Goodbye is not forever
Chapter 4 Journey
Author notes
Well chapter 4 is now up hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a bit shorter than my others but it needs to be for it to work. Thanks go to Rocky king of the Tyranitars and Randompokemonfan thank you for the continued support
James remained on his bed thinking about what was in store for him, his team and Jade. James gave a frustrated groan.
"Halsey what do you need us for more importantly what do you Jade for"? "This doesn't make any sense", James said to himself. James sat up and looked at his new room properly and noticed it looked almost identical to his room on Earth.
"That's odd", he said to himself. He shrugged his shoulders and got up off his bed. I need to speak to Will again I have a feeling he knows more than he's telling us and I'm going to find out what that is. James walked to his door and walked out and down the corridor until he reached the elevator at the end. He pushes the button for the elevator and walks in. He turned and looked at the series of buttons on the wall to the right hand side of the elevator. God this ship has a lot of levels; there must be a thousand buttons here James thought to himself. James scanned the buttons looking for the command deck button.
"Ah ha!" James exclaimed finding the button he needed.
The elevator doors closed and it came to life with a low hum as it climbed its way up the ship. James stood there waiting patiently as the elevator climbed the com system crackled and Will's voice came over the com.
"All crew of the Absolute we have linked up with the fleet and are ready to enter slip space and depart for Reach, all non-essential crew members please enter cryo sleep for the duration of the journey. We will arrive at Reach within the next few weeks, as per Cole protocol we will jump at a random slip space trajectory then head for Reach. That is all Captain Miles out". The com system died and the ship shuddered slightly as the Absolute entered slip space.
"I knew this would be a long trip", James said to himself. The elevator slowed and stopped on the command deck and the doors opened with a hiss and James walked out and down the corridor. He followed the signs on the floor until he found the bridge. The automatic doors opened with a quiet hiss and James saw crewmen and women running around to different computers and others sitting at terminals, at the front of the large room was the captain's chair and just behind that stood Will looking at a holoprojection table. James started to walk towards the table but was stopped by a petite woman with dark brown eyes and almost jet black hair wearing the standard crewmen uniform but with the lieutenant insignia on the collar.
"I'm sorry but where are you going, your not part of the command crew and the bridge is off limits to everyone but the command crew during a slip space jump", the lieutenant told James with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I'm going to talk to Captain Miles", he said calmly to her.
"Do you have authorisation to be here though"? She questioned him looking up and down him.
"Yes he does lieutenant, at ease", Will told her.
"Yes sir, sorry sir", she said to Will then turned to James. "Apologises", she said then walked back to her station.
"So what can I do for you?" Will asked while walking back to the front of the table.
James followed Will to the front and faced him. "I want answers", James said with a hint of anger in his tone.
Will looked at James with a sad expression that James almost missed. What is he sad? , what about though? James thought. Will looked out the observation window, the sad look leaving his face. "Beautiful isn't it? The slip space tunnel".
James looked out and true to his word it was beautiful. An array of blues and whites dancing together in long streaks, most of the colour through the tunnel was blue apart from the odd white thrown in here and there, the blues ranged from very dark to and almost non-existent blue. Cyan, cobalt and navy blue all joined to a large black circle at the end of the tunnel, pure black in colour.
"It is but I want answers", James repeated slightly annoyed that he dodged the question.
"Alright answers to what?" Will asked looking out the window.
"You know what", James said getting more annoyed at Will. What's he hiding? James thought to himself.
Will let out a large sigh and turned to James, a sad expression plastered on his face. "James I'm sorry but I can't tell you, I'm not aloud to only Halsey is. The office of naval intelligence, Halsey has classified this mission as tier one, only Hasley and other Oni personnel are aloud to speak to you and your team about it".
"But why the secrecy?" James questioned.
"I don't know but in my opinion I would have told you so you know what to expect when you get to Reach".
James sighed defeated "Right thanks; at least I now know why people won't talk about it with us".
Will smiled "Why don't you take your mind off it you could go down and enter the war games, get some practice in before we get to Reach".
"Yeah that's a good idea thanks", James saluted and left the bridge.
"I hope Halsey knows what she's doing, I have an idea he's not going to like what Halsey has for him and his team".
"Sorry sir?" the lieutenant asked.
"It's nothing".
James walked back down to the corridor to the elevator punched the number for his teams corridor. He walked into his room as the elevator and to the terminal on the left wall of his room. He typed in his details and pulled up his teams roster and sent them all a message to meet him in training hall B-7, he logged off the terminal and went to the elevator and descended down a few floors to hall B-7 and waited.
The hall itself was just a large rectangular room, empty apart from a terminal at either end where the doors were.
His whole team arrived and stood in front of James and saluted. James gave them an annoyed look.
"So who's up for some practice", James questioned with a smile.
"Really I think we have enough practice plus the target shooting ain't exactly fun", Jack complained.
"Who said anything about target shooting?"
"Then what?" Claire asked confused.
"We're going to enter the war games", James said with a smirk.
"I'm in!" Jack announced to the ship while punching his palm.
Everyone else nodded enthusiastically with a smile, James walked to their terminal next to the door they came from and entered Echo to the roster of teams. James started to search through the teams and found one waiting for a match; James accepted the match and turned to his team.
"W e got a match against matchstick", James told them.
"Matchstick weird name", Jack commented.
James scanned over the names of matchstick and stopped one that made him clench his fist tightly until his knuckles were pure white and his blood boil.
"James you alright?" Shana asked him.
"James!"
"I'm looking at matchsticks roster".
"And?" Jack asked.
"Guess who's on their team", he said looking between his team.
James adopted a serious, anger filled face, his teeth almost glued and his fist shut tight. Through his closed teeth he spoke venom clear as day in his voice.
"Jason!"
"What Jason, why's he here?" Claire asked scared of what might happen between James and Jason.
"That's what I'd like to know", James said dryly.
"Well there's nothing to do now but wait till he and his arrive, he's on this ship now nothing we can do about that", Shana told him.
"We could throw him out one of the airlocks", Jack said simply.
"Jack no, I don't like him anymore than you do but he's still a part of the UNSC so he's an ally no matter how much I wish he was one of those hinge heads".
"Still we could make it like he fell, like an accident", Jack tried.
"No!"
"Fine", Jack sighed defeated.
"Well now we just have to wait till they get here", James said annoyed.