calla remembered holding her mother's tear stricken face with her little hands while she slowly chocked to death on her own blood. Calla could have sworn that her mother was trying to say I love you. But when Callas' mother tried to speak, she would only gag as more blood would flow from her mouth. After an eternity of suffering, Callas' mother forced out a hoarse sigh, that was muffled by the blood in her lungs. Soon after that, Callas' mother finally gave into death as one last tear ran down her cheek and the life left her soft blue eyes.
Calla snapped out of her horrid memories and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeves while she sobbed quietly. Calla rarely cried, but whenever she thought about her parent's deaths, her strength would leave her heart. This left her feeling broken and alone, longing for someone, anyone to hold and comfort her. Callas' sorrow soon turned into a furious rage. Calla swore, if she ever found general Mahuad again, she would do much more than put a bullet between his eyes. Calla had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed the pilot of the pelican talking to her with concern.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" The pilot asked in a worried voice. Calla looked up at the pilot with her eyes red from crying. Calla looked over to the entrance of the pelican where the lieutenant and the corporal had been siting, they had already left. Calla looked back at the pilot and forced out a smiled.
"I'm fine, thank you," Calla replied softly, still staying seated. The pilot stood in front of her unsure of what to do, and then he extended his hand.
"I'm not one to be good with greetings, but, my name is Blake Cardney, welcome to the SilverSides, uhh," Blake paused, waiting for the private to respond.
"My name is Calla, Calla Anderson," She replied, firmly shaking Blake's hand. Calla could already tell that Blake was a sweetheart. Blake winced slightly not expecting Calla to have such a strong grip.
"It's nice to meet you Calla, I'm sure you will like it here, we are all one big happy family, and we are glad to have you here," Blake took his hand back and let it fall to his side. Calla looked up at Blake trying to see his face, but his helmet covered everything but his lips, that were tugged up into a Cherie smile.
"What time is it?" Calla asked Blake while she rubbed her eyes.
"It's four thirty one in the evening," Blake replied. Calla sighed, not believing that a ten hour flight had gone by so quickly. Calla stayed quite until her stomach rumbled in hunger.
"Oh, sorry," Calla blushed, her stomach complained so loudly that she knew Blake had heard it. She looked up in surprise when Blake's stomach growled loudly in protest with her own stomach.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, after a ten hour flight, anyone would be starving," Blake smiled warmly back at Calla then added. "And unfortunately, my pelican is not equipped with peanut snacks," Calla chuckled then looked back at Blake.
"Is there a cafeteria, close by?" Calla questioned Blake with hunger in her eyes.
"There is one but it is not close by, let me go turn in my keys really quick, then I will come back and take you to the Cafeteria," Blake grinned innocently at Calla. Calla nodded and leaned back in her seat.
"I would like that very much, I will wait for you here," Calla replied, happy that she had just made a friend.
"Perfect, I will go turn these keys in and I will be right back," Blake turned around and left in a hurry, obviously not wanting to keep Calla waiting. Calla watched Blake hustle out of the pelican and disappear. Calla closed her eyes for just a moment, then she heard Blakes voice again.
"You ready to get some grub Calla?" Blake asked in a joyful voice. Calla slowly opened her eyes and her eyes widened in shock. There standing before her was Blake, and she could see his face now. He had deep blue eyes and sandy blonde hair! Blake had the same eye and hair color as Calla. Calla blushed a little and responded to the handsome man that was before her.
"Yes, I am ready," She replied kind of shyly. Calla stood up and tried to walk but she tripped as her legs were still asleep from the insanely long ride. Calla fell forward right into Blake's' firm arms. He caught her with ease and steadied her with his arms.
"Whoa, your legs fell asleep too huh," Blake grinned at Calla before continuing. "I almost fell right on my face when I tried to get out of the cabin," Blake laughed inside his head as he remembered the face he made when he had almost biffed it.
"Thanks for doing that for me," Calla replied while she was finally able to gain control of her legs. Blake nodded his head and arched his eyebrows.
"Of course, I can't have you messing up that pretty face, that's just not going to fly," Blake chuckled quietly. "All right Calla, let's move out," Blake gave a hand single to go. Calla followed Blake off the pelican and into the docking bay. At first, Calla was stunned by the bright halogen lights that were up on the ceiling of the docking bay. Calla eyes quickly adjusted and she continued to follow Blake. The pair left the docking bay and hung a right, then they walked down the long hallway. They soon arrived at an elevator and Blake pushed the call button. Blake looked back at Calla and his eyes wandered down to her fine black leather boots.
"Hey, those are some nice boots you got there, I haven't seen that kind of leather before," Blake said as he admired the neat looking boots.
"That's because it is no ordinary leather, it was made from an elites hide," when Calla finished her sentence Blake's mouth opened up in surprise.
"Oh really," Blake asked looking at Calla to see if she might be fibbing, but she gave him a stone cold serious look, then nodded.
"And the funny thing was, the elite could have killed me, but he decided to explain his life story about how he was chosen by the prophets and all this other crap," Calla smiled bashfully.
"That's awesome! You know if you see captain Dogartt around here you will have to tell him what you just told me, he just loves stuff like that," Blake looked up at the elevator screen, it only had to come down four more floors and it would arrive.
"Well I don't think the captain would have time for a private, he probably has much more important things to do," Calla replied glancing at Blake.
"Oh no, he always has time for his crewmembers, he's down to earth, I mean straight down," Blake answered back stopping for a second. "Our captain doesn't even eat at the officers table, he prefers to sit with the regulars and chat it up," The doors to the elevator opened up to reveal an empty compartment.
"Looks like we get this one all to ourselves," Calla said as she stepped inside the elevator with Blake. The doors to the elevator closed and Blake pushed one of the floor numbers, the number lit up. The elevator started to move upwards very quickly. Calla felt her stomach sink as the elevator continued to climb. Soon the elevator reached its destination and a Bing was heard. The doors opened up and the pair stepped out of the elevator. The elevator doors closed quietly behind the pilot and the private.
"The mess hall is this way," Blake said as he turned right and walked down the hall with Calla close by. They only had to walk for a couple of minutes and the tantalizing smell of food bombarded Callas senses. Calla could not tell what they were cooking, but she would definitely be having some. Calla and Blake arrived at the mess hall doors and they opened them. If the smell of tasty food was good before, now it was unbearable. Calla and Blake walked over to the serving counter and grabbed one of the cook's attention. The cook walked up to his side of the serving counter and started to dish up two plates.
"I hope the both of you worked up an appetite," The cook joked while he loaded both the plates up with steaming hot lasagna and freshly baked garlic bread. The cook slid the home cooked meals over along with two ice cold glasses of milk and then he smiled. "Enjoy your food,"
"We will, thank you," Calla responded as she walked with Blake to find a table. The whole cafeteria was alive as different service men and women laughed and joked with each other while they ate their irresistible meals. Calla and Blake saw an opening at a table and went for it. They sat down next to each other and readied their forks in an attack position. Then Calla and Blake lunched an assault on their plates that were piled high. As soon as Calla took her first bite she knew something had gone terribly right. Blake grinned and asked.
"So, do you like the grub?" Blake cut another piece of his lasagna off and shoveled it into his mouth.
"OF COURSE I DO!" Calla replied, and then she took a bite of her soft warm garlic bread. Calla scarfed down the piece of garlic bread before picking up her sentence. "I've been on plenty of ships and their food never even came close to this!" Calla thought the food should have been served in a fancy restaurant, not to a bunch of enlisted men and women.
"That's because our captain, Dwain Dogartt, spends all the money he gets from his bonuses on his crew, I mean we got an entertainment center complete with a theater, a bar, and so many other luxuries,"
"That's so kind that he does this for all of you, most captains could care less about their crew, and they certainly wouldn't be spending their bonuses on anything else but themselves," Calla answered back at Blake who was now halfway finished with his food. Blake and Calla continued to eat their meals until there plates were empty.
"That was epic," Blake sighed contently as he wiped his lips with a napkin.
"It's too good to be true, if I see captain Dogartt, I will be sure to thank him," Calla finished off her glass of chilled milk. Blake and Calla inhaled deeply and breathed out happily.
"So Calla, where did you grow up?" Blake asked then he immediately regretted it as a painful expression crossed her face. Blake looked at her with remorse then he spoke. "So, the covenant got your family too, I know how hard it can be to lose the ones you love," Calla looked over at Blake and gave him a faint smile, she was glad someone else knew her pain.
"They were killed, but it was not the covenant that did it, it was the REBELS," Calla said the word rebels with an undying hatred. Blake nodded then added.
"Yeah, it's funny isn't it, we spent our whole lives as a species killing and slaughtering our own, and this whole time the covenant was getting stronger," Blake looked into Callas brilliant blue eyes. "So naturally when the covenant did find us, we were already weakened and had exhausted most of our resources in all the wars we fought against our own people, it's a crying shame," Blake's eyes watered a bit giving them a glossy sheen, he quickly broke eye contact with Calla and wiped his eyes. "I should probably take you to your squad leader, you're a mechanic right?" Blake asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" Calla asked confused.
"You just have that look about you," Blake replied back as he stood up with his empty plate. Calla did the same and followed Blake to a garbage can. They threw their cups away then stacked their used plates on top of the garbage can. Then Blake and Calla left the mess hall. They pair walked back to the elevator and rode it down to the lower levels. They got off and walked to the barracks that were for the mechanics. Blake stopped at the door and faced Calla.
"Thanks for showing me around Blake, it was really kind of you to do that for me," Calla blushed slightly when he smiled back at her.
"It was no trouble at all, you're a really nice person Calla, and I look forward to seeing you soon," Blake once again reached his hand out and shook Callas' smooth hand in a firm grip.
"Thank you Blake, you look after yourself now," Calla said softly.
"You too, goodbye Calla," Blake smiled and gave her a thumbs up, then he walked away before Calla could return the gesture. He is higher in rank than me, and he doesn't act better than everybody else. Calla didn't usually warm up to strangers so quickly, but Blake will be an exception, Calla smiled then entered the barracks. The barracks were mostly empty except for one woman that appeared to be a sergeant.
"You there, get over here and stand at attention!" The sergeant barked. Her voice was much more intimidating than a males' voice by far. Calla sighed inside her head; she had liked the SilverSides up until this point. Calla quickly walked over to the sergeant and stood at attention.
"Private Calla Anderson reporting for duty ma'am," Calla saluted firmly. Immediately the sergeant jumped in her face.
"Really, do I deserve a SALUTE, am I an officer!" The sergeant yelled.
"No ma'am," Calla quickly lowered her hand.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING MA'AM ME, I'M YOUR GODDAMN SERGEANT, YOU WILL ADDRESS ME APPROPRIATELY!" She screamed in Callas' face.
"YES SERGEANT!" Calla replied making her voice even nastier than the Sergeant that was inches from her face. The sergeant, upon seeing Calla was not going to flake out under pressure, she relaxed and sneered back at Calla.
"My name is Shelly Parkins, I am your squad leader Calla, if you have any inquires or concerns, you will discuss them with me, understood," Shelly ordered firmly.
"Yes ma', Sergeant!" Calla quickly corrected herself and she was glad she did it because Shelly looked like she was about ready to go back into drill sergeant mood again.
"Very good Anderson, go ahead and find a bunk that's not taken and get some shuteye, because tomorrow, You and me are going to have so much fun," Shelly smirked evilly at Calla before walking away with vigor. Calla sighed and walked over to a bunk that was not taken. Then she flopped down on it. Calla looked up at the bunk on top of her, staring at the springs and metal slabs that held the bed together. She closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her body. Calla laid still for a couple minutes, and then she drifted to sleep. Unbeknownst to Calla, Sergeant Parkins would be the least of her worries.