Because of the In Amber Clad

Chapter 9

By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

The night before had made me suddenly remember why New Years' had always been my favorite holiday.

I had had one of the best nights of my life. Spending the evening at Mal-bok's had been a great idea, and the the taste of the dosoju made it all the more wonderful. We had just sat around, talking, never having an odd silence or pause; it was so natural. The way it should be.

But the feeling was a little different the morning I woke up. It was there, in the air, ever since Dutch's nightmare. We had been happy to dress formally, and just be like everyone else for awhile. But we were also a little uncomfortable being normal. Rena had stated so herself some point in the evening; she would've felt more at ease in her ODST armor.

In the morning, I woke up to the empty space. It was Luna, and didn't have any real weather when compared to Earth. But even though it didn't rain on Luna, I had a feeling that somewhere in the galaxy, it was doing so.

I had had a weird dream the night before. I could only remember small parts of it, but I never woke up; always the heavy sleeper. But this dream was odd.

It was from New Jerusalem, the battle. I dreamed of Yevgenny, his story, the missiles; just small sections from memory. Then being told I was the only survivor. That was one point in my life where I don't think I had ever felt more alone; phrases had shot through my head, words like 'lone wolf', 'alone', or worse, 'PTSD'.

I didn't have PTSD. I knew that I didn't. They thought I should, and my silence didn't help much. It didn't affect me that way, though; maybe at first, I let it seep into memory as a horrible experience. But it wasn't. I hadn't let that happen. It had taught me a lot, and shown me what was worth fighting for. Even though I had already known.

I told my superiors that I just wanted to be transferred to a different squad, so they agreed. They needed all the able Marines they could get, and the good thing was that no one even so much as questioned me about Yevgenny. No one except me and him knew of the other ODSTS betrayal. I wasn't angry with them as he had been, knowing that I couldn't do anything about it. I kept my promise though; I had done all I could against the Covenant, fulfilling Gage's last wish. The only thing even remotely negative from the experience, was that one inch of fear I had felt. Feeling my heart beat faster than my feet, while I ran for my life. There were only two other times in my life when I had been so scared. They had been worse, but somehow, Yevgenny's death seemed to overpower them.

But I let my feelings go. I had learned to do so a long time before any of this started; being an ODST, meeting Leia. I had learned early.

As to New Jerusalem, I would have a different start after that, even though no ODST really has a new start; to us, our lives just go in one long flow, from the day we were born to the day we die.

On January 1st, 2553, my eyes opened to darkness in the usually bright room. It didn't take long for my vision to adjust, as I rubbed sleep out of my eyelids. Next to me, Leia was sleeping peacefully, long brown hair in a mess over her back, her head on a pillow. I turned on my side, looking at her face, and slid my hand over top her spine. I moved down slowly, her eyes opening as I did so and her back curving while she turned to me. The shining brown eyes were noticeable even in the bad light. Her hair shimmered while she moved, clinging to her skin. Maybe it was just always the way I looked at her. But whatever it was, it was enchanting. And to me, Leia was the most beautiful thing to look at.

She gave me a small smile, teeth showing. Her own hand was touching my chest, and we didn't move from that position for a little bit. "Hey." She murmured. I smiled back at her, my own 'hey'. She looked around the room, her smile going away. "Actually, hey is right." she said, noticing the darkness. "Why is it so ... dark?"

I shrugged, and she turned over, holding onto my hand. "Come on, let's see what's going on."

She got out of bed, pulling on some clothes. I sat up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed. I took a brief look at the dog tags around my neck, and experienced a sense of deja vu. I couldn't remember why of course. Not at that moment.

As I got up I noticed that the dress Leia had worn the night was still laying on the floor. She had smiled as she passed by it, making me smile. Yeah, it had been one good New Years'.

I put on some extra clothes I kept at her place, and walked through the hallway and into the living room. It felt like night, being even darker in there. Leia went over by the armchair and turned on the TV, it's light blaring through the living room. I walked over, planning to ask what was going on, until I heard what was on the TV. LCNS was on.

" ... and we heard earlier from Lord Hood that the Human-Covenant War might not be as over as was thought. UNSC intel says that while the war was declared over about a two weeks ago, they have withdrawn this statement. Military news has been scattered in a chaotic array, some saying the war is still on and even going as far to say the Covenant are coming back to Earth, Luna, and other places in the galaxy. We go now to a news report ..."

My eyes were glued partially to the screen, and partially to Leia. At first I didn't understand exactly what had happened. But when I heard Lord Hood's name mentioned, I knew it wasn't just a rumor. Something was wrong.

I gave my full attention to Leia, who was just sitting in one of the chairs, her hands over top her mouth and nose. She got the same weird sort of glaze to her eyes that she had when she looked at the stars. But this time it was different, almost disturbing, to see that look on her face.

"Leia?" My voice still scratched a bit. I guess it always would. But I hoped that maybe, my voice would bring her out of this zone she was in, with her eyes on the blaring screen. It was quiet for a moment. Just quiet.

She responded though. "I don't know ..." She turned to me, her face the picture of confusion. "Rookie, what's going on? The war was over. It was done. This ... this ..." She let out a breath in frustration. "This lady on the TV is trying to tell everyone it's not over. Is there something else going on, or? ..." She stared at me, waiting for a reply.

I stared back at her, knowing I didn't have the answer. In my head, I was trying to connect something in the last few days to what was happening now. What could possibly have brought the war back on? I didn't know what to tell her. But I knew where I could get an answer.

I put my hand in front of me, for her to stay here, and motioned towards the door. Her confusion disappeared, and she got up.

"I'll come." she stated, and started towards the room, to change. I had already gotten on some clothes, so I nodded in return, tugging at my dog chains; then I shook my head as I pointed to her. I would have to go on the carrier, but she wouldn't be able to come. Understanding, she nodded back. She couldn't just stay here.

Thinking about days when I would leave and she would stay were always hard for her. Stay and be worried about me, knowing she was safe and I wasn't. She had never found it fair, but she knew better than most. She also knew me. And Rookie I may be, I was a good ODST. And she never once gave a second thought to that part of my life.

"Hey." She held my face with both hands now, temporarily stopping before continuing to the bedroom. "I'll go as far as Mal-bok's, alright? I'll watch anything on her TV and send you a Chatter message if I see something important."

My mouth was slightly open, but it closed quickly. She had a look of concern, letting go of my face and walking to her room.

Sighing, I leaned back against the wall. She would've gone whether I had wanted her to or not. A quick look out the window told me that it was still dark outside. The other apartments still show any signs of people, which was odd in general, putting aside the fact that it was New Years'. My mind was still trying to piece together bits of what had happened so far with multiple things racing through my mind. I looked down at my pants, feeling comfortable in the familiar clothing. Only military issue, besides the formal wear that everyone had bought from a various stores in Crisium City.

For a moment, I turned to a mirror that was on the wall, and simply stared at my reflection. I rarely took off my helmet on missions, but now that it had been off for a few days I could finally recognize myself. I shaved for New Years', my five o'clock shadow not being very noticeable. Still there though.

I had the physique of most ODSTS; muscular and tall. My face didn't have any scars, and it looked young. Which I was; enlisting at the age of eighteen, I would be turning twenty-four this year. Even though Mickey was a year younger, he seemed older in a few ways; despite his rank, he had a lot of experience, more than me. The only thing I had seen that he hadn't was a planet being glassed; thankfully, he didn't have to witness I complete glassing of Earth.

But then he would act like Mickey, and I would be the more mature person. It was always like that, age aside. None us were really old; the Gunny was only 42. Number seemed big, and his attitude was old and hardened. But when he was happy he could be just like us, though he would never admit it. Besides, nowadays, 42 was still pretty young. Maybe in the 21st century is would've been middle aged, but no matter what the Captain said, she and the Gunny had plenty of time. They were considered young adults, and we were the teenagers.

I paused at one thought. The Gunny was a tough person. We were all tough, ODST to the core; 'badass' stamped right on our gear. But for the past few days, we had been completely open. Our attitude had hidden itself inside of us for the most part, even though it makes us who we are. I stared at myself in wonder, wonder as to if I could be this; an ODST. No matter how much more I like having a guitar in my hand, and no matter how much I liked a break from the constant sounds of gunfire, I also liked my job. I liked being an ODST. Did that mean I couldn't be Rookie to my squad and Leia? To this life with her?

I suddenly felt much older than I was.

"Rook, come on." Leia had brushed past me quickly, a messenger bag in tow. She took my free hand. "We have to get going. Yuna called me and said the plaza it terror. If you want to get to that carrier, you better go now. Now we know why it's so dark; everyone is gone."

I took her hand, and walked with her. But I wouldn't forget my face in the mirror.

We hurried away from Leia's apartment block, and the moment we turned the corner in a tube, we realized what Yuna was talking about. The tubeways had gone to hell.

Everywhere there were people. Cramming themselves through, trying to get ahead of everyone else. I tightened my grip on Leia's hand as I recognized some Marines shouting over top the crowd. She noticed and stayed close, the swinging braid that she had put in her hair never leaving my sight.

It must have taken us about half an hour to push and shove our way through to the plaza, and when we got there I felt my mouth drop. I couldn't see the screens. There were people on others shoulders, and sometimes even two people on one person. My ears picked up on numerous screams and shouts of irritation. There were a few little kids that were trying to get to someone shouting for them. Me and Leia quickly moved aside to let them through, and I saw the expression on their faces. They were horrified.

Everyone was trying to get a good view of the screens, and in all the commotion people were insulting and shoving each other to move. I felt someone push past us roughly, and not wanting to be involved in what I'm sure would turn into a brawl, Leia moved quickly through the crowd towards Mal-bok's restaurant. She kept a hold of my hand all the way through.

We made it to the door, and I noticed people standing on the balcony. There was a small fence-like barrier for the outdoor area below the it that prevented people from cramming in too much. Beside the balcony was a trellis, which had contained decorative flowers the night before. There were no flowers now, and people were actually trying to climb it to get a view of the mega-screens. I could hear what sounded like Yuna's father shouting for people to get down. There was still a huge crowd around the restaurant though, and the only reason we got to the door was because Yuna was outside waiting for us

"Come on!" She shoved past everyone, people cursing at the action, and pulled Leia in as I let go of her hand. Leia turned around to mouth a 'be safe', then was blocked out of my sight by people passing by. I could hear Yuna's loud voice, yelling at people to move out of the way.

Knowing she was now there, safe with Yuna and Mal-bok, I made my way through the crowd. I was going against the current, muttering 'excuse me' and 'sorry' more than I ever had in my life. I eventually made it to the UNSC port. I looked around for the people that ran we there most of the time, but there was no one taking up space there. I realized they must all be on the carrier. The blaster doors were open, so I ran through them and took the appropriate directions to our quarters.

I swung open the door to our small living area, and there was half my squad. Romeo was sitting next to Dutch on the sitting portion of the quarters, while Rena paced back and forth between the door to Romeo's room and Mickey's. I honestly couldn't tell if she looked more nervous or more pissed off.

"Rookie." Romeo stated, him and Dutch looking up. Dutch looked like he was severely hungover, which he probably was, with a cup of coffee next to him. Ignoring the strong smell of espresso steaming from Dutch's coffee, I quickly walked in front of the two of them, raising my hands in question.

"We have no fucking clue." Romeo replied. I could her bitterness in his voice. "Lord Hood got up on TV earlier, talking about war. Damn war was over, or at least we thought. According to Lord Hood," Romeo sneered out the name. "we're still gonna be fighting. Then people start talking shit on the news ..."

That explained why Dutch was looking worse than hungover. He had a mixture of perplexity and anger in his expression. Mickey was no where to be found.

"They always talk shit on the news." Rena snarled. I guess she was more so pissed off. "But now it's being backed up. Navy idiots ..." She kept mumbling on like that to herself a few moments. Romeo just shook his head, which made me wonder. Why wasn't she sitting with him? I would've thought they would be linked at the hip, since last night ...

I heard the door to Mickey's room swing open, and everyone looked his way. The bags under his eyes were noticeable, and he was back in Marine issue clothing. Marching out, he glanced at me, nodded his head in my direction, and lifted up what seemed to be a see-through erase board.

"Ok," He was panting hard. "this is the video Chatter I kept in my room, but ... it's not working. New batteries." He turned my way, pointing towards the door.

"The Gunny and Captain haven't come out yet ..." He leaned back against the wall, sliding down to a sitting position. " ... and ... I just spent half an hour going through my room looking for this." He swung the Chatter up in the air, closing his eyes.

Rena had stopped pacing and was now looking at Mickey with a little bit of disgust. "Mickey," she sneered. "you wouldn't be so tired if you didn't keep so much junk in there."

"Maybe," he glared at Rena. "you could pay for a video Chatter ... Rena ... so that I don't search my room ... and you don't piss me off!" What I'm sure would've been a double response from both Rena and Romeo was cut off by a loud noise.

Everyone jumped a little at the banging sound that was created by the Gunny's door being kicked open; Dutch shook and groaned, while slowly raising his hand to his forehead. Out of it walked the Captain, red-faced and generally upset. The Gunny followed behind looking tired, annoyed, and angry. I immediately braced myself for a loud argument. Separately they could be dealt with. But when they were both arguing, everyone wanted to stay away.

The Captain headed for the door out of the quarters with the Gunny not far behind. It didn't take a genius to guess what they were fighting about; she was Navy. And ONI Intel Recon Navy, at that.

"Looks like we're not the only ones that had a bad morning." Mickey murmured, having recovered from his brief argument with Rena. "And I still don't know what's going on ..."

"None of us do, Mick." The Gunny had sneered back at Mickey's comment, drawing attention from the Captain. "Since Ms. ONI Intel Officer over here won't tell me a damned thing-"

"Jesus, Eddie, shut up!" The Captain had turned around, stopping the Gunny in his tracks, now about 5 inches away from his face. "I already told you I don't know. Is it that hard for you to believe me?"

"It is when your superior starts agreeing with media on the TV." Dutch threw in, glaring at her.

"Be quiet, Dutch!" Her voice was raised higher than ever. "Don't pin this on me. I am not the representative for any of this! I could know less about-"

She was interrupted by a sudden eruption of yelling and running outside our quarters. We stood there for a few moments, not really knowing what it was. Then a voice came over the ship's intercom system.

"Attention. Attention all UNSC personnel. This is your ship's AI, Erin. All UNSC personnel, regardless of branch or rank, are to report to the spare audo-room located near the cafeteria. You will be organized according to affiliation. Briefing on further situational status will commence there."

When she stopped talking, everyone was on their feet at once. The Captain and the Gunny were out the door faster than anyone, coming to an abrupt stop outside. Though they were still glaring at each other, Gunny quietly stepped aside, letting the Captain go in front of the rest of the team.

I was out next. Romeo got up, stood in front of Dutch, and shrugged. Exasperated, Dutch sighed and followed out after us. Rena had ran in front of them, awkwardly stopping to look at Romeo. They shared a look that I couldn't quite place, and I felt my eyebrows come together, looking towards Dutch for a possible explanation. He wasn't paying attention though. Rena broke eye contact after a couple seconds and ran over to her team. Mickey, still clutching the Chatter, followed.

Rena's squad was led by Master Sergeant Nathaniel Mao; he had as much experience as our Gunny. He was 45, had a full head of black hair, and a stern face. His attitude when on duty was just as strict. Not unnecessarily cruel; he just cared about regulation. But he cared about his squad, too. That was what I liked about him. That one thing I had found he shared with the Gunny.

"Corporal Portman, this way." he called over. Her pace sped up, and I could hear her talking.

"Hey Top, do you know what's going on? ..." I didn't hear an answer to her question.

It was like one long flow of UNSC. Everyone was walking to the audo-room, just like the AI had requested. Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army. The Navy were turning away from the looks and stares of others, especially Marines. I realized that half of them weren't ONI, or even commissioned officers. I felt sorry for them; here they were, just like us, not knowing what was happening, and they were the ones being blamed.

My thoughts were cut short by Mickey pushing me forward. "Keep moving, Rookie." he said. I looked around, realizing I had walked a little slower while looking at the horde, and went back to walking at my regular pace.

The audo-room was called so because it looked like a huge auditorium. This carrier was a Phoenix-class Colony ship, and had been refitted and reused for the UNSC. There weren't many ships like this, especially ones this big. That was for sure.

Going back to size, the room was so big because it was where perspective colonists would wait before landing on a planet or moon. I didn't know what had been stored in it before, but it was just a huge empty space now, used for military meetings and briefings. There was a sort of podium for the commander of the ship, and whoever was in charge of each respective branch to stand with them. When we entered the room they were there. Waiting for us.

Our squad was part of the 7th Shock Troops Battalion, and the entire battalion itself was on The Event; while my squad had come off the ONI facility, having been there during the Battle of Voi and Installation 00, the rest of the battalion had boarded from the Shadow of Intent. They had participated in the last battles of the war, unlike us- something Mickey, Dutch, and Buck had been quite bitter about- and were evacuated before the Flood had been completely destroyed. The ship had been headed for Earth, and The Event offered more space than the crowded Separatist ship. So they took the entire battalion, planning on meeting up with the rest of the Expeditionary Force later.

The 2nd Shock Troops Battalion, who Rena's squad was a part of, was there as well; they boarded on to The Event from another ship a little before our squad, having participated in the Battle of Sector Six. News said that their battalion had been pretty decimated, which was why they hadn't fought in the last two battles either. Rena wasn't severely injured, but Nathaniel had been healing from a broken rib and puncture wound acquired from a Brute. Though having been treated by Rena immediately on the battlefield- she was no corpsman, but she was pretty well-versed when it came to medical procedures- he and Romeo had been more than happy to share that similarity in bitter conversation.

Actually, The Event was supposed to have come back to Luna for supplies, then turn back towards Earth. Knowing travel, it only took about a three days to go from Earth to Luna. So while the ship carried all these people, most UNSC craft headed back to help with Earth's defenses. Since the war had ended the carrier had obviously stayed on Luna out of want so far, not need. Until today.

Commanding the 7th Shock Troops Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Ben Hunting and Sergeant Major Porter Kidman; the Marines were unusually quiet. The 2nd Shock Troops Battalion was being temporarily commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Mochi and Sergeant Major Vincent Blanken. Most of them looked to tired to do anything more than glare. There were only ODSTS here, but they made at least 2,500 men and women on board.

Next to us were regular Army, with their Lieutenant Colonel Ethan Marquez. Another Sergeant Major, Rochelle Larson, was helping to quell a few Army guys as well. 6th and 4th Army Ground Battalions, both from the 120th Army Ground Brigade; the 4th Ground Battalion executive staff and commanding officers had died during a the ground battle in Voi, so they were also under the temporary command of Marquez and Larson. Another 3,000 men and women.

Marines and Army tolerated each other, holding respect for one another since they both knew the horror of ground battle. Even though they didn't work in conjunction much, it was fairly cooperative on both sides when they did.

In the middle, there was the Navy; not the nicest place for them at the moment. The two-star Rear Admiral commanding this ship was in front of all the branches, leaving the a one-star Admiral to hold higher rank over the Navy folks; Rear Admiral Lucius Miller. The Navy was giving the least amount of trouble. They also looked the most nervous.

Dare had gone over to stand with the ONI Intel officers; more than a few Marines watched as she walked from one end of the room to another. The Gunny reached out a bit, almost wanting her to stay, knowing she would draw attention. But she held her head high as she walked across the room. ONI stood off in a corner, by themselves. As I noticed, the intelligence officers made up less than half the Navy on board, part of ONI Recon 111. Then again, there weren't many Recon to begin with.

There were about 200 Navy men and women. The Captain said they were originally assigned to a fleet somewhere on Earth, but I couldn't remember which she had mentioned.

That just left Air Force- which made the most people on this carrier- lead by Major General Marisol Vasquez. They weren't rowdy like the Army, or glaring like the ODSTS. They didn't look happy though, many of them showing signs of impatience. They just wanted to know what was going to happen.

I wasn't familiar with Air Force battle structure, but according to Mickey they were part of the Second Air Force on Earth. From what I could see, they made up at least 3,000 people.

Everyone filed in, and orders were shouted from each area of the room to be quiet. The two-star Rear Admiral stood up in front of all of us, scanning the room; Admiral Lucinda Terry. After making sure a fair amount of the people traveling on board the carrier were actually here- there were still about 1,000 people missing- she began her speech.

"Alright. Listen up and listen good." she started. There were no murmurs in the crowd; we wanted to know what was going on.

"I'm assuming all of you have seen the news, and if you haven't let me fill you in." She had authority in her voice; she wouldn't be cut off, at least not without a response back. "Fleet Admiral Lord Hood let something be known from the UNSC today. He told the media that the war wasn't over. Bluntly speaking, he screwed up.

I felt my eyes widen at her words. Most people weren't so forward with their opinions, especially when it was the Fleet Admiral of the Navy. It was like asking for a demotion. But I guess she didn't care at this point; looking around But she continued on. "The war has ended, don't be mistaken. But there are hostilities. Hostilities we should be concerned about."

"Hostilities my ass." Romeo mumbled. "Just like Navy, being sketchy."

"Romeo, shut it." Gunny ordered. The Admiral had thankfully not noticed this small disturbance.

"I can imagine the way you see it, the war isn't over. Believe that if you will., but it is officially done with." Before she could continue, shouts and yells were heard from the Army section.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Someone yelled out. It was coming from the group of Army. "It is war! Everything about this is like war! You know more about this, or else Lord Hood wouldn't have wanted it covered up!"

"Check your mouth, Sergeant!" the Admiral yelled. This caused a louder disturbance, and now numerous Army were yelling.

"How about you ask those ONI spooks over there what they hell they know, huh?" the Sergeant yelled. "Hey you! Yeah you, blondie!" He was pointing to the Captain. "You little spook, what they hell is going on?" When she didn't answered, he spat out even louder. "See? Bitch can't even tell us what we need to know- "

I heard the Gunny rustle beside me, preparing to move forward. I spun around and stopped him, pushing hard against him; shaking my head. I could feel the worry emanating from both of us; him for her safety and pride. As for me, I just didn't want him to be confined to his quarters for the rest of this event, knowing we would need his help later. I kept shaking my head, pointing at the Admiral, and jabbing my finger back to him. Thankfully, Gunny got the message.

He didn't struggle, as he had been moving forward slowly. He merely continued to glare at the Army man, who was now being called out by his superior.

"Sergeant, stand down and shut up before I put my boot up your ass! Got it?" The man looked about ready to shout something else to the Sergeant Major that had called him out, but a couple people restrained him, hauling him down to floor level. Whisperings from a few ODSTS behind us told me that they were itching to let loose the same reaction as the Army man. They kept their mouths shut, though. He eventually resurfaced, eyes narrowed.

"Ma'am." He obeyed. The Admiral looked on with a stern eye, then turned away, continuing her talk.

"Now, if we won't have any more disturbances, I will go on. First, a reminder from my crew; military personnel are NOT to bring non-UNSC personnel on board, as it is against regulations." Hearing this made me shift my weight from foot to foot. That meant Leia couldn't come. "Remember that well. Second, I have been informed that this carrier will be leaving Luna three days from now, counting today, and arrive at a UNSC Navy-controlled base in Nairobi, Kenya."

"What?" Mickey hissed again. "What the hell? We were supposed to stay here for another week." I held my finger to my mouth, knowing that everyone had to keep quiet. He looked annoyed with me too, but cooperated.

I quickly figured the date in my mind; it was Monday, which meant we would leave on Thursday. It would take about three days to get back to Earth; while the Covenant could safely use Slipspace in a galaxy, the UNSC couldn't. So we would get there the next Monday; January 8th. I noticed that this all seemed very hurried for a trip back. Briefly remembering the Captain saying carriers didn't stay in one- leisurely, at least- for long, I supposed that the UNSC was making up for lost time.

"There," the Admiral continued. "you will be briefed on what is happening, when, and where. I have orders for none of you to be informed now, unless I specifically say so. We don't need more information getting out about this. Last," She said this slightly louder to get our attention, but she faced Dare and her friends. Raising an eyebrow, she said "you, Intelligence officers, will report to blaster door 09 for a special briefing with the UNSC Point of No Return at 1900 hours." I realized that it was now about 10 AM in the morning; that made the amount of people already in the plaza seem much more shocking. "Anyone who misses this briefing and knows about it will be reprimanded." She placed emphasis on the last word, then turned to face everyone.

"If you expected me to tell you the war is still going on, I won't. But I understand why you see it that way. And to be honest ..." For once, and only once, her stern eyes faltered. "I, personally, agree. The war must be back on." She quickly recovered her normal face, and started to step back. "You are all dismissed and until further notice, free to leave and enter the carrier as you wish. Any word of misbehavior and plain idiocy on or off this carrier will be reported. Again, you are dismissed."

She stepped away, walking through a door and out of the audo-room. It was so quiet that if you could hear something significant in space, we would've. Then it all broke apart.

"This is just bullshit." Dutch sneered. A few similar phrases were heard shouted across the room; his was one of the only ones not to be noticed. "Complete bullshit. I don't mind that Army guy; what are they playing at?"

"Come on." The Gunny moved forward with the other Marines, ignoring Dutch's comment. "Let's get outta here."

"We have to go to Mal-bok's." Mickey informed him. Gunny gave him a look, causing Mickey to explain.

"Dutch needs to talk with Gretchen, and I found my old video Chatter, but it needs battery power. Yuna has a charger, and I already called her about it. Plus, Leia is there," Mickey cocked his head in my direction. "and the crowds are starting to get rowdy. You might wanna go before something happens."

The Gunny still looked unsure. The Captain had been walking near us, and when we saw her, she was assaulted with an variety of expressions, the Gunny was the first one to talk.

"You don't know anything, huh?" Gunny mumbled. "What's the briefing about? Something else that's classified?"

"Maybe!" The Captain's anger was back. "But obviously, I can't know anything if I'm just now about to be briefed on this."

"Or they could just be telling you something different than you already know." Dutch said, still upset himself. The Captain, sick of arguing, let out a groan of frustration.

"Believe what you want, alright?" She turned back to the Gunny. "Don't believe me. Because I'm the spook. The blonde bitch that doesn't give a damn about your team."

"That's not what I meant!" The Gunny looked hurt at this one comment she made.

"But it's what you want to say." The Captain had gotten closer to his face, out of irritation. "Isn't it?"

Buck obviously didn't like her being close to him at that moment. "What I want is to know what's going on! And even if you don't know something, I can tell how this will go." The Gunny lowered his voice. "You won't be able to tell us anyway. Because it's your job."

The Captain tried to continue arguing, but the Gunny raised a hand.

"Look," He was talking in a near whisper now. "you told me not to get on you about your job. And I won't. But them?" He pointed to the ODSTS. "Veronica, they have jobs, too. And they need to know what the hell they're in for."

Her face relaxed a little, her voice coming down as well. "I know that, Eddie. You think I don't care about them? I've been with them for 3 months now; assholes some of them may be ..." Sighing, she rolled her eyes.

"You knew how this would go, Eddie. You know what ONI is like." She breathed out. Gunny raised any eyebrow, and her own eyes narrowed. "But you're right, they have a job. And they do a good job. I'll do everything I can to help. But you know that if I screw up, it means my job. Would you risk losing yours?"

She looked at him, waiting for a response. And as mad as I thought he would be, he looked weird. Like he was debating what to do. But slowly, carefully, he reached out for her hand, speaking. " ... For my men? Yes. For you, even more. But ... I understand. Just help us, alright?"

She hesitated, but didn't any longer than a moment; she quickly grabbed his hand, as if it would suddenly disappear. I saw his thumb pass over the ring on her finger, and she could feel it. She complied, for now. But the argument had been anything but resolved.

I walked over to them, tapping the Gunny on his shoulder. He turned to me, and I pointed to the other two squads. A couple people of Nathaniel's team had been watching, even though they didn't seem to happy that the Gunny was now calm; Dutch was watching, too. His expression was replaced by something different though. His eyebrows haunched together, animosity for the Captain gone from his features. There was a feeling of confliction.

He wanted to believe her. He just didn't know if he should.

I pointed towards Mickey, reminding Captain and the Gunny of where we had to go. Normally, the Captain would've turned red at the scene; now, she just looked tired. Squeezing the Gunny's hand in hers, they walked over to our squad. Mickey gave a sigh, as he had been sitting kneeling on the floor during the entire ordeal because of his fatigue, and started leading the way out. I heard Nathaniel go over to Gunny, murmuring that his squad was coming along; they were going to keep the other ODSTS already at Okinawa in check, if they could.

As this was all happening, I was thinking about something different; I felt different. I felt older and so young at the same time. I could imagine Leia's face when she heard the news, and how she would feel. It would be like Dutch's, or Gretchen's. It would be so much worse than ever before. I finally remembered the reason for the morning's deja vu. It wasn't something that helped though; in fact, it probably made it worse.

Last time I woke up, in Leia's bed, with her next to me, swinging my legs over her bed, and taken a look at my dog tags, was 7- now 8- months ago.

The night before I was deployed back as an ODST.