If I could be perfectly honest, I didn't expect a lot of people to like this, and if I want to be even more honest, this was originally going to be a simple oneshot.
But, seeing as people actually like it, I'm going to try and continue it.
Seeing as I got Halo 3 yesterday, I've played through the first few levels, and I've decided to make this fic a bit AU.
WARNING!!!!SPOILERS!!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THROUGH THE FIRST FEW LEVELS YET (Which let's face it is unlikely but just in case) DON'T READ THIS NEXT BIT!!! JUST MOVE ON TO THE STORY!!!
Anyway, I've decided that the previous chapter and this one both take place on Tsavo Highway, only rather then Master Cheif falling down the maintenance elevator at the end of Crow's Nest, he's picked up by Miranda and from the hanger and then sets off down the highway to clear it of Covenant for Marine ground forces (Or something like that.)
I probably won't update again until I've finished Halo 3, so I know what I have to work with, but in the meantime, enjoy this new chapter, this time taken from John's perspective.
JOHN
"I don't want to do this," I stared uneasily at the door up the path, "I really don't want to do this,"
"'Course you don't. No one ever does," Johnson gave me a grim smile as he straightened out his uniform, "But Chief, you were the last man to see the Captain alive. I think he'd appreciate it if you were the one to give her the bad news. So stop whining like a baby and get a move on. And I thought I told you to wear something nice!"
I glared darkly down at my comrade through the gold face plate of my helmet as he slapped me heavily on the back, my eyes slowly turning to the thin fabric that was neatly folded between my armoured fingers.
A flag of the UNSC.
Captain Jacob Keyes was dead. First absorbed by the Flood, then had his head punched in my yours truly.
After that, how was I ever going to face his daughter.
Commander Miranda Keyes was a woman I knew from reputation only. From what I had heard, she had the same fiery spirit that she had inherited from her father, and had not let his reputation overshadow hers.
The Captain of the In Amber Clad, she led her troops through thick and thin, and according to Johnson: "Ain't never had a wolf whistle throughout her career,"
And now she sat (Probably) behind this door a few steps in front of me, on this ordinary London street, without any idea of the grim news I was about to deliver.
Escaping Alpha Halo's destruction was a walk in the park compared to this.
"Why don't you give it too her?" I roughly shoved the flag up against Johnson's chest, "I'm not good at this sort of thing. You tell her about her father. I'll just stand here and look…imposing,"
"More like an idiot," the Sergeant pushed the flag back to me, "Chief, stop being such a baby about this. All you have to do is walk up to her door, give her the flag and tell her what a great man her dad was. Captain Keyes is about to become a big shot war hero, what with that Colonial Cross he's about to get…you know…posthumous…and I think dear Miss Miranda would rather have you tell her why she's missing a relative rather then have it sprung on her when she arrives at the award ceremony next week. You saw him last. You should have the honour,"
"I punched his head in to take his neural implant," I scowled darkly at the man beside me, "How exactly would you convey that to her?"
Johnson merely smiled as he reached up to pat me good naturedly on the shoulder, "Tell her he died…honourably. Now get down there and get it over with before the neighbours start wondering why a Spartan and a devilishly handsome marine are arguing in the middle of the street!"
A rather hefty shove finally got my feet walking down the neat path towards the pristine white door in front of me, the feeling that something bad was about to happen settling firmly in my gut as I stared at my own reflection in the bronze number seven that sat perfectly centred on the pale wood.
With a certain hesitancy that just didn't feel natural to me, I slowly raised my fist until it was level with the number, letting three heavy thumps echo through the house beyond as I knocked, before letting the hand fall limply to my side.
For a moment, there is only silence. Nothing but the sound of wind through the clean garden's grass, and perhaps the faint rustle of lace curtains as an old woman across the street peers curiously out of her window to get a better view.
After what felt like an eternity, the sound of light footsteps coming down stairs reaches my helmet's receivers, my eyes subconsciously going over what little of my armour I can see before the door opens to just a crack.
Through the dimness of the hallway beyond, a green eye peaks over a golden chain preventing the door from moving any further, the orb widening as it slowly travels up to my faceplate, before disappearing as the door shut once more.
The rattling of tiny shackles was only audible for the most briefest of moments before the door slowly opened wide, allowing me my first proper look at Miranda Keyes.
She seemed incredibly…average. Average height, average build, even average haircut. In retrospect however, I do tend to find woman to be average whatever they look like.
As part of Spartan II augmentation procedures, I remember Doctor Halsey's report saying that the catalytic thyroid implant forced into my neck, while increasing skeletal and muscle tissue, also represses my sex drive. Kelly always joked that it was to stop Spartans getting lonely when out on long missions, but the end result was that in terms of romantic attachment, all females seemed exactly alike.
At least, that's what my mind told me.
And yet…as I stared down at this woman in front of me, I felt…strange.
"You're a Spartan, aren't you?"
Her clipped yet easy voice brought me out of my thoughts, pure instinct suddenly kicking in as I came to attention at the realisation I was in the presence of a superior officer.
"Yes Ma'am, I am,"
A light laugh seemed to float up to me as she leaned against the doorway, those amused green eyes feeling like they were trying to burn my face plate away with a stare.
"At ease soldier, I'm not on duty. No need to stand on ceremony,"
The light tone in her voice made the strange feeling in my gut increase tenfold as I slowly let my posture slump, before I finally allowed myself to take a second look the daughter of my late commander.
To say that it felt strange to be standing outside the home of a superior would be an understatement, but to stand here on the doorstep of a superior when said officer was out of uniform felt far stranger then anything else I had ever felt before.
Leaning there against her doorway in jeans and a simple black T-shirt, I can safely say that I had never felt so out of place in my life.
"So," The Commander's eyes seem to slowly take in my armoured form as we stood quietly on her doorstep, her mouth creasing into a sad frown as her green orbs lingered on the flag in my hand, "Do what do I owe the pleasure of a Spartan-II on my doorstep in the middle of my vacation time?"
I gazed down at her quietly, trying to think of how to break the news to her. I definitely wasn't good at this kind of thing.
"Commander Miranda Keyes," my voice sounded hollow, even over my helmet's receivers, "I am Spartan 117 and…" I hesitantly held out the folded flag to her, "I am sorry to inform you that…your father has been killed in action,"
Keyes stared down at the folded cloth, her face betraying no signs of emotion as she stared at the mostly white fabric in my armoured hand.
Another tense silence followed, and I found myself praying that she would just take the flag, or slam the door in my face, or do something that would bring this encounter to an end.
When she finally brought her eyes up to meet my own (Almost), the words that escaped her mouth surprised me more then any Covenant attack ever would.
"Will you come inside?"
She turned around before I could answer, leaving me standing there, my arm still stretched out, flag in hand. I turned to look over my shoulder at Johnson, my helpless expression masked by my faceplate, only to see the grinning sergeant motioning towards the door, egging me on.
Turning back to the doorway, I slowly stepped through the doorway and into the hall beyond, a part of me remembering to close the door behind me.
If I had looked out of place in Commander Keyes' garden, then I must of looked even more so here, stooped awkwardly in her living room.
Considering I've spent most of my life living in barracks and cryo tubes, the simple…normality of the small room was completely lost on me.
A pair of mismatched chairs sat on either side of a large sofa in a large semi-circle around the cold fireplace, various books and magazines sprawled across the coffee table and shelves that lined the room's walls.
Across the mantle, several small pictures stood propped up in small golden frames, each one showing the smiling face of three people that looked fairly familiar.
The only man in any of the photographs was obviously Captain Keyes. Even in the older images, with his hair that same onyx of his daughter's, I could still see the way he held himself with dignity, that same pipe with the peculiar mark almost constantly in one hand.
His daughter seemed to be in a lot of the photographs as well, her age ranging from one where she appeared to have just taken command of In Amber Clad, to one where she appeared to be only six years old, learning to ride a bike with her father.
The last person in these pictures however, was a total stranger to me.
She vaguely reminded me of the Commander, only older, and there was only one picture of her; standing with her husband and daughter, smiling happily in a perfect moment captured for the rest of time.
Her face was the same sort of shape as her daughter's, and her eyes were that same emerald green, but her hair seemed to be a dark blond that fell about her shoulders, like a waterfall of golden water framing her face.
"My mother," I didn't jump as the youngest Keyes came up beside me, a mug of coffee in her hands, I merely inclined my head to look to her as she stared at the photograph, "This was taken a few years back, just after I'd graduated from the Academy," She smiled lightly, "She was always smiling, always happy," the smile faded slightly, "But I always knew it was a façade. Deep down, she was terrified whenever my father or I went off into battle. She just kept smiling, in case she would never see us again, and the last thing we would remember of her was her happy face,"
"Where is she now?"
"Dead," A crack in her voice distorted the word slightly, "She was killed in the glassing of Jericho a few years back. She was a nurse you see. She thought it was a nice safe job, always helping and coming in after the fighting. But…"
Her voice trailed off as she took a sip of her coffee. A part of me felt she was merely trying to hide the fact her voice seemed to of failed her.
"I'm sorry," It was the only thing I could think to say.
"It's alright," She looked up at me with a grateful smile, "Well…actually it's not alright, but it's not your fault, and there's nothing you can really do,"
She looked down at my hand, the flag still held tightly in it's grasp, before setting the coffee down on the table and gently removing the thin fabric from my hand.
"I don't have any brothers or sisters," she rubbed her thumb lightly over the cloth, "I have no cousins, or Uncles and Aunts," She looked up at me again, her face surprisingly resigned, "I'm the last of the Keyes. The last of my line. When I die, my family is going to be forgotten by history,"
Then, something happened.
Something stirred within me as we locked eyes, something that I had never felt before.
Very slowly, I felt my body turn towards her, as though I wasn't fully in control, my hands rising to fall onto her shoulders as gently as I could.
"I couldn't save your father," my voice seemed to hold that same hollowness from before, "He died honourably, fighting to the end. But…if you will allow Ma'am…I will insure that…your family will never become lost to time,"
She stared up at me, not even bothering to hide her surprise, before she smiled gratefully, nodding her thanks with silence.
And then…someone screamed.
I stifled a groan as I spat out the sand and grit of the African plains, my hands shaking slightly as I tried to stand up straight.
My helmet had come loose, the green object looking out of place as it seemed to stare me on it's side.
Stumbling to my feet, I squinted through the bright light as I thought back to that day, the day I first met Miranda Keyes, the day I first began to feel strange around her.
I never told anyone about what I had told her in her Living Room, and neither did I tell anyone about this strange feeling either.
All I knew was that I felt an urge to protect her, to insure she would never fall. Even back at the makeshift base, I had felt unsure of just leaving her alone, even under Johnson's assurances of her safety.
Even now as I surveyed the wreckage of the Mongoose, I still feel as though I should of stayed with her.
But we all have to follow orders, even the ones we don't like.
With the hiss of the seal, I ready myself for combat once more as I strap my rifle to my back, listening to background chatter as I watch incoming mortars sail through the air.
"Any sign of the Chief?"
"Negative sir, I think we lost him,"
I allow myself a small smile as I fish a bubble shield from my belt. I fell from two kilometres and lived and they think some mortars gonna finish me off?
"Not yet,"
I throw the device to the ground, the shield enveloping me moments before the explosion sends the surrounding earth and remains of the mongoose in all directions.
I barely let the debris die down before I'm running once more into the fray, rifle ready as I jump once more into the fight, determined to finish this fight, and get back to a woman named Miranda Keyes…so she can fulfil her promise to me.
I know it's not as long as the first one, but I'm still pleased with it. I just hope Master Cheif wasn't to OOC (It's hard to write about a character who barely says anything)
Anyway, hoped you enjoyed it. Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome.
Thanks,
Dearing