"So, what's next?"

I look back over to James and down at my datapad again. It had been around half an hour since our little run in with Pitt, and on our way to find our next member, we got lost. Again. I'm beginning to see a theme here...

"I told you this a dozen times, James. I. Dont. Know. I don't know this ship like the back of my hand just yet."

I tossed my datapad to him, and he grabs it without much trouble.

"You figure it out."

He only shrugs and begins swiping through it, scratching his head now and then. I sigh and turn to the window next to us, staring back out into space. The black void was...well, still black and void-like. The metal under my feet felt colder than usual as well...something is off. I just can't put my finger on it...

"I may have an idea of where to go."

I turn to James, who is now walking down the hallway to a rather large door at the end, and I fast walk to catch up to him.

"Where?"

"Gotta cut through Atrium Park to get there. It's through this giant door."

I raise an eyebrow as we walk, turning my head to face the oversized door.

"Atrium Park? What the heck is that?"

James looks over to me and smiles, hitting a nearby button to open the door. On the inside is something I would have never have expected to see. It's a VERY large room, put it looks just like a park back on Earth, minus the fact that the paths are the same metal as the rest of the ship. Trees of all kinds dot the place, ranging from plain old birch to even my personal favorite, the cherry tree. I've always found its pink blossoms oddly...comforting. There's even a small stream running through it! How the heck did they do that?

I walk inside, James following closely behind, and I can tell he's smirking. I pause near one of the trees and reach out, gripping it's bark. It's a real tree! Nothing virtual or holographic, the real frigging thing!

"How in the world did you guys get permission to put this stuff on the ship?"

James shrugs, too busy admiring the scenery.

"Beats me. It's still pretty amazing to loom at though, right? Like a piece of Earth came with us."

I nod, running my hand down the trunk of the tree. James and I just let the time pass by as we both take turns just admiring the beauty of nature, before I snap myself our of my stupor and turn to him, who seems to be hugging the tree at the moment.

"Weren't we looking for someone?"

James turns to me, the glazed look in his eyes fading as he nods his head.

"Oh. Right. This way."

He hesitantly release the tree from his hold and continues down the path through the park and to another large door on the far side of the park. He opens it up and steps inside, and I follow close behind him, the door shutting tight behind us. I turn my head back to the door while still walking forward.

"Definitely gotta head back there. The place seems so...serene."

James nods in agreement.

"I know what you mean. Almost no one is in there except for maintenance, so it's always quiet and peaceful. One of my most favorite places to go when I'm bored."

After a few minutes of walking we begin to reach a pair or double doors with the words GYMNASIUM in bright bold orange hanging above it. I look from the words back down to my datapad and nod slowly.

"Well, it does say that she likes to play basketball...so we might find her here."

James nods, then pats me on the shoulder.

"Right. Well, you can handle this. I've got some things to do."

He then begins walking in the other direction, and I turn to face him, but he doesn't stop walking.

"What? You're just going to leave me alone?"

James calls back without even looking behind him.

"You'll be fine! You're not scared of a girl, are you?"

He laughs as he reopens the door to the Park and dissapeared as the door closes in front of him. I sigh, massaging my temples. I'm not scared of girls; I'm scared of their tempers. However, I brush my anxiety inside and push both doors open.

The inside of the gymnasium isn't much to talk about; in fact it highly resembles a high school gym. Right now, only one person is using it. A bright orange basketball bouncing across the floor is the only sound in the entire gym. I walk forward and stop just outside the court, and call to the person dribbling the ball around.

"Beg pardon! I'm looking for Muliloa."

The dribbling stops.

"Well, it looks like you found her."

The woman picks up the ball and begins walking over to me. Now that she's not sprinting all around the court, I can actually get a good view of her.

The first thing that stood out was how tall she was. Man! And I thought I was tall, but she easily dwarfed me. Her file said about six foot eight, and I didn't believe it at first, but the proof is right here. And I still don't believe it. Her hair was a long chocolate brown, with eyes to match, and her tan skin worked well with it. Her face was oval, her cheeks being more pronounced, and her body was...well, eye-catching. It's a very lean, curvy body and her...assets were...well, you get the point.

She wore khaki colored shorts and the usual olive colored UNSC tanktop, with some white sneakers. As she neared me, she reached her hand out, and I could spot what seemed to be...tattoo sleeves? And they look more tribal as well...odd, but I took her hand and shook it nonetheless. She smiled as she shook my hand, and I could feel a little heat rising to me cheeks. Hey, give me a break. She's a very attractive woman!

"Good to meet you, Muliloa. I'm Orion, and I'll be leading Fireteam Crimson, which I believe you are a part of?"

She nods her head as she releases her grip of my hand.

"Yes sir. But please, call me Clair."

"Alright then. Can I assume you've been introduced to the other members of the team, Clair?"

"Well, I know James and the jackass, but I believe there's a few others I haven't met yet."

I could feel a frown grow as I sighed at this. I was really hoping she could tell me where one of them was.

"Damn. Guess I'll have to try and figure out where those ones are then..."

"Have you tried asking Roland?"

I look up at her, the confusion on my face obvious.

"Ask...Roland? Why would I ask Roland?"

"He's the ships A.I, he's bound to know where everyone is."

I raise a finger to counteract this, but I slowly put it back down in realization; I could have done that this entire time. I just wasted near two hours of my life walking around lost when I had a working A.I ready to give me directions.

"...How do I do that."

She gives a small smile as she rolls her eyes and points to a strange looking button on my datapad.

"Just hit that and Roland should come up. He'll give directions."

I look down at it, then back to Clair.

"Oh. Well...thanks Clair. You're a real lifesaver!"

She only winks at me as she turns and begins walking back to the court.

"No problem, Sugar Cakes."

I begin to turn, but pause for a moment. Sugar Cakes? Did she seriously just call me that? I turn back to look at her, but she's already back at it, dribbling the ball around like nobodies buisness. I sigh as I turn and walk back to the door. As I do so, my thoughts begin to drift back to her and then to her figure...

I shake my head and expelled the thoughts. Bad brain! Bad! She may be extremely attractive but you've got a job to! You're running a Fireteam! Getcha head in the game, boyo!

I continue my little rant as I walk out the gym door and out of sight, Clair still playing ball like her life depended on it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hey again everyone! How ya doing? Good? Great! Anywho, here's the fourth member of Crimson, Clair Conley, compliments of My Wunderwaffle iz missin. Let me know what you think of her and the chapter please, and remember! The deadline for OC submission is two weeks from today, so if you have an OC you wanna send or another one that you made, be sure to send that in soon, as ones submitted after the deadline will have no chance of passing moderation. Thanks for reading, and a pleasant rest of your day!

-Nate