Another story from me, another fic based around a Halo novel. This one takes place during "First Strike" before the Chief regains consciousness after the repair on the ship in slipspace.
As always, I'd love to hear what you think. :D
There were literally thousands of problems demanding Cortana's attention.
She should have been focusing on attempting to repair the badly damaged ships with the limited resources available. She should have been working out the quickest way to get back to Earth now that the Covenant had it in its crosshairs. She should have been running an analysis on the crystal, trying to comprehend what exactly it was before everyone died of radiation poisoning.
Instead, Cortana found herself in the middle of a medical bay on the Gettysburg with Doctor Halsey and an unconscious Master Chief. The doctor quickly walked around the table where John was laying, assessing his condition.
She studied the information on the screens around her. "He'll be fine," Doctor Halsey proclaimed as much for Cortana's benefit as her own.
The AI quickly processed the data coming from the Chief's armor. There were plasma burns covering the top half of his body, moderate internal bleeding and several dozen lacerations across his body. The biofoam would help him rebound, but it would take time for him to heal fully.
"He hardly seems 'fine'," Cortana replied, crossing her arms. "More like almost dead."
Halsey understood Cortana's protectiveness; it mirrored her own concern that she had carefully hidden. "John will be fine," she repeated firmly, "but he needs time to let his body recover. After everything that has happened since the two of you reached Halo, it is amazing that he is doing as well as he is. Don't let him leave this room until he has at least twenty-four hours of rest, preferably forty-eight."
Cortana cocked an eyebrow. "You do know that he's not going to stay here, especially after he finds out about the Covenant."
The doctor repressed a frown. She knew Cortana was right; John had made it a habit to put aside his own well-being, regardless of the consequences, when there was a mission to complete. For a moment she considered asking Cortana not to reveal to John the intel she had discovered, but knew it wasn't fair to the man in front of her. Not after the years he had spent fighting to protect humanity.
Finally, she faced Cortana. "I trust that you will be able to convince him the importance of staying here," the doctor responded. "Even he knows he has limits."
Cortana, for her part, was not convinced by her argument and shot the doctor a skeptical glance. "This is John we're talking about here. Sitting around for hours, let alone days, is not exactly his forte."
It seemed strange for Halsey to hear John's name coming from Cortana, she thought as she activated the MRI to run an active scan on the Spartan. She watched as the AI turned to the Chief, studying him. "I know," she admitted. "Still, his body can't take any more abuse. Do what you need to do."
Cortana sighed, looking at Halsey. "All right, but I'm not promising anything," she finally replied.
Halsey nodded. "I understand," she said. After a quick glance at John, she left the two of them alone.
Realizing she would be there for a while, the AI quickly spun off several dozen subroutines to work on the pressing requests of the ship while she held a vigil by John's bedside.
It was odd for her to see John injured and immobile. Usually, he was a blur of motion, finishing one objective after another, with a seemingly never-ending energy supply. He never seemed to tire, even when she knew he was exhausted. He pushed forward and did the impossible; it was the Spartan way.
John never would be accused of being verbose, but Cortana never felt the silence between them as being awkward.
Until now.
Cortana needed to do something, anything, that would break up the uncomfortable quietness in the room. The stillness was unsettling to her; it only highlighted the seriousness of John's injuries.
Finally, she flicked her hair out of her face and started speaking. "She let me choose…did I ever tell you that?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"I could choose whichever Spartan I wanted," she continued without waiting for a response that wasn't coming.
"You know me." A small smile passed over her lips. Outside of Doctor Halsey, there was no one, AI or human, who understood her like John did.
"I did my research and watched as you became the Spartan we needed you to be," she went on. As soon as Doctor Halsey had informed Cortana of the MJOLNIR's armor true purpose and the role she would have with its mission, Cortana began sifting through thousands of reports, classified or not, to find her perfect Spartan counterpart. Soon after she started her research, she found herself gravitating towards John.
"Like the others, you were smart and swift and brave." She purposely left out the part of how she considered him to be handsome. If Doctor Halsey's reaction was any indication, the Chief would be embarrassed rather than flattered by her observation. Instead, she said, "A natural leader."
Cortana took a couple of steps forward, causing a blue hue to wash over the Chief's visor. "But you had something they didn't. Something nobody saw, but me." The AI knew that wasn't entirely true; Doctor Halsey was the one who first noticed John's unique ability to defy the odds. She shrugged off the feelings of guilt her ethics routine produced and pushed forward. "Can you guess?" she asked.
Silence.
"Luck." She put a hand on her hip. "Was I wrong?" she asked with a small smirk.
Before she could continue her one-sided conversation, the doors slid apart, revealing an annoyed Admiral Whitcomb. "Dr. Halsey says he's expected to make a full recovery," he said without greeting.
"It will time some time, but yes, the Chief should be back to his normal self," Cortana answered evenly.
Whitcomb walked to the table and glanced at the Spartan before pinning Cortana with a glare. "Then would you mind telling me why the good doctor thinks it's necessary for him to have a babysitter while he's just laying here?"
His words stung. Cortana understood his frustration; the non-stop action they had gone through since the attack on Reach was enough to put anyone on edge. Still, she hadn't expected the aggravation to be taken out on her or Halsey.
And she didn't appreciate it at all.
"Doctor Halsey knows the Chief's propensity to ignore the importance of taking the time to recover. He needs time to heal, Admiral. He may be a Spartan, but he's still human," she shot back icily.
She took a step towards the Chief, as if trying to protect him. "If he pushes himself too hard, too fast, then he'll become a liability. I don't think it's unreasonable for Doctor Halsey to take steps she believes is necessary to insure his well-being."
There was another side to the equation that her pride was unwilling to reveal. She needed the break away from the demands of the bridge too. For the first time since she entered into Halo's central control system, she didn't feel like her systems were stretched too thin. Perhaps Doctor Halsey recognized the AI's fatigue, prompting her to make the unusual request to remain with John until he improved.
The Admiral sighed and realized he was not going to win this argument. "Have you calculated how long before we can make another Slipspace jump?" he asked, changing the subject.
Frowning, she nodded. "Yes, but I need to warn you that as soon as we make the jump, the radiation from that crystal is going to act like a flare to any Covenant ship in slipspace looking for us."
She accessed the limited data they had on the crystal. The radiation levels were still dangerous but they still had another seventy-two hours before it would become fatal to those on the ship. That wouldn't be the case if they attempted another trip into Slipspace.
"Besides," the AI continued, "if the jump lasts too long, the radiation coming from the crystal will be lethal to the most of the crew, including the Spartans."
Their gazes turned to the immobile Chief.
Whitcomb lowered his shoulders slightly and let out a soft sigh. "We don't have any other choice, Cortana. USNC High Command has to know what you know if humanity has any chance of surviving. You have to get to Earth, no matter the cost of human life." He looked at her for several seconds. "If we engage the Covenant, I'm going to need to you on the bridge. Until then," he said, looking once again at John, "stay here with him."
Cortana nodded. "Aye, sir."
The Admiral turned around and left them alone again. This time Cortana let the silence cover the room, allowing herself to think about the situation they were in. While she understood his logic, she wasn't comfortable with the idea that the others were expendable, but she was not. She would figure out a way to get everyone back to Earth; they had lost too many lives already.
After several minutes of silent musing, one of the monitors beeped. Cortana looked at John; he was regaining consciousness--at least partially.
"Blue-Two, status," John said, his voice slightly slurred.
Of course he would be concerned about the welfare of his teammates, Cortana thought as she smiled softly at his nobility. "He's fine, Chief. Spartan-104 is with Spartan-087. You're back inside the Gettysburg," she replied.
"Cortana?" he asked confused. "Why am I…" he trailed off.
"Not dead?" she offered. "Spartan-104 took part in an extremely dangerous rescue mission, but he managed to get the survivors back on board safely," she said evasively. She wasn't ready to tell him about the causalities they had taken during the repair mission.
"My status?" he asked slowly, his mind still muddled.
For a moment, Cortana flashed back to the moment when the ship had taken the direct hit from the plasma bolt. She froze for nearly three seconds, waiting for the data from John's armor to trickle in. When it finally did, she wasn't comforted. John's vital signs were distressingly weak. She knew if they didn't act quickly, he wouldn't make it back on board alive.
Quickly, she came up with a rescue mission and coordinated with Fred, the only Spartan who had remained conscious after the plasma bolt hit the ship. Five long minutes passed with Cortana able to do nothing but monitor the situation from the bridge, but finally he returned with those who managed to survive.
It wasn't until Fred placed John in the med bay that Cortana finally allowed herself to relax.
But she knew the Chief wasn't interested in that; he wanted to know when he would be ready to fight again.
"If you actually take the time to recover, you'll be fine. But it's going to be a while," she answered, ignoring her onslaught of emotions.
The Chief grunted in response.
Cortana knew it wasn't going to be long until he was unable to fight the wave of unconsciousness threatening to overtake him. "Chief," she started.
He didn't respond.
"Chief!" she called louder.
"Go ahead," he said, forcing himself to stay awake.
Cortana paused for a second. There would no easy way to tell him, especially after he had spent decades trying to protect humanity's most precious secret. She took a deep breath before telling him the terrible truth.
"The Covenant have found Earth."
His pulse spiked as he processed her words, but he could only muster enough energy to say a mumbled "impossible".
The AI smiled forlornly. She suspected he would be in denial when she told him. After all they had been through since the attack on Reach, this news almost seemed too devastating to be true. "You should know by now nothing is impossible, John," she replied sadly.
The Spartan didn't respond to her though, he was unconscious again.
Cortana deactivated the holoprojector, causing the room to darken and allow the Chief a few more moments to rest. She knew once he was fully conscious and the information about the Covenant sunk in, nothing would keep him in the room.
And, like always, she would be ready to fight with him.