Chapter 8: Catching Up Part 2

John frowned and strode to the cockpit. "What is the situation?" he asked.

"It seems the snake… won't go out of the bay." N'hamee sounded bewildered.

"Prince is likely picking up on Tom and Lucy's fear," Dr. Halsey called forward to John. "They aren't used to ships, and… to be honest, until recently, we were mostly expecting never to be found, or to be found by Covenant. We'll get him moved when we get there."

"I told them to clear the dock," John muttered, accessing the ship's comms. It was calm; apparently the snake hadn't swallowed anyone, at least.

"Lazlakovic," John barked into his radio, waiting for his second to come back.

"Yes, sir?" The Spartan sounded annoyed.

"Clear the bay."

"Understood, sir." Lazlakovic cut the radio with a burst of static and John turned back to the Peliship's occupants.

"We'll be inside in a few moments. They're lowering the shields now."

"This is so weird," Linda muttered, resealing her helmet. "I never expected to be flying a Pelican into a Covenant ship without plans to blow it up."

"Please don't," John said seriously. He turned around. "You're going to see Elites here and even more when we rejoin the fleet – they prefer "Sangheili" – and you're going to fight next to them. You'll train with them the same way I've been training my troops and the Spartan IVs so we can hit fast and hard. Brutes are bigger and stronger than us; we team up one Sangheili troop with one human squad. They're learning to mingle both on and off the 'battle field.' You're going to have to do the same. I can't have you shooting my troops."

"You lead them?" Dr. Halsey asked.

"Thel and I are equal in authority. When we find the Brutes, we'll both lead – I with half the ship, he with the other half and control over all Elites on the ground and in the ships. I have several human officers on other Sangheili ships, chosen for their ability to command Sangheili without prejudices. Admiral Hood has several ships with him, filled with human troops as well."

"Sir, they're lowering the shields," the pilot interrupted. "We're in bay two. The snake's next door in one." They smoothly glided into position and parked; N'hamee lowered the hatch and the five Spartans filed out. Dr. Halsey refused to be carried and walked into the softly-glowing ship, looking around in awe.

Lazlakovic trotted up and saluted the Chief. "Sir!" Chief nodded and looked down at his second. "We've got quarters arranged for Dr. Halsey and the Spartans – one for the IIs, and there's room for you if you'd like to move, and one for the IIIs."

"Thank you," the Spartan II said, nodding towards the hallway. "We'll follow as soon as we get the snake moving. How's that going?"

"He's all anyone's been talking about," she said as he followed the Chief as they went to the first spot. N'hamee slipped out through a maintenance hatch towards the bridge, probably to prepare their Slipspace jump. "I think it'll go smooth. They calmed him down and got him to spit it out."

"It?" John asked, turning slightly.

"Oh, it swallowed a ration pack from the crate of supplies. Not harmful. He's beautiful, by the way."

"Are you volunteering to help transport him?"

Lazlakovic laughed. "If I could lift part of that, sir, I'd take you up on it." John chuckled softly. "But I think those IIIs have it covered. Poor kids."

"Are they okay?" John asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Caught a glimpse of the engineer on his way to the bridge. Started shakin' like leaves. We got 'em settled down a bit."

"Thanks."

Behind him, Fred, Kelly, and Linda shared a glance, which Dr. Halsey and the Chief both picked up on. John knew immediately how much he had changed in their eyes – here he was talking to his second in command like he was a marine Chief.

"Fred, Linda, Kelly, how do we deal with this snake?" he asked his teammates behind him.

"He just needs Tom and Lucy at his side always," Kelly answered. Ripper yipped from where she was carrying him in her arms. Fred's bird was still on his shoulder and Linda's koala hanging onto her chest armor like a furry tumor. John wasn't comfortable with those razor-sharp talons so close to his teammate's heart.

"What's with the zoo?" Carer asked before John could cut him off.

Kelly looked down at the Spartan IV. She gave him a casual salute and looked back up, ignoring the question. It was nothing insulting – she simply wasn't used to answering questions like that, and figured it was irrelevant.

Carter glanced up at the Chief and frowned slightly; John shook his head silently, warning him away from further questions.

They arrived at the first bay to find Tom and Lucy sitting with Prince's first three feet across their laps, petting him soothingly. John got the feeling that they were taking much more comfort from the snake than giving.

"Alright, Tom, Lucy," he said, touching Lucy's shoulder. She flinched slightly and stood quickly, Prince's head following her. While she didn't glare at him, John could feel the anger she had towards him – probably for killing the ancila.

The Chief stepped back to give them their space. "Let's get Prince into your quarters," he suggested.

"Thank you, sir," Tom said quietly, standing. "He can slither along if we clear the hallways a bit…" He glanced around at the purple surrounding them.

"Alright." John turned to Landsmen. "Clear the hallways towards the room for Tom and Lucy. I don't want to scare the snake." They would already be clear, but the IV was grateful for the excuse to leave and saluted smartly.

"No, sir," the Spartan IV agreed with a chuckle. "He looks like he could swallow you, armor and all, sir."

"Don't bet on it," Naomi yelled as he ran up. "My ears are burnin', Chief. You called?"

John grinned slightly behind his visor – he had been thinking about who to send to the bridge to get them on their way, since he wasn't comfortable leaving the Spartan guests quite yet.

"Get to the bridge and tell N'hamee to take us back to the fleet. Prince will slither in. And make sure to ask everyone to keep out of the showers for another hour." Naomi saluted and darted off quickly.

"Alright, head on out. Tom, Lucy, Lazlakovic will lead you and Prince to your assigned quarters." John knew the two were clearly a little rattled and let them start on the trip before turning to Fred, Kelly, Linda, and Dr. Halsey. "Would you prefer a shower, food, or your bunks first?" he asked, unlatching his helmet with a hiss of air. He tucked it under one arm as he waited for his answer.

Dr. Halsey peered at him curiously, then smiled faintly. "You've certainly changed, John. I'd like a shower first. Fred? Kelly? Linda?"

"Shower sounds good for all of us," Fred said. He unsealed his helmet, following John's example but clearly not very happy about it. He was tense – and his scruffy beard didn't make him look any better.

"I'll show you the way," John said. He motioned for Carter, who had been discretely hanging around. "Carter, dig through the supplies and find some fatigues, then find something for Dr. Halsey as well."

"Sure thing, sir. I'll get the cleaner set up, too." John nodded and motioned for his three siblings and Dr. Halsey to follow him. He set a slow pace, knowing Dr. Halsey couldn't keep up with anything faster.

"So, John, you lead a troop here?" Fred asked. John nodded and frowned slightly.

"When the war finally ended, we were out of pretty much every officer on the force. Many got promoted too early. Admiral Hood and his team are working on demoting those who can't handle the duty." He glanced back. "Your FOF says Lieutenant."

Fred nodded. "Just before we lost Kurt… He gave me the promotion."

"And I will update our logs to reflect it and confirm you in the position tomorrow. The integration of our military with some Sangheili elements, especially here and on the Blade and her sister hybrid ships, and the small amount of soldiers left on both sides means that the authority system has had some… changes… since you left."

"Your FOF says MCPON."

"Awarded after I was assumed dead," John answered. "Admiral Hood confirmed it when I was found. Here, however, I am in charge of every human on this ship as well as all Minors enrolled on the Double Trouble troops, which includes you three, the Spartan IIIs and IVs, and you, Dr. Halsey."

"You'll have no fight about that with me, sir," Fred said quickly.

"What am I going to do here?" Dr. Halsey asked curiously.

"Well, ma'am, after your shower I'd like you to report to the medic bay. This ship is not outfitted for human trauma but our engineer has made a study of our anatomy and would surely appreciate your knowledge on the subject. And Cortana will want to compare notes."

"Speaking of," Cortana said quietly into his ear, "I'm going to go back to the bridge. I pulled some interesting data from Keen Sacrifice I want to look at."

John nodded quietly and stopped in front of one of the terminals, putting his hand on it so Cortana could jump from his suit into the ship. "I'll drop off your chip when I get to the bridge," he said over his external speakers.

"Thanks, John. Dr. Halsey, I'll see you when you're ready to compare notes," Cortana said from the terminal's tiny speakers.

"She jumped through your glove?" Dr. Halsey asked, seizing John's glove with some of her old fire in her eyes.

"We installed the necessary hardware in my gloves so I can touch something mechanical and let Cortana jump into it – if it has a large enough storage system. Another Forerunner upgrade." He shut his shields down as he thought of it, touching the appropriate button on the chin plate in his helmet with one finger.

"What other improvements have been made?" Dr. Halsey asked, unfazed by holding the glove by the air around it until the shields had disappeared.

"Stealth cloaking," John answered quickly. "I can withstand up to four direct plasma hits before my shield drains, or a direct hit from a Hunter's cannon."

"Where are the Hunters and Grunts and Jackals?" Kelly asked as they headed once more for the showers.

"The Mgalekgolo – the Hunters – are trying to decide what to do on Te, their homeworld. The Sangheili diplomats are confident that they will join us. The Grunts are signed onto our side; they want protection, methane, and food. In return, they'll fight beside us."

"You mean as cannon fodder?" Kelly demanded.

"No, as full Privates. They don't have the brainpower to rise above that station, but each squad will be confirmed once we get around to it. All of the Grunts in this war party are on other ships form the one I've been on; they are too unruly for anyone but the Sangheili Majors to control. We didn't realize how close they were to extinction."

"And the Jackals?"

"They're staying out of it," John answered. "Said they will supply weapons to both sides and we told them we'll be hunting them down as pirates if they keep going after merchant ships trying to salvage glassed worlds."

"What about the Engineers and Prophets?" Linda asked quietly.

"We haven't seen a Prophet after our assassinations. They're either behind the Brutes – though I doubt it; they don't dabble in genetic manipulation that we know of – or wiped out. I hope it is the former, because otherwise, we have a powerful enemy and no idea what it is or what they're capable of."

"Genetic manipulation?" Dr. Halsey asked with a frown.

A faintly uncomfortable expression crossed John's face as he turned down a hallway. "Someone – or something – managed to genetically enhance a Brute and making them to the average Brute what the Spartan IIs are to the average human." Kelly, Fred, and Linda winced involuntarily. "I fought off one on Treaty, during the "peace talks" after I apparently challenged him for control of the Brute nations." John's voice was bland, a tone Dr. Halsey didn't hear from him often. "He managed to break most of the bones in my body before I put him down. I wasn't out of the hospital for weeks after they practically recloned every organ in my body."

"You were wearing your armor?" Linda asked softly.

John glanced back and nodded. "It was pretty much scrap once we were done. But a good thing did happen because of it – I got upgrades to most of my skeletal structure, so I'm a little more indestructible."

"What's the story with the Spartan IVs?" Kelly asked.

John tilted his head. "They volunteered as adults. Miranda – that is, Senior Chief Lazlakovic – and her crew were Helljumpers before signing up. They had no more Spartan IIs, and no one had heard from any of the IIIs after Onyx fell, so ONI decided they needed a new generation."

"What are their stats?"

"They're almost as strong as we are," John said. "Not as fast, both because they weren't raised in the lifestyle, but they've got experience. Their armor is a lesser version of yours, though they do have rudimentary shielding now."

John turned the last corner and opened the door into the showers. "Here we are. The best part is that these showers are all tall enough to stand under without hunching."

"They would have to be, to fit squid-heads," Kelly said, walking into the silent room.

"Kelly," John said immediately. "We don't call our allies squid-heads, or split-chins, or alligator-faces. They are either Private, sir, or Sangheili. The ones in red armor outrank you; the ones in green or blue are Private status. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Kelly saluted smartly, only a small hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Good. That goes for the rest of you, too. We just got the fights to stop and we don't need them rekindled. Dr. Halsey, you can get started – your clothing should be here soon. Lazlakovic is bringing the equipment to take off your armor," John said to his three Spartans.

They shrugged and began stripping their armor. "We've not had the luxury of a technician team for three years," Fred said as he set his helmet on the long bench at chest-height. "We can do it ourselves."

John nodded and waited. He wasn't going to leave his troops to wander a Sangheili ship without direction.

They were all filthy and thin, he noted. Not that they were wasted, but he could see the lack of grace in their movements as they quickly stripped. Ripper sat calmly where Kelly told him to, watching the scene with intelligent eyes. The koala gripped Ripper's fur in one hand when Linda set him down next to the dog-like creature, while the little bird perched on the koala's head.

"What are they?" John asked, now that no one was watching. Kelly shrugged.

"We don't really know. Nothing was named on the planet. Ripper's a wolf, or that's what we called them. Fred's bird is a good scout, his name is Hoody for his crown. Linda's koala thing is actually an herbivore; his name is Grey Eyes. The snake is Prince; he had a sister, but she was killed by a dragon that attacked us a year back."

"You said something about a creature killing Chief Mendez?" John asked quietly.

Kelly nodded, frowning slightly as she sat to pull off her mud-covered boots. Their skin was unnaturally pale, as though they hadn't seen sunlight in far too long, yet from what John understood, the planet's rotation ensured it was almost constantly light outside.

"It followed us after Fred killed its baby," she answered. "We finally had to take it out. We lost Duchess, High Pitched – Fred's first bird – and Chief Mendez. We buried him on a hill nearby."

"I'll update his record accordingly," John said softly. He watched his siblings critically as they moved; they were stiff, their movements constrained either by choice or habit. Kelly was slower than her usual.

A few good nights of rest and days of training and they'll be back to normal, John told himself. They all stepped into the showers; he smiled slightly at the blissful expressions on all their faces. They hadn't shaved in a long time; John opened the locker on the side of the wall where the humans kept some communal supplies and handed everyone a bottle of body wash, shampoo, and razors. He would also have to get their hair cut – it was longer than military code dictated, and uneven.

Carter came in with his arms full of clothing, which he neatly folded into piles as the Spartans finished their showers. They had lingered slightly, but John didn't reprimand them for it. They deserved to get completely clean. Dr. Halsey took the longest, but her longer hair took more time to wash and she wasn't used to thirty-second showers.

Kelly, Fred, and Linda clearly wanted to get back in their armor, but judging by its condition, it seriously needed cleaning. He doubted they had taken it off as much as recommended during their years on the hostile planet.

"We've got the cleaning station set up in their room," Carter told John as he tried to keep from staring at the Spartan IIs as they dressed.

"Good," John answered. "Ask Naomi to escort Tom and Lucy down here," he said. Naomi was the most approachable and friendly of the Spartan IVs; though not a mother, she was certainly the best suited to maternal care.

"Yes, sir." Carter darted out of the room as Kelly, Fred, and Linda lined up in parade rest for inspection. John cast a critical eye over them – their uniforms were tight, unfortunately so, but crisp and clean, and they each were moving more smoothly.

Dr. Halsey picked up her cane again. "I'm ready for a nap," she announced with a self-indulgent chuckle.

"I will show you to your rooms," John said quickly. "And have something to eat brought up from the supplies."

"And we'll catch up," Kelly said softly, leaning over to pick up her armor.

John nodded as the Spartans packed up their armor into neat bundles and then followed him out; Dr. Halsey followed them and the three animals trailed at their owners' heels.

The intercom buzzed to life just as the group approached the rooms assigned to the Spartan IIs and Dr. Halsey. "We are clear for Slipspace," N'hamee announced over the system. "Jumping in five… four… three… two… one."

The ship smoothly accelerated; Dr. Halsey braced herself against the wall and her cane, though Linda also turned slightly to grip her forearm and ensure the older woman wouldn't fall. John pushed the access code for the first room.

"Here you are, Dr. Halsey," he said softly, stepping back. The doctor went inside and looked around – the bed was simple but soft, a purple glowing gel that the Sangheili used on their ships' bunks. She put her dirty clothing down on the small dresser and went to the bed; the door hissed closed as John stepped across the hall and opened another room.

"These three are for you," he told Kelly, Fred, and Linda, waving to the three rooms on the right side of the hallway. "The IVs and I are along the next hallway; L'eto and N'kane – our medic and engineer – are in that hallway as well."

"Very cozy," Kelly noted, stepping into the room just opposite the doctor. Fred took the one on Kelly's left; Linda went for the last one down. They arranged their armor on their floor and bed, for lack of better space.

Carter and Landsmen appeared just as John was about to call for them, pushing the armor cleaning equipment in a cart they had taken from the supplies. Behind them, Naomi carried an armful of MREs. They put all the equipment in Kelly's room; Fred and Linda helped her clean her armor, repairing most of the seals as they went, and took bites out of the MREs as they worked.

Loathe as he was to leave his siblings, John knew he had to report to the bridge at least summarily; he was, after all, technically the captain. With a quiet nod to Carter and Naomi to ask them to stand by, he left; he felt Kelly's eyes following him even after the door between them hissed shut.

~~Kelly's POV~~

Kelly frowned slightly, scrubbing at a patch of dirt and mud chinked up in the joint of her armor's elbow section. The two Spartan IVs were out in the hallway, standing at rigid attention.

Using the pick tool, Kelly managed to dig out a small pebble and let it roll onto the floor; they'd sweep later. Fred and Linda silently worked on her armor as well, digging mud from the joints and then using the spare seals in the kit to replace those that had blown – which was nearly all of them – and buffing what they could of the scratches out of the armor.

"So… We're in an Elite ship." Fred started the conversation quietly, but the female Spartan IIs still jumped a bit at the sudden sound of his gravelly voice. Kelly hacked at a strip of vine she had tied onto the armor as camouflage.

"And we can't blow it up," Kelly reminded him with a slight snort.

Fred shook his head. "You know, once you get over the alien-ness, it's a very nice ship."

Linda nodded quietly, her voice soft as she opined, "I don't like the purple color, but we've been on the wrong end of these stealth ships before."

"And now it seems we're in an alliance with the Elites," Fred murmured. "In just three years, we went from being mortal enemies and getting wiped out to being best buddies."

"John certainly thinks so," Kelly huffed. She wasn't willing to call any squid-head a friend, not after the millions murdered by them.

"He's had time to adjust," Linda reminded them. "We'll have to do the same. We can't be picking fights with Elites. We're so out of shape they'd pick us off like flies."

"Don't count on it," Kelly growled, buffing at a scratch on her forearm's armor.

"I want an armor upgrade," Fred said, changing the subject quickly. "Did you see the IV's shields? Not to mention John's Mark – what, VII?"

Kelly shrugged; she didn't know what classification of armor they were calling John's obvious upgrades. "He's faster. Probably faster than I am now." She had always been the fastest Spartan – to be demoted was a slightly painful blow to her pride.

"Neural enhancements," Linda said quietly. "Maybe we'll all get them."

"If we have time," Fred reminded the group. "John gave the impression that we're going right into battle."

"Just how I like it," Kelly grunted, wiping her piece of armor one last time and stacking it in the clean pile. She grabbed a boot – the messiest pieces – and went to work on the sole. "But Brutes are tough. Unaugmented humans won't stand a chance."

"Especially if we run into any augmented Brutes," Fred added. "I've never seen John scared before, but when he talked about it… There was something there."

"Imagine you're a little stick human facing one of us," Kelly told him severely. "Of course John's nervous about them. Hell, I'm nervous about meeting one. But hopefully the process isn't replicable. Like our augmentations. Maybe they – whoever they are – started with one to see how it went."

"Pairing humans with Elites should help, though," Linda said quietly, placing Kelly's helmet – visor newly replaced – in the pile of cleaned items. "Especially if we have some of those gold-armored ones."

"Most human troops are more used to shooting Elites than working with them, I'd think," she continued after a moment of quiet. "But John said he was leading a mixed group."

"Including those IVs," Kelly added. "They're… interesting."

"They've accepted his leadership just like we did," Fred said. "It's clear they trust him."

"They act like Marines," Kelly protested. "No discipline."

"They seemed pretty well disciplined when they attacked Keen and Lucy," Fred answered, frowning slightly. "What was with that, anyway? Forerunners are now enemies?"

"Apparently." Linda shrugged. "John did have a point. Why didn't he boost our signal? Or at least contact Cortana when they got into range of our radio?"

"Not to mention, why didn't we hear them? John must have sent out a broadcast." Kelly frowned, clunking the boot on the floor to loosen the dirt caked into the ankle joint. "It's standard search-and-rescue."

"Could Keen have been blocking it?" Fred wondered aloud. "I wouldn't think so… He wasn't exactly helpful, but he did get us out of the Dyson Sphere."

"I have to wonder if we wouldn't have been better off inside it," Kelly said quietly. "We wouldn't have lost Mendez. Maybe they'd've picked up our signal faster."

"Maybe," Linda agreed.

Kelly was about to continue when the door hissed open. All three faced the threat immediately, tensing – though they relaxed when they recognized John in his MJOLNIR standing in the doorway.

"Would you care for some help?" he asked softly, standing on the threshold of the doorway with his hands folded neatly behind his back, his helmet on. Kelly shrugged and scooted over in a silent invitation. The silence was slightly awkward as their brother sat down to complete the circle, removing his helmet and setting it beside himself before picking up Kelly's shoulder piece and selecting a small pick from the cart.

They worked in silence for a moment as the three Spartan IIs caught their thoughts, the only sounds filling the room coming from the scraping of metal picks over the armor and occasional huffs of breath to blow dust from tiny crevices.

"You have a lot of story to tell," Kelly said, a slight accusation in her voice. John nodded, smiling slightly – all three Spartans saw the fresh scars littering his face from the past three years, most recently ones from repairing the damage inflicted by the augmented Brute.

"Well, where to begin," he said softly, untangling a piece of camouflage vine from the shoulder piece he was working on. "I suppose I should start with what happened after we lost Onyx – unless you had access to information from the outside world?" Fred shook his head in the negative. John nodded and began the history lesson, recalling times and places he thought he had forgotten as he explained every battle and nuance in the war – and the more recent alliance.