Xbox Romance: Keyes to the Heart
"Laser, break left!"
Miranda's voice rings in my ear, now no longer muffled by a mike. She's here. She's actually here. I still can't believe it. I smile to myself, and follow Miranda's command, shoving my thumbstick to the left and sending the Warthog we're sharing into a power slide. Miranda swings the Warthog's gun around, face filled with joy as she repeatedly pulls the trigger, sending multiple Gauss Cannon rounds into the Purple Team member with the Spartan Laser. I love Sandtrap Heavy. Best map ever. The Laser guy bites the dust, 25mm rounds blasting him off his perch on one of the small four-sided structures sticking out of the sand on the crashed Phantom side of the map. The glorious clank, clank, clank of the Gauss rounds continue as Miranda brings the gun around to attack a mixed group of Reds and Greens, killing most of them. A fellow Orange Team member, who was pinned down by the group, shouts his thanks to us as we swerve by into the passage between the two structures.
It's been almost two hours since we met for the first time. Following her lead, I'd looked up her information on the Halo stats page. I found her last name (not Keyes, as I had hoped, but Tally), and a quick check led me to her address and phone number. I called, with a plan. Instead of her finding me, I'd go to her. When she'd answered, however, most of it had flooded from my mind the moment I heard her voice. Thankfully for me, she seemed to have the same idea as I had. So, I took the bus to see her.
I've been scarred a few times in my life, (the time I played Dead Space, a couple Halloween's ago when my neighbor jumped from the bush with a rubber chainsaw,) but I'd never been more afraid then when I walked up to Miranda's door. Multiple thoughts of failure flashed through my head. What if I had the wrong house? What if she wasn't as cool as I'd believed? What if she was actually a guy?
But all of those thoughts left me when she opened the door, along with pretty much everything else.
My Miranda was an almost spitting image of the late Miranda Keyes, if somewhat younger. If Keyes was 17 or 18, spent more time in the sun, and hadn't been in the military, she and my Miranda would look identical.
"Colin?" She'd asked, face filled with an emotion I wanted to believe was hope.
"That's me." Was all I could think of to say. "Miranda Tally?"
"Reporting for duty." Her face bloomed into a smile. That's all I can say to describe how she smiled. It was like a flower suddenly sprouting, starting slow but accelerating as it reached its peak. I returned it.
"So, you ready to go?" I asked. Miranda nodded, then stepped back inside.
"Just gotta grab some stuff." She called back to me. I stood on the doorstep, suddenly feeling like I was floating in a fog. The smile that was on my face refused to leave. I leaned back against Miranda's doorway, humming the Halo theme to myself. About a minute later, the door opened again, and Miranda walked out. She'd donned a Grunt-emblazoned hoddie, camo-styled cargo pants, and combat boots.
"Gaming gear." She clarified, to my unasked question. "We are going to be playing, aren't we?"
"Is the Prophet of Truth a shishkibab?" I replied, using the same simile she'd used during our previous meeting. Miranda laughed, the sound so much more glorious in real life. I found myself joining her, our combined voices ringing off the still trees in her yard. She continued to smile as she led me to the bus stop.
The ride to my house was uneventful. We chatted, getting to know each other better. Miranda and I had more in common than I had believed. She was a Halo fan (which I had guessed,) but not a rabid one. She admitted that she played Gears of War and Call of Duty, but only for melee attacks ("Nothing in Halo compares to cutting an enemy up with a chainsaw," she said). I agreed with her. I, in turn, admitted that I was an equal fan of Star Wars, which turned out to be another of her likes. We spent the rest of the ride discussing comparisons between Halo and Star Wars, everything from figuring out how the governments of each universe worked to simple "Who Would Win If…" discussions. I fell so far into it that I almost missed the stop I was supposed to get off at. Thankfully, Miranda caught it. We disembarked.
The rest of the time was more of a blur for me. The rushed introduction with my mom (who probably didn't hear a word I said, talking on the phone with one of her girlfriends as she was), the strangely long trek to my room and the agonizing time it took my Xbox to load. Miranda was silent the entire time it loaded, and I can say I have never been more pleased to hear the sci-fi strains of the Halo theme wafting from my TV's speakers. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Or I hoped it was quiet.
"You alright?" Miranda asked. I jerked slightly.
"I'm fine." I said. "Just excited. Never gets old, does it?"
"Not in the least." Miranda focused her attention on the screen. Her posture changed, slumping slightly towards the glowing information box displayed by the Matchmaking server. I was about to say something about it when the match countdown began, forcing me to look at the screen instead of her. But I stole glances at every opportunity.
Playing with her in my house was like nothing I'd ever done before. I'd played with friends, sure, but this was different. Most of them weren't serious about the game, and just played it. Several of them hadn't even touched Halo 3's campaign, and two hadn't played any other game in the series. I remember one of them excitedly telling me about this new group he'd just found out about, and how cool they were, despite the fact that he couldn't remember their name. After asking him for details, he'd be surprised when I told him he had seen ODST's. I then proceeded to fill him in on some of the stuff he didn't know. Which turned out to be a lot. When he asked how I knew this, I told him I got it from the books.
"There's books?" Was his response.
Miranda was different, thought. She knew the story, she knew the people. Hell, she could tell me most of the official designations for the weapons. And she knew how to use them to the correct extent too, though I had never doubted that fact. A smile played across my face. She was a good friend. Well, at least I hoped she was…
"Chopper!" Miranda's call broke me out of my recollections of the past couple hours. She was here now. That was all that mattered. In the mean time, we had a match to win. I surveyed the area, quickly locating the ugly front end of the Purple Team-commanded Chopper bearing down on us. I drove to the right of it, and Miranda swung around fast enough to pump four rounds into the cycle's unprotected back. The driver gunned the boost, attempting to out run our shots, but it was too little, too late and he collapsed from the seat as Miranda's rounds once again found their mark. The Chopper, deprived of driver, exploded. I swung around to head back towards the wreck, in the process accidentally road killing a Green Team member who had been sneaking up on us. Miranda whooped at my accidental splatter.
"Nice!" She bellowed. I smiled in return. I was about to say something when Miranda's voice turned urgent.
"Ditch, ditch!" She yelled, suiting her words and clambering out of the turret. I wondered why she was running away when we were doing so well when I heard the noise all Halo vehicle drivers dread:
The persistent beeping of a locked-on Missile Pod.
"Shit!" I bellowed, throwing my character from the drivers seat, Battle Rife appearing in my hands. Seconds latter five missiles slammed into our ride, utterly destroying it. The two of us ran for the nearest structure, the shorter one opposite the Gravity Hammer and Sniper spawn. I heard Miranda curse, then pull the Beam Rifle she carried off her back. She crouched behind the blockade barrier set up there.
"Cover me." She said simply. I nodded, switching to my Rocket Launcher. I checked my ammo count. Three rounds short of full. It would suffice.
"Your covered." I replied. Miranda nodded, focused on sniping. I checked her six. Nothing there at the moment, but I could see a Mongoose carrying two more Red Teamers coming round the side of the structure. A quick check with the Launchers scope showed one of the guys carrying a Shotgun. That could prove dangerous. I put my crosshairs a little ahead of where the ATV was, waiting for the right moment to shoot.
"Target locked." Miranda said. Seconds later, I heard the distinctive sound of a Beam Rifle firing. "Target neutralized." She added.
"Roger." I replied. "Inbound Mongoose. I'm on it." I waited a little, then, when the Mongoose was just entering the straightaway section, I hit the trigger. The Launcher bucked as the rocket soared away. I tracked it, and watched in satisfaction as it neared the Mongoose. There was not way the driver could dodge it.
"Mongoose dow-" I began, but my report was cut short as maybe three seconds before my rocket reached its target, the ATV was nailed by a brilliant glowing blue orb. Both driver and passenger died instantly, and the 'Goose's wreckage flipped end over end.
"Wraith!" I bellowed. Miranda turned and cursed. I turned with her, sighting the ugly, bulky blue shape of the mortar tank. There was a flash from it as the driver hurled another plasma mortar our way. Miranda and I split, just in time to see the mortar slam into the ground where we'd been seconds ago.
"Thank God for shitty Covie tech, right?" Miranda asked.
"Damn straight."
"How are we going to deal with it?"
I thought for a second.
"We board it." I said, putting some determination into my voice.
"Hell yeah!" Miranda melee attacked the air, the Halo equivalent of a pumped fist. We started for the tank, weaving to avoid its plasma turret. It seemed that the killing the Mongoose had sparked something in everyone else on the map (with the exception of the two other Purple players who were teamed up with the Wraith riders), and the tank was currently fending off all of Red Team, half of Green Team, and the other two members of Miranda and my Orange Team. Red was on foot, and they're getting cut to pieces. One of the Greens has the Banshee, but it's not doing much. The pilot obviously isn't that good. Our fellow team members have commandeered the Scorpion from Purple Team and are currently locked in a tank duel with the Wraith, circling around each other, firing as opportunity provides. Neither is really doing any damage. I hit the D-Pad and open up communications to my team members.
"Heads up," I call into my mike. "We're jacking the Wraith. Keep dancing as long as you can."
"Affirmative." The voice of the voice of the turret gunner replies. "Take your time, we could do this all day."
"Good to know." I answer. During this conversation, Miranda and I have come close to the Wraith. It swings around, apparently not noticing us, revealing it's unprotected backside to us. Miranda jumps on, ready to plant a grenade in the engine compartment if necessary. The tank continues it swing, and I jump for its hood. The boarding prompt comes up, and I hit RB. My character slams onto the hood of the tank, and I start punching. The hood comes off, and the driver, apparently now noticing the danger, tries to climb out. I slap a Spike Grenade on him and he dies less than a meter from the tank. The tank shuts down, devoid of driver. But I don't enter it just yet. I fire four burst from my Battle Rifle into the turret gunner's head. His shield fails and he dies, and I climb into the driver's seat. The tank reactivates. Boarding, Grenade Stick and Double Kill medals flash on my screen. Miranda jumped off the back, laughing as she did so.
"Nice one!" She called out, still laughing. She turned towards the front of the tank, heading for the turret, when a single shot rings out. A sniper round. The bullet hits Miranda in the head, and she falls. Shock fills me. Then anger.
"Shit!" I roar, forgetting for a moment that the real Miranda is hear, totally fine, sitting less than a forth of a meter from me. All I can see is her dead avatar. I focus on where the shot came from. The same damn Purple guy with the Laser from earlier.
"Ha!" He shouts into the mike. "Vengeance is mine!"
"Not for long!" I shout in reply. Anger courses through my veins as I shove the Wraith forward, and screaming incoherently into the mike, lob mortar shot after mortar shot at the retreating sniper. He jinks left and right, dives down through holes to get some cover, but I stay on him. He can't evade me for ever. He fires a couple sniper rounds at me, but the massive amount of armor in front of me stops them cold. I retaliate. The guy runs on, but is stopped by the edge of the map. He can't run anymore. I smile. My constant forward pressing has brought me out of mortar range, but that's fine with me. He's going nowhere. In desperation, the guy throws a plasma grenade at my hood. I sticks, but before it can go off I squeeze the left trigger, boosting the Wraith forward and into him. He dies, crushed by my tank.
"Now who has vengeance?" I ask the empty air. Suddenly, the screen goes black. The game stats come up. I've made the final kill. Orange Team wins.
I come back to myself.
"Well, that was impressive." Miranda said, putting down the controller. I put mine down as well, and took off my headset. I felt strangely drained.
"You okay?" Miranda asked. I jumped slightly, despite the gentle tone she used.
"Yeah, why?" I asked in return.
"Your hands." Miranda gestured downward, to where my hands lay in my lap. "Their shaking."
"Oh." I relied, feeling embarrassed. I really wished she hadn't noticed that. "I, uh, get the jitters after a couple rounds." I smiled sheepishly at her. She returned the smile, but hers was kind, understanding. "My body doesn't know the difference between real and fake combat, I guess."
"Really?" Miranda sounded surprised. "Well, I guess we have one more thing in common." She held up her hands. They were shaking too, and her right index finger continued to curl down, as if pulling the trigger in the controller. I smiled again, no longer sheepish. A sudden idea came to me. Slowly, I reached my hand out for hers. She didn't resist, and instead gently slipped her fingers with mine. We sat like this, I wasn't sure for how long. It ended just as soon as it began, however, as I excused myself to go to the bathroom and get a drink. I completed them in that order, emptying my bladder as fast as I could before going to the sink and filling a cup with tap water. Unfortunately for me, my still-jittery hand made it almost impossible for me to really drink the water without spilling on myself. I cursed.
"You okay down there?" Miranda called from up the stairs.
"Fine!" I replied. "Just having a little trouble drinking!"
Wait, why had I said that?
"Need some help?"
"Sure!" The word was out of my mouth before I knew I was saying it. I suddenly felt like someone was reaching into my guts and giving my organs a good squeeze. Muffled thumps from upstairs told me she was hurrying down from my room. She turned the corner from my room to the stairs by grabbing the wall, then slid along the railings on the side of the stairs. She landed with a muffled crash in front of me. Her face wore the biggest smile I had ever seen.
"Ta da!" She said, throwing her arms out theatrically. I simply stood in shock. She dropped her arms, then motioned at me with her right. It took me a moment to realize she was asking for my glass. I gave it to her.
"My grandma has this spine problem that means she can't really use her right side, so I sometime have to help her drink." She said, lifting the glass up and gently putting a finger to my forehead. "I thought I might try the same thing with you."
"Okay." I said. I doubt I could have said anything else. Miranda smiled slightly, then pushed on my forehead so that my head tilted back. She brought the glass to my lips at the same time. I felt my eyes close. They always did that when I drank, couldn't ever figure out why. Just a reflex, according to my mom. It never really mattered to me. In fact, the only reason I noticed it now was because I realized I couldn't see Miranda's face. Something at the back of my mind told me to keep them closed. So I did. After a couple of swallows, Miranda pulled the glass away. I took the moment to catch my breath, thinking she would put the glass back and let me finish. I finished, and I felt her lean forward again. But, instead of the cold hard rim of the glass, I felt something warm on my lips. Warm and soft. I managed to snap my eyes open, and when I did, I found myself looking at Miranda's closed eyes. It seemed to take my brain an age to make a connection.
Miranda was kissing me. She was actually kissing me!
My thoughts quickly suddenly and violently went into overdrive, like a ship making the jump to Slipspace. A couple hundred ideas roared through my mind, but the only one that made any sense to me was that I should probably do something to show that I wasn't rejecting her. So, I lifted my arms from my sides to wrap around her waist. Miranda didn't seem to react, except that I thought I heard her sigh through her nose. I was wondering how far this whole thing would go when she broke off, pulling back a couple inches. Both of us sucked in air, before breaking into simultaneous smiles.
"Whoa." Was all I could think of to say. Miranda laughed.
"You like?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, yeah." I replied. "Never done that before." I scratched the back of my head and felt sheepish.
"Me neither. But, I was feeling a little daring…" She looked down at her feet. I followed her gaze. As I did, I noticed my hands weren't shaking any more. A sudden idea struck me.
"You wanna play more Halo?" I asked. Miranda looked up at me again.
"You know it!" She smiled broader. "First one to the game gets to drive!" She sprinted for the stairs. With a whoop, I followed. As I ascended the stairs after her, I felt something stir in my chest. It, metaphorically, felt like someone had unlocked a massive weight I didn't know I was carrying. A sudden connection struck me.
Miranda wasn't just a friend. She was the Keyes to my heart.
I stopped for a moment to think the idea over. Then, with a laugh, I chased after Miranda.