August 10th, 2547, Sydney, Australia

Hurrying down the street, Alder had a huge grin on his face. His final exam scores had come back and he'd done well enough to study engineering at the Australian National University. He had studied hard, harder than most of his friends, besides probably Elsa and his work had paid off. Rounding the familiar corner that turned onto Elsa's street, he couldn't wait to tell her how he did. He had messaged her a few times and tried to call her, but she hadn't responded to any of them, so he decided it was better to go to her house and see her in person. He knew that she would have done well and would be excited to share the moment of achievement with him. As he approached her house, he saw two black cars sitting out the front of Elsa's house. Cautiously approaching the house, knocking hesitantly. After a moment, the door swung open to reveal a teary eyed Anna.

"Anna? Whats -" he was about to ask what was wrong, when Anna threw herself into him.

Sniffling, she manged two words.

"They're g-gone..." she mumbled as tears overtook her once more and she began to bawl into Alder's shoulder.

Wrapping an arm around her, he lead her inside, only to be met with two UNSC officers and cold and statue like Elsa. He moved Anna to the lounge, sitting down next to Elsa and taking her hand.

"What happened?" Alder spoke quietly, looking up at the two men standing.

"I'm sorry to say that Mr and Mrs Anderson have been killed in a Covenant attack on Verent. The attack came out of nowhere and unfortunately there were no reported survivors of the inital assault nor the glassing that followed afterwards," the officer said solemnly.

Alder's heart broke. He looked at the two girls either side of him and he felt tears begin to well up in his own eyes. He knew how close Elsa and Anna were to their parents and to know that they died at the hands of the genocidal Covenant must have shattered their worlds. He put his arms around both of them in an attempt to comfort them.

"T-thank you for letting us know..." he stuttered.

The two officers nodded and walked out of the house, closing the door behind them. They sat still and in near silence, save for the occasional sniffle or rustle of clothes as the girls wiped their eyes. Darkness fell and soon the girls, emotionally drained and physically exhausted, had fallen asleep, rested their heads on Alder. He carefully slipped out from underneath them both, first, carrying Anna up the stairs and into her room. Placing her gently on the bed and placing a small kiss on her forehead, he returned downstairs for Elsa, picking her up and carrying her up to her room. He laid her down on the bed, also pressing a kiss to her forehead and taking her hand momentarily. She did not stir, the trauma of the day clearly taking its toll. He released her hand and left her to sleep and made his way back downstairs. He quickly messaged his mother, letting her know that he wouldn't be home tonight. He turned the TV on, most of the channels were filled with the news of the glassing of Verent. Unable to stomach any more bad news, he turned it off and spread out on the couch. His mind drifted back to when he recieved the news of his fathers death during the battle of Kohlo. He had run out of the house crying, uncontrollably, which inevitably led to him meeting Elsa and Anna for the first time.

'They were there for me then... I'll be here for them now...' he swore.

And as he tried to calm his mind, he slipped into a restless and shallow sleep.

The weeks following the news of her parent's death, Elsa became withdrawn and distant. She hardly ever hung out with Alder and Anna had even made comments about how cold she had become to even her. The two had always been close and so Elsa's lack of communication hit Anna hard. Alder had tried to speak to her but she dismissed him on the occasions that they met up or changed the subject completely. This led to a particularly heated argument between Alder and Elsa, which Anna witnessed and was left in tears. Elsa disappeared for 3 days, finally returning on the fourth. She marched into the kitchen where Anna and Alder were sat, with a determined expression.

"I've applied for the Academy," she said sternly.

Shock plastered both Anna and Alder's face.

"E-Elsa? What do you mean? You can't join the Navy!" Anna cried, rushing over to her sister.

"I can Anna and I am. I got good enough marks in my finals to qualify almost instantly and I need to find a job soon or we are going to run out of money. Mum and Dad left us a little money but the war economy is horrible and it won't last us long."

Alder sat silently allowing the sisters to have their discussion.

"But you can't leave me alone! You can't go away to war! You could get hurt! I'll find a job, we'll find something together and we'll get by! You don't have to do this!" Anna screamed.

Elsa only stood there, unable to look at her sister.

"I have to do this Anna. You deserve to live your life and this is the only way I can do it. You said it was your dream to be a doctor? We'll medical school costs money and it's money that I can only get by joining the Navy as an officer."

"But I don't have to be a doctor if it means you might have to die getting the money so I can! You don't have to do this!"

"I do Anna!" Elsa screamed, now matching her sister's volume. "I have to do this for Mum and Dad and to make sure you get the best possible life because that is what they would have wanted and it's what I want for you as well. There is no more discussion about this Anna, I've already made up my mind."

Anna now turned to Alder.

"Say something! Make her change her mind!" she cried hysterically.

Alder looked at Elsa. When she had made up her mind, there was very little anyone could do to make her change it. Her stubborness must have been genetic as Anna was almost as bad as her sister at times.

"You know I won't change it Anna, she's made her decision," he said softly.

"Don't you dare tell me that you are agreeing with this! You can't let her go off to war alone!" she screamed.

"No. You are right. I don't agree with it and that is why I'm not letting her go off by herself. If you go Elsa, I'm going with you."

Anna was now silent. The horror on her face, a clear indication that she did not approve of either of you making this decision.

"I can't ask you to do that Alder. You have a life here, a mother, an offer to go study at the university that you always wanted to," she said quietly, clearly shocked at what Alder had just said.

"I'm not asking Elsa. If you go, I go, simple as that."

Anna sat down, pondering what had just been said. Silence fell, until at last Anna finally spoke.

"If you are going to do this and god knows why I am even letting you consider this, you have to take care of each other ok?" she said slowly.

Alder reached across the table top and placed a gentle hand on Anna's.

"I promise Anna," he said with a small smile.

He could see out of the corner of his eye that Elsa was struggling to stay composed. For all her determination, Anna was always the one who could break down her walls. Anna then turned to Elsa.

"Elsa?" she asked, hoping to hear the same thing from her sister.

Elsa finally made eye contact with her sister, tears streaming down her face.

"I promise Anna... I promise," she cried, rushing over to hug her sister.

"You had both better come back," Anna said, now beginning to blubber like her sister.

"We wouldn't dream of leaving you behind Anna. We'll both be back," Alder said with a reassuring smile.

"Promise?"

Alder looked at Elsa and they both answered at the same time.

"Promise."

A/N: Like I said this story is going to be fairly short and I hope the jumping forward in time isn't too confusing for everyone. Let me know what you guys think and I'll hopefully update soon!

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Until next time,

Caedous