Author's Note: This idea wouldn't leave me alone, especially once I saw how similar the two characters were. The only thing I have changed is the age of one of the characters. Sorry if they're OOC, I'm not particularly good at writing in character.
30th July 2557, UNSC Infinity in orbit over Earth
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John-117 stood on the observation deck overlooking Earth. A passerby might have thought he were dead if it weren't for the slight movement of his chest as he breathed. After Lasky had left, he had stood in place for an hour. He would have gone another hour had the door not opened, admitting another person to the observation deck. He glanced to the side as the MJOLNIR clad woman stepped up beside him. They exchanged a slight nod of acknowledgement before turning to gaze at Earth once more.
After five minutes of silence, John spoke up, still watching the planet.
"You mentioned Jorge. I assume you met him."
There was a pause before his companion answered, not turning from the planet either.
"Yeah, I knew him. I served with him for three weeks. He was Noble Five, I was Noble Six. We served together during the early stages of the Fall of Reach."
"Do you know what happened to him?"
"What do you know of OPERATION: UPPERCUT?" the woman asked in response.
"Not much. Only that it was a successful attempt to destroy a Covenant Supercarrier in orbit of Reach," Chief answered.
"Right. With no nukes in system, Noble's second-in-command, Catherine-B320, suggested using a Slipspace Drive instead. Jorge and I used the prototype Sabre fighters to get to the space station Anchor Niner and link up with the UNSC Savannah, which had donated her Drive. We boarded a Covie Corvette, got the Drive onboard and set the thing on a refuelling course to the Supercarrier. During the following fights, we were cut off from the fighters, our Pelican was damaged and the timer was fried, meaning it had to be detonated manually. Jorge stayed behind," the former Noble Six explained, bowing her head slightly at the end.
"What about the rest of your team? Did they make it?" Chief asked.
"Only one. The sniper, Jun-A266, made it off Reach. Kat went down to needle rifle round through the head, Carter-A259 went down crashing a Pelican into a Scarab and Emile-A239 took out two Elite Zealots, despite one stabbing him in the chest. Hell, I wouldn't have made it if some Army troopers and Marines hadn't passed by with three Warthogs and a Scorpion. Luckily, they managed to kill the Elites and took me with them to the Prowler that we used to escape," the SPARTAN explained.
The two stood in silence again for a minute, watching Earth below them.
"I don't think either of us is going to forget Reach, are we?" Chief commented.
"No, I don't think we will. We both gained and lost things on Reach. There's not a day I don't wish I could have done more to save them," the other sighed, staring at Earth but seeing Reach as it burned.
"That's how we are. We're the survivors. We'll always wonder if we could've done more," Chief remarked.
"In the end though, that's all we can do. We can't change it, no matter how much we want to," the woman at his side murmured.
John merely nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry about the AI, Cortana was it?" the SPARTAN-III said after a minute.
"I still wonder, if we had got back in time, could Doctor Halsey have saved her? If I had been faster, stronger, better, could I have got her to Halsey in time?" John asked, turning to the shorter soldier.
The woman turned to him, meeting his eyes despite their visors.
"Possibly. I met Halsey during the Fall of Reach. Hell, I carried Cortana to the Autumn for her. If anyone could have done it, it would have been her. But you have to remember, Halsey might not have been able to do it. Even Halsey can't do everything. There is also the minor issue that Halsey isn't here."
Chief tilted his head slightly in confusion.
"Doctor Halsey is missing, presumed dead, since the Fall of Reach."
"She survived Reach. I rescued her, a group of SPARTAN-IIs and Admiral Whitcomb from Reach. She vanished, along with Kelly-087, after we found some rebels."
"087 is alive. I've met her once, at an event commemorating the fallen SPARTANs. Frederic-104 and Linda-058 were there as well. We all agreed we weren't going again," B312 noted, smirking slightly.
"But then, what happened to Halsey?" John asked.
"Don't know. Maybe ONI has her, maybe she's dead or maybe she's out there somewhere. Maybe it's something to look into," the other suggested.
The two turned back to the window and returned to silence for a while. After a few minutes, the woman turned to leave. As she reached the door, John spoke up again causing her to pause.
"Thank you, Commander. For reminding me of what I still have, as opposed to what I don't," Chief said at last.
"Anytime, Chief. If you need to talk, let me know," the other SPARTAN replied.
With those words, Sarah Palmer, also known as Sarah-B312, walked out of the observation deck, leaving the Master Chief alone once more.