Omega And Fax
"Fallback"
Chapter 2: Revelations
Gamma stood, mouths agape, staring at the UNSC frigate that had just titanium alloy was rusted and pitted from years of abuse. What surprised the Spartans the most was the design. This frigate design was from the Covenant invasion of Earth. That made it almost 50 years old. It must have been MIA, like the UNSC Spirit of Fire that had returned 5 years prior.
All except Alex, who shrugged it off. It was probably just some stupid Spartan who wrecked a ship. So he went on with his daily work, writing notes on proper exercise routines, performing them, then going back to his quarters. He thought about how the Spartans had been advised to mate, since they had to stop kidnapping. The human population was going down. Fast.
He thought about how sick it is to bring a child into the world, just to send it into combat. How sick is that?
But ever since he was fifteen he had felt a longing, but he had never been allowed. Now, they were advised to, and he didn't want to do it.
But before he could get too deep into thought, he fell asleep.
John got up of the cold, wet metal floor. He grabbed an Assault Rifle from the weapons locker, kicking the rusted bolt open. He loaded in one of
the magazines.
"Cortana, what's the fastest route off this piece of shit?"
"Walk down the halway on your left all the way." She flickered. Cortana was 52 years old. If she wasn't MIA, she would be the oldest AI known to man-kind.
John flowed out of the ship. During the trek he polarized his visor. Even with his visor that dark, he would be blinded when he caught the smallest ray of light. He stumbled to the door, sliding it open. First, he saw pure white light. Then, when his vision returned, he saw 200 tons of lead aimed at him. A few seconds later, he heard the clicking of hundreds of safeties of rifles. A man walked out to greet him. He was a Spartan, dressed in a smaller gray variation of his armor.
"Jesus Christ," the Spartan said. "Well if it isn't our night in shinin' armor."
"I have an AI on the ship," he piped. "Her names Cortana. If you drop, it'll be you ass on stick."
The Spartan made a hand gesture, and every sniper dropped and Spartans filed into a maintenance building. "I thought I was the last Spartan," John said, anti-social, untrusting.
"No, Dr. Halsey made sure more Spartans made it off Reach, she wasn't stupid. For instance, we still have people like 764-Damien, 987-James, and 367-Elexa."
"How? I thought they died." He thought of Elexa, his first time, his final time. "Are they still alive?"
"Elexa is, and so is Damien. They are actually running the facility, husband and wife." He smiled, and Master Chief wanted not only to wipe it off his face, he wanted to shoot it off his face. His Assault Rifle felt very heavy on his back.
Instead, he contained his anger. "So, what now?"
"Elexa will come and escort you to your living quarters. She actually insisted upon it."
"Okay..." Master Chief looked behind the gray Spartan, and saw a flicker of blond hair.
"Louis, I'll take it from here," she yammered there it went.
On the silent ride to his quarters, he fumbled every once and a while, and looked at her from time to time. Finally, after Elexa stopped at a door, he said, "How?"
"Spartans don't die, John," she said. There was a long silence. Finally she stammered, "Where the hell were you, you son of a bitch."
Her eyes were dark with storming waters and deep chasms.
"Sleeping, dreaming."
"I, I was lost without you John. Damien was my comfort, while you were gone. I kept telling myself to forget, but I can't. Just answer one question for me, you owe me that."
"I owe you peace, I owe you love, and I owe you a question, but most of all I owe you one thing. Me. You're right, I am a douche for leaving you for so long, but I couldn't help it." He paused, "What's your question?"
"Do you still love me, John?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Me too." Then, she was gone already, sprinting down the hallway before he could even react.
Yes, even the Chief has lady problems.
Alex woke with a very familiar face looking at him, with a cigar in one hand, with a Magnum in the other.
"Johnson, what are you doing here?" he demanded to the Sergeant groggily.
"Chief's here," Johnson answered. "And I haven't been notified. Why?"
"Chief?" Alex questioned, drunk with sleep.
"Master Chief. Kick-ass, Covie-killing guy with an AR? You know him, ho could you not?"
"What? How?" He bolted upright, and stood up with only his boxers on.
"I don't know, I haven't been notified, why does it feel like I'm repeating myself?" Alex quickly got a shirt on and said that he was going to go ask Elexa why Johnson hadn't been notified.
Elexa sat in her apartment-sized office with brilliant Forerunner-like architecture. It was a circular room, with Greek-themed pillars going up to the ceiling hundred of feet above. In front of her sat a large slab of concrete, twisted and twisted until it looked like an ice cream cone, then it was dipped in silver.
The wall had engravings by the greatest artist of her time, which told the tragic stories of the rings. Now, that cycle was about to be done all over again.
Cortana flickered, and the purplish glowing hologram returned again. "Wonderful room," Cortana piped with a smile. Nice artwork too - ooh! I remember that!"
The door buzzed, and echoed around the concave room. "Who is it?" she quizzed, and enjoyed hearing her voice three seconds later bounce of the circumference of the room.
"It's Alex."