Elena sat there, stunned. The whole crowd was in an uproar as Pelkin stood up and patted her on the shoulder.
"Better luck next time little crate flyer" he almost hissed out to her and walked away, money being swapped between hands as Buck brought his hand to his mouth. Everyone thought she would win, she had shown everyone just how good she was, and she lost because of time. If she just had a few more flares, she could have won.
Elena thought over what just happened as people started to file out. She looked behind her feeling embarrassed and a little sad. What had she done wrong? She had literally adapted to everything that came at her, worked with everything she had available against a superior foe.
"Nice flying" she heard over her shoulder.
"Thanks" she whispered in a disheartened tone, then turned and saw it wasn't her father saying it. Just behind her was the Spartan. The blood drained from her face and her eyes went wide. She tried to squeak something unintelligible, and then looked to her father who was also surprised.
"Didn't expect you in here, I guess you super soldiers can have fun once in a while. Lemme guess, you came in here to watch Bambi and you got this show instead" Buck chuckled. The Master Chief looked over at him and glared.
"Oooohhhh, scary. Look missy, don't be afraid of the big hulking pasty face there, he hates us Hell Jumpers, not you pilots. Here" Buck stood up from his chair and handed Elena twenty credits.
"What? But… I lost?" Elena heard herself say she lost and it struck her hard. She wasn't as good as she thought she was. Elena then realized she did pretty well for her first try. She had nearly won against an ace pilot and she was in her teens, and he had a top of the line fighter while she had in essence a Jalopy. If he hadn't shot those missiles, she would have won. If she had just moved a little faster, it would have been a stalemate, or again, she would have won. She was proud of herself.
"You deserve it, that was better than any movie we could have seen here, and you nearly took our best pilot on board to school with inferior equipment. You may not realize it, but you just earned the respect of everyone that was in this room just from that. If you can play like that, I don't doubt you could probably fly like that too" Buck grinned down at her, and she cracked a small smile. She turned around and saw the Master Chief was already leaving the room.
"We should get some shut eye soon, it got pretty late while you played that" Jack told his daughter. She looked over at his watch.
"It's only… err, 2000 hours?" She managed to get her voice back.
"And we wake up tomorrow at 0500 for the gym and to get reassigned some new quarters. Don't worry, after today we go into slip space, and you'll have to strive to find something to keep you occupied while we do that" Jack responded with a chuckle.
"I should get going too; it was great seeing that missy, hope to see you here again or in the DFAC!" Buck said and waved goodbye as he walked to the door. Elena waved back and got up. She stretched and turned off the console.
"You lived up to your nickname" Jack said and laughed.
"What? I did? How?" Elena asked, confused.
"The whole time you were fighting, you were trying to use stealth to your advantage, as that was really the only thing you had to survive. You did really well, I'm very impressed" Jack reached out to her and gave her a hug.
"I still lost" she said as he rubbed her back slowly.
"By just one second. If anything, that guy should be thanking you for the good game you put up. He probably doesn't have many competitors if he's that good. Would get boring in slip space if no one wants to play with you." Jack pulled back slowly and looked her in the eye. "Hey, keep your chin up. You should be proud of yourself."
"It's just a game, not real life like mo- my mom says. Games to her are like dead brain time" Elena said and made odd mouth motions and rolled her eyes. Jack laughed as they exited the room.
"Yeah, but she should talk as she sits in front of the TV watching her soaps when she can. She still works as a secretary?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, the company she works for has grown quite a lot, what is it… Traxus industries" Elena spoke as they headed for the lift.
"Huh, well I hope she continues to do well" Jack said as they entered. They rode the lift for a bit, then got off and walked to their quarters. Elena got changed with her father outside for privacy, and then he got changed quickly and climbed into bed.
"Dad? Why did you and mom separate?" Elena asked as she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her toes. Jack sighed thinking of a way to answer her.
"You're mother hated how I wasn't around all the time because of me being in the UNSC, and I didn't like getting your hopes up all the time only to have them crash down when I didn't live up to expectations." Jack stared at the ceiling which was two feet away from him.
"Daddy, you didn't have to do that, we always loved you. We didn't care if you had to shoot off to do some flight somewhere, you always came back and that was what was important. We knew you were military, and that was enough. That's just stupid of mom" Elena said and fell back on her bunk, the bottom bed.
"It's more complicated than that honey, but that's part of it. We both… we both figured I was holding the family back somehow, so I would be a part of your life when you need me, and the rest… well… apparently I wasn't worth it to her…" Jack sighed and turned off the small reading light near his head.
"You're worth it to me and Milo dad. We still think you're worth anything in the world." Jack laughed and smiled.
"Thanks sweetheart. Get some sleep. I love you" Jack said softly.
"I love you too daddy" Elena said and got under her covers and turned her light off.
[Two hours later]
Elena couldn't sleep a wink. Her father's snoring was the worst she's ever heard. It was like someone was turning on a Mack Truck and its starter wouldn't kick in. She tried to push her pillows over her head to block out the noise, but then it seemed he'd snore even louder to compensate.
She finally snapped and got up, then poked at her father above her. He didn't move.
"Daddy…" she poked him again. Still snoring.
"Daddy!" She slapped him in the stomach and he shot up and banged his head against the ceiling. "Fuck!" He looked around and held his head. "What? Huh? What's wrong honey?" Jack looked over at her half asleep and confused.
"You're snoring really loudly, I can't sleep, roll over." She made a rolling motion with her index finger. He nodded a bit and apologized, then rolled over and went back to bed, still sore from his head banging the ceiling. She sighed and went back to sleep.
[Two hours later]
Jack was snoring again. Elena was so tired; she couldn't get any shut eye. She couldn't wait until she got her own quarters, just to herself. She had to survive through the night though before that could happen. She got out of her bed and tried to roll her father over, but he was in a position above her head that made it difficult to push, and his weight was too much for her small muscles.
She sat down and thought. She remembered seeing a pair of noise canceling ear muffs in one of the duffels, and she began digging through it. She pulled them out and put them on her head, then got back into bed. She couldn't hear anything now. She quickly fell asleep with nothing to keep her up.
[0500 hours, June 13th 2542, Marathon Cruiser Honor Bound, Deck 72, Room Q149-B2]
Jack woke up from his watch beeping its alarm. He slowly got up and slid off the top and let his feet touch the ground. He looked around and saw his duffel bag, and started digging through it for a new pair of clothes. It was still dark inside, but he could see the duffel was rifled through by someone. He turned around and looked at his daughter sleeping peacefully in her bed… with a pair of ear muffs on her head.
Jack looked confused, and walked over to wake her gently. She tried to push his hand away and go back to sleep, so he shook her a bit more. She finally woke up and looked at him with sleep deprived eyes.
"Hey, wake up. What's this?" He made hand motions to his head in emphasis to her. She watched his hand motions carefully, trying to deduce what he was saying.
"YOU SNORE!" she yelled as she couldn't hear herself talk, then tried to roll over and go back to sleep. Jack looked dumbfounded at her. Did he really snore that loudly? He shook her gently again.
"I wanna sleep!" she whined as he took the ear muffs off her head, and her hands shot up to stop him.
"Noooo… daddy…" she whined again, and he finished taking them away as she shot up to look at him annoyed.
"It's 0500 and we are going to the gym. Your body will wear down its muscles out here in space faster than you think, so to get them back to working well, we are going to exercise. Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to do PT and do fifty pushups like a marine, but I do expect you to make some effort to keep yourself in shape. You grab some clothes and I'll check the terminal for a response to our quarter's requests. We shouldn't have any problems. Then we head up and pick up your things, I'll take you to your new quarters and I'll quickly go take a shower while you do the same. You should be allowed to wear civilian clothes on board since you're a contracted." Elena shook her head and rubbed her eyes to wake herself up some more and breathed deep. She was still tired, and wanted her beauty sleep.
She got up and stumbled her way to her duffel, not quite having her center of balance under control, her brain not quite awake yet. Jack turned on the terminal and typed in his login, then added in his authenticator code. The terminal swapped to the personnel net and had one email noted for him. He opened it while Elena grabbed her clothes.
A.I. DARWIN: RESPONSE TO REQUEST OF SPECIAL QUARTERS SUBMITTED 1400 HOURS, 06/12/2542 SENT TO D72-Q149-B2 TO FLIGHT LIEUTENANT JACK GRIPEN UNSC AIR FORCE BRANCH SN 24689-496017 AP. START RESPONSE:
REQUEST ACCEPTED. SPECIAL QUARTERS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED UNDER ORDERS FROM [REDACTED.] MUST USE STANDARD QUARTERS FOR OFFICERS ON BOARD UNSC MARATHON CRUISER HONOR BOUND FOR ONE OF SAID PERSONNEL. QUARTERS ASSIGNED ARE: D2-Q030-B1-S AND D90-Q246-B1. END RESPONSE
Jack's heart sunk. The quarters they were assigned were on different decks, and in different parts of the ship.
"Fuck" Jack whispered, but Elena heard him.
"Something wrong?" Elena asked him. He sighed and looked up at her with a pained expression.
"We… have a problem… we got authorized for the expanded quarters we asked for you" Jack told her.
"Wait, I thought that was what we wanted?" Elena asked, looking incredibly confused. Jack shook his head softly.
"Where are we assigned?" She said, as worry strung through her voice.
"D2-Q030 and D90-Q246. Q030 if I remember correctly is near the bridge somewhere, and Q246 is… well… it's near the flight deck for hangar nine. I am assigned Q246, and you are assigned Q030. We're not anywhere near each other. It's going to be a little difficult to keep track of each other…" Jack groaned out loud after he told her.
"Well, I could always stay put inside until you come for me..." Elena told him, hoping that would answer the problem.
"Not exactly. You'll have to find your way on your own to the flight deck eventually. I don't have authorization to go up near the bridge unless summoned by the brass or there's a briefing, which is doubtful. You don't just walk onto Deck 2, regardless of your rank. You tend to request authorization, you're given it by the ship A.I. or are escorted up, and then you do whatever it is you need to do with the Captain. You, however, can come and go as you please, which is a little confusing. I wonder if…" Jack thought for a moment.
"Wonder if what? We can ask to change it?" the teenager asked, her black hair a mess from her tossing and turning.
"No, we can't change it, they'd just laugh and tell us to shut up and get to work, well, me anyways. You… ok, here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna go to get some breakfast, and then we'll go to the gym, do some exercises, come back and grab our gear, we'll take you up to your quarters, then you'll take a shower and I'll go down to the group showers and do the same. I'll grab my gear and I'll drop it off at my quarters, then it's pretty much open game. I may have to go to talk to someone for a bit, but that won't take too long I hope" Jack told her his plan.
"I can't come with you?" she asked with a hint of worry in her tone.
"You'll be fine honey, I'll only be gone for maybe an hour, and it's not a huge amount of time. I just want a little information. I'll pick you up afterwards and then we'll go down to the flight deck and you can use the sim pod for a little training if you want, then, we can goof off while we go into slip space. Deal?" Jack told her.
"Well, ok… I guess." Elena put down her things and got changed into some basic clothes. She then zipped up her duffel and watched her father do the same, and then they both walked out. Jack escorted her to the lift, and they both walked in. The lift went down for some time, until it slowed to a stop at deck 74.
They noticed the whole place was filled with personnel, and a line at the counter.
"Wow, this place is packed" Jack said as they walked up to the back of the line. They each grabbed a tray and followed slowly.
"Hey there! Sleep well?" a voice said behind Elena. She turned around and noticed it was Buck.
"Not exactly…" she grumbled and looked at her father.
"Ah, lemme guess, snoring? Yeah, I used to be bunked with this one guy back when I was in boot for ODST training. He snored so loud the whole building could hear him. It got so bad they had to require him to get those breathing strips you put on your nose. Before he got those though, in order to get him to stop, we finally got fed up and just pushed him off his bunk. It was somewhat gratifying to hear the snoring then thump! And we went back to sleep after that" Buck laughed while telling her.
Elena giggled and followed the line, Buck right behind her. She finally reached the beverage counter and picked up a carton of milk. Buck did the same, and they walked up to the next counter. A cook leaned out and dropped a plate of eggs and bacon and hash browns on her tray.
"Hey, come here" the cook motioned for her to come a bit closer. She leaned in a bit, wondering what he wanted.
"Weren't you the one who gave that ass hat a one four flying lesson last night? Good on ya girlie. Wish you were a perma on this thing. Waste of a fighter pilot you bein a Peli jumper and all that. You take care now ya hear?" the cook let her move forward after saying his piece, she thanking him and continuing forward.
"Everybody heard about that? It was just a game, nothing real" Elena said as she grabbed a small bowl of fruit with plastic wrap over it.
"You'd be surprised how many found out about that afterwards. To most of the people on board, Pelkin is an ass, but a good pilot, so as long as he doesn't piss people off when he's on duty, nobody cares. We were all hoping you would have knocked him down a peg last night, but you still did good." Buck grabbed an orange and Jack grabbed a pack of toast and jam. "Fresh fruit! Hmm, you don't get much of that on trips more than a week. Things are looking up!" Buck said behind her.
"Let's sit over there" Jack said as he motioned to a corner table. Buck asked if he could sit with them, and Elena nodded. Just as they got near the table, they noticed it was the Master Chief sitting in the corner. He looked up at them, no emotion showing on his face, a mask of stone. He especially looked right at Elena, and despite what Buck said to her the other night, she was still a little frightened.
"Ah, figures. We'll find another table, no worries missy" Buck said and looked around for spots.
"Hey! Hey! Fly girl! Over here!" a wave was seen in the distance and Elena noticed it was Jones from the other night. "Come sit with us! We saved you some seats!" He yelled out to them. Elena looked at the two men with her and they both nodded in the same direction. Elena walked over and stood there meekly, a little embarrassed they remembered her.
"Three seats for you guys. Don't worry, Erin's not here. Come on, have a seat" Jones motioned to the seats as he took a bite of his bacon.
"Thanks!" she said with a smile and sat down next to him, her father sitting right beside her and Buck sitting across. The table looked like it was full of fighter pilots as well as some ODSTs, and Buck seemed completely at home.
"So, we heard you got assigned up on deck 2. Special quarters. Must have impressed someone getting that" one of the pilots, she thought his name was C. Jennings, told her.
"Well, um…" Elena couldn't figure out how to explain why she got them.
"She's a civie so she has special needs. They aren't used to the group bathrooms like we are" Jack explained.
"Ah. Yeah, the women here are a little touchy on that subject. Still, they volunteered, they have to deal with it. Being a civie has its advantages it seems in some cases" Buck said as he took a bite of his hash browns.
"There's definitely a morale boost when they do go to the bathrooms" a pilot said.
"I'll say!" another pilot chimed in, and everyone laughed except Jack and Elena.
"It's not like you guys could get it up anyways, you stick riders" a female voice walking by said.
"Oh come on! As if we could to your fat ass!" Jones laughed and the woman nearby, wearing what looked to be a tank top with dog tags and cargo pants, smiled back. She was wearing brown boots Elena noticed. She must be a Pelican pilot or another fighter pilot.
"You see? That's what happens when you fly a Long Sword, the stick rides so far up your ass the pain makes you see in double vision!" She responded and everyone ooohhed at the burn. Jones ceded defeat with a smile as the woman sat down at a table right next to them.
"That woman is Lieutenant Farrah, she's a Peli support pilot" Jones explained to Elena. She nodded but was still confused as she didn't know what a Peli support was.
"Support means she flies gunship support for ground forces most of the time. Her Pelican is equipped with weaponry" Jack whispered down to her as he wiped jam on his toast.
"Ah" Elena said and looked behind her, and saw Farrah lean back and smile at her.
"Another girl here, thank god, this sausage fest was getting out of hand, about time we got another competent pilot" she snickered and elbowed Elena playfully in the side, and she giggled in response.
"I'm D… Jack's Co-pilot though, so not really" Elena responded, feeling a little lower than the rest of the people she was sitting with. Everyone just laughed and looked around. Jack cleared his throat and looked at her.
"Co-pilots ARE pilots missy. You act like you're just out of flight training" Jones chuckled and looked around at the rest of the table.
"Y-yeah, I knew that! Just, it's not my Pelican, so I don't really consider myself a full pilot, that's what I meant." Elena tried to fix what she just said, trying to keep people from getting suspicious.
"Well if you fly for real like you did last night, you'll probably have your own really soon, trust me" Farrah said over her shoulder as she took a bite of an apple slice.
"As long as you can fit in it of course. Fat ass behind us has to be buttered up to slide through the-" Jones tried to finish while laughing as Farrah got her arm around his neck and gave him a noogey, laughing the whole time. Everyone laughed hard.
"But seriously though, you want her to watch out for the ground pounders, if she's not there, you mud thumpers would be in a world of hurt otherwise, don't deny it" Jones said as Farrah stopped her playful assault.
"Hey, we do alright without you fly boys, and girls, having to watch our backs all the time. Hell, we have something you guys don't. It's called cover. But it's still much appreciated all the same when you're up there" Buck grinned and pointed his fork at Jones.
"We have cover! They're called clouds dumb ass!" Jones laughed.
"Not in space you don't! Show me a cloud up in space! And they aren't physical! You can't hide behind them and expect them to protect you from a round!" Buck argued while laughing. Both Jones and Buck started retorting back and forth as Elena looked behind her towards the table in the corner.
The Spartan was finishing his food and suddenly looked right at her. He had a somewhat pained expression on his face, as if he thought of a sad memory, but it quickly faded and turned to stone again. After seeing that face, she suddenly wasn't as afraid of him anymore. Whatever, or whoever, caused him to think back and frown must have been a memorable experience to make a Spartan feel sad she thought.
Elena finished her breakfast and saw that her father was long since done, so they bid their farewells and went down to the gym.
"Are you sure you want to exercise in that? Do you have any sweats?" Jack asked her. She looked down at her attire and didn't notice anything odd.
"Well, as long as you're ok with it" he said and they walked through the green door to the gym. The entire room was covered with exercise machines for all parts of the body. Multiple treadmills, exercise bikes and weight lifting tables were set about, as well as a small boxing ring and punching bags. There were only two cable machines it seemed. There was an area of the gym that seemed to be reserved for high gravity however, and Elena didn't seem interested.
"Let's go do the treadmill; it's the easiest to work with for you I think, and then a few small weights, some pull ups and pushups." Jack walked over to the first treadmill and jumped on it, and set it to a speed that he felt was right for him. Elena followed suit and set her treadmill to what she enjoyed, a light jog.
"So, I hear Milo is becoming a bit of rebel. He's being ok to your mother right?" her father asked her to start up some small talk.
"Eh, he's pretty mean to people most of the time. He's changed quite a bit. He swears a lot, he listens to loud music and he disobeys mom whenever he can" Elena told him as she started to feel a light burn in her leg muscles.
"Hmmm, I'll have to have a talk with him later; he shouldn't do that to his mother. He's got to get set straight, there's no need for a guy like that in the world. If he thinks being like he is is cool, he's got another thing coming when he can't get a decent job." Jack increased his speed by two notches.
"What about you? Can't wait till you are in you know where?" he grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Well, it's gonna be just like where I was, just I'll be older, you know? More classes and all" Elena immediately shut up when she saw the doors open and in walked the Master Chief. He nodded in her direction then walked into the high gravity zone and towards the weights.
"What's wrong? Oh. I see. Don't worry, he won't hurt you" he said and turned his treadmill off, rolling back a tiny bit and moving to a weight table. Elena followed his example and turned hers off as well, but instead did some stretches. She did a leg split on the ground and pulled toward her toes, then stood up and took some small weights, each five pounds. Jack chuckled.
"What? I'm not like you, Jack. I'm not very strong" she told him.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry. Just five pounds won't do much. Try picking up the ten pounders" he said as he had two fifty pounders and was doing Triceps Dumbbell Extensions.
Elena heard in the corner the weights being pushed onto the bench bar for the Spartan, then heard it lift. She happened to look around the corner and saw what looked to be this mass of muscle doing bench lifts. She gawked at the amount of weight he was pushing up and down, and he was doing lying barbell extensions towards his face.
"What, you interested?" Jack asked jokingly.
"What? No! Worried about him more like it. Besides… I like someone at sch- at home" she corrected herself.
"Oh yeah! Andy! How is he doing? And what's your best friend's name, Amber?" her father asked as he swapped to kick backs on a bench.
"Yup, she's doing well, she was gonna take her vacation at the beach, get a sun tan she said" Elena told him as she continued curling the ten pounders. Her arms were starting to hurt.
"Did… did you want to go with her?" Jack asked her with a grin.
"Not really. I'd much rather… err… um, finish this job." She was worried the Spartan could hear her.
"I don't know if he can hear us way over her if we're low key. You don't have to worry" Jack told her, but she wasn't sure. She thought she could see out of the corner of her eye him glance in their direction as they said that, but when she turned her head he was staring at the barbell he was doing sets with.
"Hey, want to try doing what he's doing?" Jack asked his daughter.
"What? I could never lift that much!" she exclaimed.
"No no no, you would do a much lower amount in normal gravity. Don't worry, I'll spot you." Jack laughed and motioned for her to lie down on a bench. She didn't know what to do while he placed some weights on the bar, and it looked like about fifty pounds total.
"Try that, I'll keep my hands ready if you can't" he told her. She picked it up off of its rack and immediately felt how heavy it was. She did a few sets then told him she was done.
"Ok ok, guess you're still not ready for it" he told her.
"Ouch, my arms are sore" she whined and rubbed her biceps as she sat up.
They both swapped to pushups and sit ups, and then Jack helped his daughter set a bar to do pull ups while he worked on a cable machine.
"Well, I think we're pretty much done now, it's been an hour already. Let's head up to our room and get our gear, then transfer you and take a shower. I'll shoot down quick to get a shower and drop my stuff off in my quarters then zoom back up and grab you for the sim pod. Then we can test your leet skillz" Jack told her and made little flying gestures in the air. She agreed and followed him out, taking a quick glance behind her and seeing the Spartan had stopped his sets and was sitting with a towel wiping his face. She couldn't really tell if it was the trick of the light, but he looked deeply sad. He looked up suddenly and saw her staring and she felt sorry for him, before she quickly turned away and ran out.
"That Spartan seems sad" Elena told her father as they walked down the hall past some technicians heading in another direction.
"How so?" he asked back as he slid by an engineer moving a cart down the hallway.
"I don't know. Like, he keeps making these sad faces when he thinks no one is looking, like he's remembering something from the past, or thinking about something in the future maybe?"
Jack shrugged and they continued to walk on towards the lift. As the lift opened up, they saw the two marines from the day before, laughing about something. They looked at Elena as they both got in and turned around. She could feel their eyes roaming her, and she thought it was creepy. They didn't really know that she was under age though, and she didn't want them to find out. She heard one of them whisper something and then the other stifle a laugh.
"Maybe she's Mexican or… she could be Thai, you never know" one of the marines whispered. Jack flipped around and stared at them.
"Would you mind sharing with the rest of us what you are saying and who you are referring to private?" Jack said as he leveled a cold stare at them.
"Sir! I was confused as to the nationality of the woman next to you sir! I have hardly been to Earth, and I was wondering from which country she might have been from!" Both marines snapped to.
"How do you know she's even from Earth private? And why do you even care? You can always ask nicely and in a civilized manner instead of whispering behind them and giggling like little pricks that just had their balls drop and are staring at every girl's ass they can" Jack growled out.
"Sir! Apologies and no offense intended sir!" Both marines saluted and looked at Elena, who was very annoyed and did not like how they were originally treating her. Both of them didn't know what her fake rank was either.
"You'd do better to treat a higher rank with more respect, private" Elena suddenly said and Jack looked at her.
"I will endeavor to do that from now on ma'am! I mean I do that always ma'am! Err…" The marines didn't know what else to say.
"If we find out about anymore chatter that doesn't include her in a more respectful tone, you two jarheads will be the first ones we track down, you understand?" Jack growled towards them, and the lift doors opened.
"Yes sir! Sorry sir!" Both marines stood there.
"Isn't this your deck marines?" Elena said, noticing the number wasn't the one they wanted.
"Yes ma'am!" They both walked out briskly, and Elena and Jack watched as the doors closed.
"That was pretty good, you got into that" Jack punched her playfully.
"Mom says women shouldn't be treated like a piece of meat, and frankly I don't want to be treated as such. It felt… dirty…" she shivered.
"I completely agree. Of course I'm your father so if anyone did that to you I'd have to kill them and incinerate the body to hide the evidence" he said matter of factly.
She looked up at him in surprise and punched him playfully. He chuckled and tousled her hair.
"You wouldn't do that to Andy would you?" she asked.
"Only if you don't like it. It's a little complicated when it's done by someone you care about" he told her.
The doors opened again, and they walked out and down the hall. They continued back to their quarters and grabbed their things, then went back to the lift.
The lift went up for some time, until it slowed to a stop at deck 12. The doors opened, and standing in the way was a man they hadn't seen in years. Looking right at them was Dr. Wright. His hair had grown a few more grey patches, but he still wore his suit, now covered with what looked to be halfway between a lab coat and a trench coat.
Elena froze. She remembered him vaguely from when she was six. She hoped he didn't remember her, or at least be suspicious that she was older and on board the ship.
"Hello" Dr. Wright said with a grin and walked in, then turned around and pressed deck 2. Her heart jumped into her throat. He was going to the same deck. Elena looked up at her father, who returned the worried gaze.
"Are you two both ready to enter slip space? It's an amazing experience" Wright said, aiming his words at the two of them as he watched the doors of the lift.
"Um, yes sir" Jack responded. Wright looked over his shoulder and looked Jack over, then looked at Elena. She did her best to stand ram rod straight.
"My god! I do believe I recognize you!" the Doctor said as he looked at them, and both of them immediately were scared out of their minds.
"Look sir, I can expl-" Jack tried to say.
"I remember you some seven years ago! I met you in that shop! It's good to see you again! You had a little girl with you if I'm not mistaken? How is she?" the doctor grinned ear to ear and put his hand out to shake Jack's hand. Elena realized that he might not know she was that little girl.
"She's… she is doing fine sir, she has just graduated middle school" Jack said, then realized that might be too much information he gave out. If it was, the doctor didn't notice it.
"Good to hear! Is she still into aircraft might I inquire?" Daveth asked, as he seemed to pay no heed to Elena nearby.
"You can say that again sir. Can't keep her feet on the ground so to speak" Jack chuckled.
"Ah, she did seem a smart one, does well in school yes?" he enquired further about Elena's education.
"Straight As, every time it seems."
"Good! Good. I can see her going far, that one. I was wondering, I am doing a small study in the future; would you be willing to allow me to talk to her for a bit? I wanted to get a tiny bit of information from her, involving her love of aircraft. I can't explain much more than that I'm afraid, as you can see I am obviously not on board this ship for a pleasure cruise." The Doctor seemed to have an odd grin on his face, but Elena couldn't tell if it was the light of the hallway they were in or if it was real.
"Well, I… she'd have to be the one who accepted, and it's only if nothing bad will happen to her… I mean, you just said you were-" Jack was interrupted by the doctor.
"I assure you nothing bad will happen my boy, I just wish to talk, and we've done it with many children all over. As you recall, I am a doctor of psychology and brain sciences. Surely you cannot see anything harmful coming from simple words from an old man could you?" Wright smiled warmly towards him.
"I'll have to ask her, but, I'm sure it would be alright. I wonder if she remembers you from so long ago." Jack continued, trying to keep Elena from being noticed.
"I wonder that myself, but oh, I believe I am keeping you from going where you are needed… em, I see you are helping your, err, Co-pilot yes?" Daveth asked him.
"Err, yes! Yes, she's gained her quarters for the slip space trip to Reach." Jack and Wright looked at her and she felt extremely awkward.
"Which room is that might I ask?" Daveth said.
"Um… 030" Elena said, a little startled she was put on the spot.
"Ah! Right next to mine! I am 031. Splendid! Splendid! And you fly with Mr. Gripen yes? What would be your favorite part about the job miss…err…" he pushed his glass down a bit and checked her chest for any tag with her name on it.
"Esprit" she said, feeling very tense.
"Ah, Ms. Esprit, what is your favorite part of the job might I ask?"
"Well, you see, I'm a contracted civilian, so-" she tried to explain to him what her father had told her to say.
"Ah yes, I saw that on the pilot list the other day. I was looking at the Pelican lists for whom would take me down to Reach when we arrive. I heard a few good things about you Mr. Gripen. I hope you will be willing to take me safely to the surface when we arrive?" Wright asked.
"It'd be an honor sir" Jack nodded to him.
"Splendid! So, Ms. Esprit, I know you are a civilian but back to my question" he said, reaching out and taking her hand in his and putting his right hand on top gently, staring into her eyes.
"Um, well, the feeling of flying I guess. You're not on the ground, not tethered to your feet I think, more to your aircraft, or spacecraft as the case maybe" Elena spoke truthfully.
"Ah, the feeling of flight, yes, yes, and it is true, your craft is like your body, its armor your skin, the engines your heart, and your thrusters your feet? Carrying you wherever you wish to go?" Wright asked.
"Yes, that's exactly what I think!" Elena told him, smiling.
"Aha! Always good to find something you find enjoyable in your daily duties. Very good indeed! And you are not of the military yes? Not UNSC? Have you ever thought of joining? I must tell you, the little crowd in the entertainment room, with you playing that game, that flying game, I happened to see it as I was getting a book. I must say, if you have not thought of joining the academy, you should indeed!" Wright said while softly shaking her hand up and down, then letting go and pushing his glasses back up his nose.
Elena was caught off guard by what he said, and was extremely surprised. He saw her playing?
"Well, that was just a game, that isn't real life, there's so many-" she tried to explain the differences between flying in real life and the game but it was difficult for her to find the words.
"Variables? Wind velocity? Tack handling? How the aircraft feels? Yes, I know I know; so many different variables you have to account for that change how you fly. I wonder, though, you were able to handle the combat of that game quite well, quite well indeed. What was going through your head when you did all that, that aerial dancing?" Wright asked her and waved his hand around in the air.
"Aerial dancing?" Elena said a bit perplexed.
"Yes, yes, I figured with all that dodging and weaving you knew how to dance as well as fly my girl!" He let out a hearty chuckle.
"I… I never really took dancing lessons, I don't really know how to dance, I just… I just figured it was the best way to keep surviving you know? I didn't have anything else but my wits to stop him so I did what I could to keep him from shooting me, like I guess anyone else would do" she told him, trying to find the words to express why she did what she did.
"Ah, my mistake, my apologies. It was still very beautiful however. You should think about learning to dance, it does the body some good I should say. Very good indeed. It might even help with your path to keep your feet off the ground my dear" Wright pressed his fingers down gently on her hand that he was holding up with his left, bouncing them softly a few times then letting go completely.
Elena smiled and nodded, telling him she would look into it.
"Good! Good, ah, but you did say you were heading to your quarters and you must be a busy girl! You as well! Ah, where are my manners? Would you allow me to help you with your baggage?" he asked, looking at both of them.
"Oh, I don't think-" Elena tried to object. "They're pretty heavy duffels, we wouldn't want to hurt you with them" Jack interrupted.
"Ah, yes. Thank you for considering that, I had not factored in weight for them. Some of these things, they slip my old mind they do. Well, I shall let you get settled in. Mayhap I could interest you in joining me for breakfast tomorrow however? It does get a bit dull inside this blasted metal boat doesn't it? A bit of company would be enjoyable to talk to" Daveth asked.
"Wha, well, I-" Elena looked to her father.
"Oh he can come as well if he wishes, by all means! The more the merrier you bring my dear!" he said to her. Elena was bewildered. She was being invited, not her father, though she could bring him along. She didn't think she was very special. Wouldn't he rather invite her father directly and let her tag along?
"Well, sure, alright, I'll come" she said, hoping her father would come for back up. Her father looked amused.
"Splendid! Splendid! Until tomorrow my dear, I shall see you in the morning! Come to the officers dining hall, I shall be waiting with baited breath for another chance to talk with you!" He said and did a small salute as they waved goodbye.
"That went better than expected. I was worried for a minute" Elena whispered to Jack as they made their way to her quarters.
"Key code is 7642, then swipe your thumb and let it read your eye" Jack told her. She typed the number in and pushed her thumb down, then looked into the iris sensor.
"Welcome back Ms. Esprit" a female voice said and the door unlocked. Elena seemed shocked by the voice, and looked up at her father.
"They didn't have that the last time I was on a Marathon. That's new. Let's get you situated."
They walked in and immediately Elena noticed the bed was much larger than the room they were previously in. It was queen sized, with a window outside and an armored panel on hydraulics hanging just over it. A desk was in the right front corner in a niche, with a light hanging over it and a terminal on top. A locker sat next to it near the door that led to the bathroom. In the right furthest corner near the bed, a potted plant with what looked to be a fern sat, and in front of it was a metal chair. To the left of the bed was a nightstand, and next to that was a metal dresser.
"Wow, it's not exactly my room, but it's still decent. This is where an officer stays?" Elena asked as she dropped her duffel bag on the ground and slid it forward with her foot slowly.
"Yup, though the Captain's Loft is much larger. There are also cabins which are about the same as the Captain's Loft which are set aside for higher ranks such as colonels or admirals visiting, but I've never been in one" he told her as he helped her get one duffel under the bed.
"You never know, you could make it to Admiral one day daddy" Elena cocked her head slightly and giggled.
"Actually, I'd be trying to make it to General sweety. There are no Admirals in the Air Force." Jack scratched his head and looked around to make sure everything was in order, as if waiting for something to pop out that he needed to fix to make sure his daughter's stay in here was decent.
"Oh, well you never know, you may make it to General someday" She smiled and he couldn't help but smile back.
"I dunno, you may overshoot me with those flying skills of yours" He playfully punched her arm.
"Me? No, I'm not that good, am I? I haven't even flown yet, you did all the work in the Pelican" she giggled.
"You know? You're right. Hmmm… you know we still have to go to the sim pod. See how well you really fly"he grinned from ear to ear and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Wha… really? But… could I really do that?" she asked.
"Always have your pass with you, and it'll get you from point A to point B. Point B will usually be the flight deck. I don't have to be with you each time; you can start it up if I'm ever not with you. No one should care if you want to keep your skills up while we're in slip space. Between those two points, A being your quarters of course, you should be allowed to go to the gym, or the entertainment room or DFAC. Sound good?" Jack asked.
"Well, I still wanna stick with you, but… I guess I could do that if I really had to" she looked a little sheepish as she talked.
"Well, there will be some times where I just need to go do something with the techs or talk with the higher echelon in some form, whether they call me to the bridge or some such. During those times, it should open you up to a lot of stuff" Jack said.
"Um… ok, I guess" she said.
"First, shower. By the way, you don't need your code anymore for your door. It stops working after you use it anyways; it's there to allow first entrance. It'll now use your thumb print and your iris scan. Should give you some privacy." Elena nodded in acknowledgement.
Elena ran to grab a towel. She went into her small bathroom while her father shot out and went down to his own quarters, then to the bathroom. She was quick, as she remembered the water shut off after 5 minutes, and was able to get her long hair washed sufficiently. She took a comb and brushed out her hair to keep it from getting tangled, then looked around for a blow dryer.
"Oh no…" she whispered and looked around. She wrapped the towel around herself and walked out to her duffel to pull out a portable dryer she brought just in case.
"There's a plug somewhere in there right?" she mumbled to herself.
She walked into her cramped bathroom. Elena looked around and noticed a small block with a slit in the top for tissues, and felt behind it. The block moved when she pressed her hand behind and slid the object forward to find a small one plug slot.
"Bingo. Found it" Elena sighed in relief. She continued drying her hair and combing it, bending over and letting her black hair fall over her head. Once she had it dry and brushed, which happened to take at least ten minutes of continuous drying, she put on her training bra and prepped her panties with a pad, then put them on and threw her striped T-shirt on and transforming cargo pants.
She walked out to sit down on her bed and put her socks on while she waited for her father to come back and get her. The door suddenly made a ring sound and she walked over to it. Someone wanted to be let in. She looked at the controls and frowned. She ran her thumb over the sensor and all it did was turn on a monitor to let her know who was at the door, which she already knew was her father. His face showed up slightly distorted from the angle of the camera watching, and she tried looking for an open button.
Jack looked up at the camera and wrote something on his data pad, then held it up to the camera. He wrote: PRESS THE YELLOW BUTTON THEN THE GREEN BUTTON. She looked down and saw the yellow button was flashing, so she pressed it and the green button started flashing. She pressed that one as well and the door hissed open. Jack walked in clean with his hair still slightly damp.
"Hmmm, should have remembered to show you how to open the door on this side, it's a little different from coming in. You figure out how to use the toilet yet?" he asked her.
"Is it three sea shells?" she winced.
"What? No. Why would it be three sea shells? The button for it isn't on the toilet itself, it's usually a screwy sensor that doesn't usually work from what I've heard, so there was a button installed at the bathroom door just in case. What do sea shells have to do with a toilet?" he told her, looking confused when she asked about the shells.
"Never mind, don't worry about it" she waved the question off.
"Alright, ready to go check out the sim pod?" Jack asked. She nodded.
Both of them exited from her room and headed for the lift. They descended down to deck 90 and walked out and down the hallway. They could hear machines running in the background behind the walls, and when looked into the open door on her right, she saw what looked to be a machine shop.
"They make parts here?" Elena asked in disbelief.
"Of course! There's been a machine shop on board every large naval vessel since the 20th century. They make just about anything they need with spare materials, it's easier than just stocking spare parts as that might be the part that doesn't break. If they can't make it, then it's usually such a big problem they will have to pull into dry dock to replace it, and it puts the ship out of commission for a while. They can even patch large hull breaches by themselves." Elena looked into the room and noticed someone was drilling holes into some piping and pushing wiring through the holes.
"Come on, let's get in the next room, that's where the sim pod is" Jack said and nudged her. Elena followed and entered the next room, which seemed to be openly attached to the flight deck of the hangar.
"Hey Jack, what's up?" a maintenance tech walked up and put down a tool.
"Nothing much Zeks, how's everything here?" he asked.
"Nothing to do while we're in slip. We're just doing minor oil changes and cleaning the place really" the man said.
"Ah, Elena, this is Ezekiel Hadsville. He's in charge of the maintenance crew for the Pelicans. If he can't fix it, your bird is toast" he chuckled.
"Only if it's a Pelican. The Long Swords I could work on and it'd still be toast" Ezekiel grinned.
"Heh. Hey, is the pod available? Elena wants to keep her skills up a bit" Jack motioned back to the other room, which Elena now figured was an office of sorts.
"Yeah, it's functional, why? Getting a little antsy not flying girlie?" Ezekiel asked her.
"Yeah, just, don't wanna get rusty that's all" she told him, trying to sound professional.
"Well, it was previously set for some Cadet transferring from a naval base somewhere on the east coast of the U.S. so you might have to swap it from whatever he was using to pelican. See you guys around" he told them and walked back the way he came.
"Ok, let's get you in the thing" Jack opened the door of the pod and Elena slid in. The controls she saw were two joy sticks, a throttle, and multiple black panels in front of her. She didn't see any buttons.
"What do I do?" she asked him.
"Turn it on" he motioned towards the small green button near the seat. As if on cue, the pod started up and buttons lit up on the black panels.
"Oh it changes according to what craft you fly" Elena suddenly understood what they were for. She was in a touch panel pod.
"Hmm, looks like he was right. Whoever the cadet was, he had it set to a Long Sword, GA-TL1 model. We should change it to a Pelican. Here, touch this" Jack said and pushed another panel that wasn't touch sensitive. He rotated through the list of craft, some even being escape pods, and finally to pelican.
"Will I get to do the Long Sword later?" she whispered to him.
"If you want, but right now let's get you flying with the craft you came in on. It'll take you some time to go through the assorted missions. I'd say a good portion of the week just to complete the basic training" Jack chuckled and started the simulation.
"It takes that long to get used to a craft?" She asked.
"Well, it might take you less time, you being an ace pilot and all" he joked. She grinned and started her mission. It was a basic starter mission, involving flying from point A to point B without any problems. She noticed there was also a flight wheel installed as well.
She took a hold of her flight joystick and put her hand on the touch panel, starting the pelican up and going through her preflight, then continued towards her actual flight, just like how she saw her father do. She put her hand on her throttle and eased into it while going up, then changed her thrust vectors and flew off towards the position the sim wanted her to go. She didn't have to do any communication chatter over the radio, since it wasn't real. When she landed, the mission was complete.
"It felt so real" she spoke and looked over at her father. He nodded in agreement.
"The chair you're in tries to simulate the feel of actually flying, changing its vibrations or bumps where it needs to show you how your craft is flying or if you hit bad weather or turbulence. It needs to test how well you can adapt to different conditions. The average pilot needs 40 hours to be considered a functional pilot. Twenty of those hours need to be with an instructor, but frankly, you've already proven you can handle it from what I've seen, though they are still needed. The last twenty is solo or with instruction. After that it's just an oral exam, which I know you can recite by heart, and a written exam, which again you can do blind folded."
Jack heard footsteps behind him and noticed two men walk up to him, one of which was the Captain of the ship. Elena didn't say anything and just sat in the pod.
"Lieutenant Jack Gripen" the captain said.
"Captain Markovic sir!" Jack snapped at attention and saluted. The maintenance crew didn't even see him enter and suddenly heard Jack yell out his name. He suddenly heard a "CAPTAIN ON DECK!" come from everyone.
"At ease" the captain ordered. Jack stood at casual attention.
"I have a bit of a problem Lieutenant" the captain started. Elena was scared. He must have found out about her being on board and they might double back and drop her off, probably court martial her father. She was incredibly worried and quickly tried to think up different ways to fix it.
"I have a cadet who hasn't finished his code training and I need someone to bring him up to speed before he gets to Reach." Jack was in stunned silence for a moment.
"Is that going to be difficult for you Lieutenant?" the Captain asked.
"No sir! Just I'm not a standardized instructor sir! I don't know what he has already been trained in, and I don't believe-" Jack tried to explain he was with his Co-pilot but he was interrupted.
"Cadet Ackerson here has already gained acceptable flying grades for a pelican and you are certified for instruction, and-" the captain motioned for Jack to walk away from both the pod and the cadet to speak in private.
"His father is Colonel Ackerson, Lieutenant. I think you know how much sway that bastard has. So here's the deal. I need you to get this nugget capable of understanding radio chatter before we arrive ok? It's not for me, well, it is, but it's for my crew. I don't want any trouble happening because of his kid not understanding the difference between angels and cherubs." Jack looked back and saw the cadet was picking his nose. Elena was still sitting in the pod, staring at the floor.
"Alright, alright, yes sir, I'll do it, I'll do my best to instruct him, but don't expect a lot as I told you I'm not a standardized instructor at an academy" Jack said.
"I don't expect you to be, but you have experience so I'm having you do it" the captain told him.
"Is he by chance the one that was in the pod? I thought he was a Long Sword pilot with the previous configuration it was in sir" Jack asked Markovic.
"He's a Peli pilot. His father doesn't want him fighting just yet, though he probably played around with the GA-TL1 for play around purposes." The captain looked over at the cadet who was now looking Elena up and down as she sat in the pod.
"You didn't look up my score did you?" the cadet asked, and Elena looked up.
"What?" she asked confused.
"Did you look up my score? I swear; it was my first time and I didn't know how to work it, it isn't that bad for a first timer" the cadet told her. She looked over at the pod controls and noticed a previous score switch. She pressed it and a list showed up for Pelicans as well as Long Swords and other craft. One showed for sky hawks and she was surprised. The score before her was for a GA-TL1 Long Sword, and the fast snippet of replay video showed it crashing into a mountainside.
"It's not that bad, I'm pretty good right?" the cadet asked her. She pursed her lips slightly and tried to smile after seeing the virtual Darwin award.
"Interesting" she said, but expected herself to have the same difficulty, so she tried to shut up.
"Alright Cadet Ackerson, Lieutenant Gripen will be instructing you for the rest of this trip. I'll see you two later" the captain nodded to both and they saluted him.
"Just, hold on a second ok? I gotta talk to my Co-pilot quick" Jack sighed and walked over to Elena.
"Co-pilot?" the cadet whispered behind him to no one.
"Ok, look, I'm sorry, but it looks like I have to get this guy in the know of coms before we get to Reach" Jack told his daughter, who started frowning.
"I know, I know, you're supposed to stick to me like glue and it looks like you may be on your own for a bit like I told you. I'm gonna tell Ezekiel to keep an eye on you on the flight deck and the pod, and I'll see if I can't find that ODST, Buck, and see if he'll hang out. You already have enough to keep you occupied Elena. Morning gym, shower, breakfast, hang out and talk with people, do the sim pod, you can just sit around in your room, there's the entertainment room and the troops love it when you play it seems, you can hang out with the guys here as they kind of know about the… thing, you know, the thing" he whispered as softly as he could so the cadet wouldn't hear him.
"I know, I know" Elena sighed. "I can find my way around now. Still, this sucks" she grumbled.
"I'm sorry, when we're down on Reach, I'll make it up to you. Besides, it's only five more days in slip space, and then one day merging with a fleet near Reach, and we'll be doing stuff on another planet. Sound fun?" he said, ruffling her hair. She nodded slowly but still had a sad face.
"Hey, I'll check on you in the morning and in the afternoon ok? And you're already making a lot of friends on board, it should be fine. Just relax" Jack grinned and got up, then turned around and told the cadet to get a move on to another room Elena didn't hear.
"Hope you brought your Bat decoder for him Jack!" She heard Ezekiel yell out to him then went back to his tools.
She looked up and saw her father take one last look behind him as he escorted the cadet forward, having a sad look on his face. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest for a minute, disappointed.
"Fun trip this was…" she whispered.
She decided at that point, that she was going to learn as much as she could while on board. If she couldn't get to hang out with her father, she was going to do what he said. She started up the pod again and selected the next mission for pelican flying.
[8 hours later, 1500 hours (Military Calendar)]
Elena was starving after she finished with flying colors another mission in the pod. She had flown in rain, she had transported volatile munitions, she flew a damaged transport as well as one under attack, and the last one that she had flown was a long distance transport just like what her father did to bring her to the Honor Bound. She even had to land with multiple damaged systems, and even lost power intentionally. She climbed out of the pod and looked around, seeing the flight deck seemed rather empty of personnel.
They're probably eating now… I should do the same… she thought.
She walked out of the hangar and looked around, seeing a few people moving about. As she walked to the lift and got in, she noticed she wasn't alone. She turned and saw Jones standing behind her looking at a data pad. He noticed he was being watched and looked up.
"Hey Elena! Heading to the DFAC?" he asked in a friendly tone.
"Yeah, I got hungry after sitting in the sim pod this whole time" she said, her stomach growling in acknowledgement.
"Sim pod? Isn't that for trainees?" he asked a little confused.
"I didn't want to get rusty" she told him.
"Good for you girl, we all get a little bored without getting a chance to fly. You going to play again tonight? We figured this time we'd do a team match. We'd like you to play again if you're interested, and I'd like to be on your team thank you very much" She looked at him and he cracked a smile.
"Sure, why not, I don't have anything else to do. What time?" she asked.
"Well, how about 1900? That good?" he asked.
"Sure" she said, deciding then and there she was going to have some fun on her own in a ship she didn't belong on.
[Unknown area of Honor Bound. Camera #07 feed disabled]
"Might I ask why it is I was told to escort and observe the girl here sir?" a deep male voice said somewhere in the background noise of a computer being used.
"It's research I'm doing for a special project. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Continue your observation where you can. She hasn't caught onto you yes?" another voice said, with a British accent.
[Vocal recognition cannot be confirmed. Rescanning]
"No sir, but I believe this is a misuse of multiple Spartans sir, but I'll continue to do as my orders state, until they get rescinded or I have gained superior orders for another mission" the first voice said.
[Location services unavailable. Tracking of area unavailable]
"Understood my boy. Your help however short it maybe though is appreciated here" the British voice chuckled.
"I should get back to my duties" the deep voice said. Heavy footsteps could be heard leaving the area.
"Spartans have such closed minds outside of mission objectives they understand…" the British voice sighed and disappeared.
[Cameras feeds rebooted. Regained visual. Location services available. Tracking of area Deck 2 Q031-B1]
The room was empty aside from a large bed and other assorted furniture. A somewhat large desk was in the corner. A terminal was on top of the desk and was turned on, opened to a file with a recent picture and information on Elena.
(Author's note: You'd be surprised how easily it is apparently to be on a naval vessel or at a military base and look like you're twelve. A friend of mine knows someone who looks like she's barely in middle school and she's twenty something and a 2nd Lieutenant, so it's not as impossible as some people would think. It looks like someone got wrangled into watching Elena; I wonder who it could be?)