A/N: Here is the next chapter, I hope things aren't too terribly confusing but an edge of mystery can always be entertaining!
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or any of its characters. I just screw them up to entertain fans.
Forty Thousand Reasons
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Chapter Three
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There was pain like no other, burning, the tightening of muscle, a deafening scream that followed then there was a moment of silence and a breath was taken by two individuals. One sighed in relief, laying back against a fluffy pillow as the other let out a wail.
"Congratulations Catherine. It's a beautiful little girl."
Congratulations, they said.
She stared down at the tiny child breathing its first breaths and felt nothing but vast cold inside. Her life as she knew it was over thanks to this infant placed against her chest.
Closing her blue eyes, she turned her head away, arms remaining stiff by her sides as her brown hair, stringy from sweat fell into her face.
"I just can't…," she told the nurse who was holding the crying child in place.
"A lot of new mothers experience this, don't feel bad." She picked up the baby, giving Catherine a reassuring pat on the leg, her soft voice ignored as a scoff was released internally.
She didn't feel bad about not wanting to hold her bastard child, but she didn't have to explain herself as the baby was taken from the room. No questions of concern were asked and unlike other nervous and new mothers, her gaze didn't follow that nurse with anxious worry.
Unmarried, parentless, who on Earth would be there to take care of this child while she conducted her research? It was impossible to hold onto a screaming infant while relaying a report and so much time had been wasted already as she was forced to go on maternity leave.
Six damn weeks too long.
"Catherine, how are you feeling?" It was the doctor that spoke now, a routine visit because of her civilian status as someone of importance.
"It's Doctor Halsey." Pushing herself up to a more dignified position in the uncomfortable bed she tipped her chin back in a look of arrogance as she gazed at the man who was at least ten years her senior.
"My mistake." His smile was too easily, oily. Yes…she knew what her research had done for this hospital; how many grants it had brought and how many lives it had saved, not that the lives were any concern of hers.
Graduating before her time, she was done with school at the age of sixteen and never to be outdone she made sure even her parents called her by her proper title; gave her the respect she deserved for the work she had done for this planet.
"So, how are you feeling Doctor Halsey?" The question was presented to her for a second time, and she smoothed the blankets over her legs.
"When can I get back to work?" Her expression was not joking though the Doctor chuckled in a way that showed he obviously thought she was making some sort of cute jest. "I have a very important study to finish and would like to be cleared to go back to the lab as soon as possible. I'm sure you understand." She had continued in a cold and professional tone though she wanted to sneer. To scream.
How could this simpleton understand? As a man, he could get away with murder. He didn't have to work himself to the brink of exhaustion to get ahead, and he wasn't expected to eventually settle down, have a family.
He didn't have to suffer the inconvenience of a child.
"Most mothers want the extra time to stay at home with their newborns, but there isn't a medical reason why you couldn't start work back in a few days if you're feeling up to it." Picking up her chart, he shorthanded in chicken-scratch some abbreviation that would have meant nothing to her. "You'll have to come back in to have the stitches removed but there shouldn't be any serious scarring."
Who would see the marks anyway? She was alone, left with her burdens.
"Good." There wasn't a "thank you", just a single word of dismissal. He had given her what she wanted to hear and now he was of no use to her.
"We'll see you soon." It sounded hopeful as he reached down and gave the top of her ankle a little squeeze and she offered him a blank gaze that gave nothing away. Turning, the man in the white lab coat moved towards the door before looking back over his shoulder. "Doctor Halsey, what did you want to name your daughter?"
…
Earth.
His internal gauge told him the temperature outside was a balmy 72 degrees with low humidity. He knew that it meant there wouldn't have been a chance for rain and seeing as the blue skies were crystal clear and the sun shown cheerily, he guessed it would have been a busy day on the planet. People had a habit of going out in droves to do their shopping, eating, playing when the last few good days of warm summer were left.
He had never experienced that.
The sound of his boots on the floor of the hallway he traveled down echoed and it was the only sound around save for the dozen shoes surrounding him as he moved.
Heavily armed soldiers flanked either side of him as he strode paying them no mind. They weren't armored but the weapons they carried were special issue. If Cortana had been there she could have given him a run up on each one down to how many times it had been discharged in battle.
Peacekeepers is what they were called. A private sector of the armed forces, funded by a private investor. It was purely political and because of them, crime rates on Earth were nearly non-existent.
They were what happened when the policy stated there would be no prisons, no prisoners. If you broke the law you were either shot on sight or if you were lucky, you were locked into a cryo chamber and jettisoned out into space with the rest of the trash.
Those people were sometimes found, at least.
"Master Chief." He was lead into a conference room where Lasky was seated, and he stood at attention saluting the plain clothed Captain. "There's no need for that, Chief." The Captain had admired the Spartan for a long time now, he was the reason why he had chosen to stay with the UNSC despite a few problems he had had with stasis.
"Captain." The damaged armor stood out like a sore thumb in the pristine room, on the pristine planet, and Chief tilted his head. Inside of his helmet, his eyes were drawn to the Peacekeepers around him.
"There isn't a need for you to be here." Lasky turned his own gaze to the six men. "This is a classified discussion for the UNSC." He tried again when they didn't move at his first command and watched as they filed out only to stand outside of the door which clicked closed behind the intimidating armored man.
There was no hesitation in speaking as Chief took a step forward. There had been no one that understood anything about him, no one but Cortana…but the way Lasky had spoken to him after the destruction of the Didact gave him hope. "I've been receiving some sort of transmission through my armor. It's Cortana." Straight to the point, he watched the Captain take his seat and run his finger along the table. It lit up before an image flickered to life; security footage on the carrier.
Cortana's voice surrounded them, giving the same message she had spoken on the ship as she had taken out the power before fading.
"How is it possible?" Lasky sat back in his chair, setting his hands on his knees as he turned his gaze back to Chief.
"I don't know." The rumbling voice answered him with honesty. "But I think Doctor Catherine Halsey would."
It took merely a beat before Lasky was leaning forward again, fingers working on the table-sized datapad.
"Her data is locked down. No known location."
When a response wasn't given Lasky held his breath for a moment then tapped the console once more. "Roland."
An image of a man, not even a foot high flickered to life, standing on the table.
"Captain Lasky, I thought you were on shore leave," Roland questioned like he was any other human, though most knew better.
"We're doing a favor for an old friend." Nodding to Chief he pulled up the classified file. "In this file is the location of Doctor Catherine Halsey, I need you to crack it."
The image flickered then the man smiled. He owed his creator for overriding his systems on the Infinity, this seemed like just payback. "Halsey is located on a UNSC designated lab TRITON orbiting the planet Neptune. Research, unknown. Funding provided by UNSC and an unknown private sector. There are 52 humans aboard, three functional AI's and a constant re-supply being carried out every two weeks from a UNSC outpost station in the beta quadrant."
"When is the next re-supply ship due?" Lasky asked, his eyes moving to the orange visor.
…
It took much longer to open the door than she had patience for and when it slid to the side and she moved in, the only light was the soft white glow of the emergency lighting that lined the metal floors.
Something gripped her heart. It was a feeling she had only experienced a time or two in her life, and none that had to do with what had been sealed behind the door she ventured behind now.
It was a room that usually buzzed with activity, light and, up until not too long ago…life. But the nearly all-encompassing darkness that consumed every monitor, every corner of the room brought fear to her.
Had the disturbance really come from this specific spot? It was impossible, there was no way it could have been.
Reaching out, Halsey brushed her fingers over a black screen then cleared her throat.
"I want lights on in this room."
"Main power is still offline, what little had charged back up had been rerouted to open the door to the secured lab. ETA of partial power restore is thirty minutes. It seemed to have been something like an EMP that took the systems offline, but without the internal computers functioning I cannot do a proper analysis Doctor Halsey." The AI announced to her over the speaker above her head and she gritted her teeth as she came to a stop in the middle of the room.
"You're going to have to do better than that. We need to find the source of the electrical disturbance, that takes precedence over everything else, do you understand me?" That fear, no matter how small it began was growing now as her brilliant mind came up with scenario after scenario of what happened.
"Yes ma'am." The voice above faded away and Halsey closed her cold blue eyes.
"And when it comes back up, I want this lab sealed off, and jettisoned." Her hand reached out once again and brushed the cold plastic surface of a large cryo-tube. "And all records of it destroyed."
"Understood."
…
A/N: Okay, now I actually have an idea of where this is heading. Read and review! I'm trying to work on this whenever I can manage. Thanks so much for sticking with me!
…Nuclotei
