Man's True Best Friend

Rated M (Language, Violence, Blood, etc.)

By Casey Riffel (Bearmaster)

Chapter 6

Combat, Love it or Hate it ~ Part 5

Time: 2523 January 20, 1000

Location: Outside of Ran-de-vu, Battleground, New Jerusalem

The ground was littered with blood and debris. Link walked around the tattered battlegrounds as he stepped over many dead bodies, none of them being UNMC. After taking a slow look around, he stood in the center of the thrashed landscape, looking at the building across from the chemical plant. A massive and uncontrolled fire raged out from the ceiling and windows, its glorious dark red color drifted up into the now morning sky.

"Whoa…"

Link thought out loud. He continued to look at the landscape in order to figure out what happened. Looking at every detail of the land, bullet holes, burn marks, and more. Until he found tank tread prints. Link knelt down and took a closer look at them. The treads showed that the tank was not in good condition, as one of the treads was missing from the prints. But it disturbed him as he followed the tracks where they vanished to the underneath loading station of the chemical facility.

"Oh no."

Link said, thinking that the Innies had used the tank on his brothers and sisters. He stood slowly, cautiously, and mimicked the tracks with his feet gradually getting into range of the facility. He feared the worst as the tank was sitting right outside of the port access doorway. The dead silence was also a troublesome factor. Was it over? Link thought. He didn't notice, but his slow walk had turned into an irregular run. The runway went into a slight curve down into the loading bay, where it then showed an array of docking ports. Only one being open. Link saw it and sprinted to the opening, hoping that he would find someone alive. He vaulted over the small lip of the shipping port and ran through the large open door only to find a pitch black loading area. Link halted his run, his feet squeaking against the floor with a loud screech. The sound reverberated into the hold, but no other noise was made, no voices, no anything.

"Marines!"

Link yelled into the dark abyss. He wasn't expecting anyone to respond, so he dragged his feet to the lip of the loading port and sat down, his legs dangling over the three foot drop. It was quiet again. No noise, not even his breathing was load enough to fully register in his ears.

"Lincoln?"

A load voice broke the silence, and Link jumped off the ledge stumbling to his feet. He regained his balance as he turned on his heel as fast as his body allowed to see another Agent. Adorned in black and blue armor.

"Gem?"

Link felt his heart racing in his chest. He looked at Germaine's tattered armor; her broken visor revealed her soft face, her brilliant blue eyes popped out of the bruised canvas of her face and pulled him into a trance that made him feel like everything was going to be alright. Without warning, Link felt his body lose control as he vaulted over the loading platform again, and with a surge of energy pulled Gem into a strong hug. Their armor clanged together as their bodies collided. She gladly accepted the embrace as she felt the same relief flowing over them.

"Where were you, stupid!"

Gem said into Links earpiece. Her frustration covering her now uneasy voice, attempting to not show her true emotions.

"I got here as fast as I could."

Link said as he loosened up on the strong hug, and looked directly into her eyes. Their young and vibrant faces almost coming together. Gems lower lip began to quiver as she hugged Link again.

"Don't ever do that again, you got me?"
Link could feel her breathing against his neck, her breath shallow and controlled as she wiped her eye.

"I won't."

Link said plainly, he felt safe now. After the traumatic events the two had gone through, he felt even closer to her. But he felt something else now, not just regular compassion. He felt as though there was more between Gem and himself as he pulled her away slightly again looking into her blue eyes. Link felt his hand move from her lower back to the back of her helmet. Her eyes glowed as she felt his hand moving. And with a subtle nudge, he moved his lips onto hers. Her full lips pressing against his, she accepted it as she closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her face. Link could feel Gem's warm lips against his and it made his legs wobble with elation. He held her head as if he was cradling it and then moved his head back, nudging his forehead on hers.

"Do you do that with all the girls you don't see for two days?"

Link chuckled and rubbed her cheek with the side of his body suit covered hand. The suit sending heat on her soft skin.

"No, just you."

Gem blushed as she could feel his warm hand on her cheek. They said nothing as they just stared into each other's eyes for almost five minutes, just relishing in the moment. Gem felt as if her heart was being tugged by a thousand small strings in all directions in her chest. Link felt the same as they were almost on the same mental wavelength. Within their moment, they didn't even notice the audience they had gained.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Lincoln Henderson, the badass mutha fucka who lived the drop."

Link slowly moved his head to look behind Gem, where Derrick, Johan and Kenny stood, smiling smugly. But Gem and Link didn't care that they were watching, it was the happiest moment they had had in a long time. It made them feel like people again, and less like experiments, to share their true emotions with one another in one of the most intimate ways possible. So all Link did was give Derrick a slight nod as he swiftly moved his face back to Gem, where they continued their heated love session.

Johan and Derrick just looked at each other and shrugged in unison. The three soldiers chuckled as they left Gem and Link on the loading platform to finish what they had started and strolled their way back to the command deck through the cathedral like columns of shimmering pipes that stretched throughout the structure.

"How much longer you think they'll be out there?"

Derrick asked curiously.

"I have no idea. Let's let them have some time though. It has been a pretty rough past two days and they deserve their time alone. We all deserve some time to take a breather."

Johan said in a caring voice as he patted Derrick on the back with his massive hand.

"Yeah."

Derrick said softly, as he looked at the dog tags in his hand. The shimmering metal coin sized plates resting in his hand.

"We all need a break."

Time: 2523 January 20, 1100

Location: ONI Building, Reach

Dr. Halsey sat in her lab. No lights on. Complete darkness. Only the light from her one window shinned though a reticulated blind that sliced the light into little slivers that rained down onto the still silhouette of Halsey. The battle she had witnessed, the soldiers who fell, this wasn't what she had planed for the Agents or the rest of the UNMC. Halsey rubbed her forehead, and with a jerk to her right, she swung her leather chair back to her desk where she then tapped the glass panel. A slight hum indicated its activation before multiple screens light up. Two screens in particular flashed the vital signs of two agents, one that was green, a normal pulse, and the other showing major fractures all over the bones of the body along with multiple stab wounds. No doubt it was the agent that was dragged away. The other screens flashed of other Intel, some showing a constant array of ticker updates and experimental status'. One was a camera feed from the Cerberus training facility, where surveillance showed the many four by four cells that held the animals. Some barked uncontrollably while others sat in content, looking at the wall in front of them. The last screen was nothing more than just a basic program platform with a simple L.O.G. program waiting to be used. So with a stab from her pale hand, Halsey activated the program.

"Doctor Halsey, Log one."

Halsey sighed as she contemplated what to tell the inanimate computer.

"The Agents have done better than expected. Of course being put up against unyielding odds was one of the many tests they would be put up against, it was still hard to watch. Out of the original one hundred and one Agents in Unit Upsilon, ninety three remain."

Halsey tucked her head into her chest as she thought of the horrific death the eight unfortunate agents went through. But she had to continue her log.

"No physical problems yet. They seem to be in fit condition. But one has been showing signs of mental fatigue. Most likely from the mental enhancers."

Halsey lifted her PDA from her pocket and scrolled though the massive amounts of data within its memory, searching for possible leads. Flipping though files of the deceased Agents was bad enough, but it was soon made worse as her finger bumped the history file of an Agent know as Hilary Diego. She was eighteen, like the rest, but her file opened to her only known picture. From what it looked like, she was wearing a white dress, dancing with an older man. The file then pointed out that it was her father, Jorge Diego. It was her wedding. According to the file, she got married straight out of High School then went into the military soon after along with her husband.

This was too much. Halsey felt her heart race as she threw her PDA to the wall, smashing it into nothing more than bits of shining dust. As she let her rage out on the PDA, she cried into her hands, letting her medium length hair mix into the tears that flowed out of her eyes like torrents.

"I never wanted to ruin peoples lives! I just wanted to help end this fucking war!"

She screamed out, not remembering that she kept the recording program on.

"Its useless. The Cerberus, Agents, even the Spartans are doomed to death no matter what I do."

She said as she tried to pull herself back from the brink of a mental breakdown, and she did so with almost mechanical speed. Wiping the tears from her eyes and putting her hair behind her ears to try to regain her professionalism. With an outsized breath though her mouth, she sat back in her chair, the Leather rubbing up against her lab coat making a sound that only leather can make.

"Ahem. But the Agents are far from perfect. They need to be surveyed carefully for any defects that may transfer over to the Spartan threes. If we can find them now we can neutralize them and we can make sure that the next generation of Spartans will be spotless. End log."

Halsey again jabbed at the program, turning it off along with the other screens. Returning the room back into darkness where Halsey preferred to stay the next days in solitude, the sliced light trying desperately to fill the room as it ran through the blinds.

Time: 2523 January 20, 1220 ~ Afternoon

Location: Chemical Facility, New Jerusalem

Link and Gem sat together on the loading platform. Her head resting on his shoulder. In his life, he had never had a girl like him like this. Link had focused all his time into becoming a medic and controlling issues back on his family farm that he had lost track of taking care of himself. It was an odd time to have it though, to find love. But Link didn't know whether it was truly love or just impulse. He could care less though. Gem made him feel like nothing else had made him feel before, and that was good enough for him. Gem scooted her body closer to Link as they just stared into the blue sky. Nothing but the moment was in their minds.

"Link?"

Gem said, quietly under her breath. Link rolled his chin onto the top of her head.

"Yeah?"

"I want this to work. Us."

Gem lifted her head and looked at Link with those gorgeous eyes.

"Me too."

Link placed his hand on her cheek, and gave her a small peck on the lips. She pulled away slightly as she finished the kiss.

"You don't quiet understand, Link."

Link stopped mid thought, being yanked out of his mental sanctuary of joy.

"What do you mean?"

Links body began to tense up as he thought of possible reasons. None of them made him feel good.

"Oh god! Are you already with someone!"

Gem chuckled.

"No, its-"

"Its me isn't it."

Gem cocked an eyebrow and gave Link a small slap on the cheek. It was one of those slaps grandmothers give their grandchildren. Not meant to hurt, but just the act of them doing it is enough to bring the child to attention.

"We're different from normal Marines. The UNSC has made a huge investment in us. So, they don't like us to intermingle."

Link looked as Gem explained her thoughts. His facial expression was less than serious. His eyes slightly crossed, lips puffed, he was mocking her and she knew it.

"I need you to listen Link!"

Gem said as she poked him with a hard finger to the gut. He cringed as she prodded deep into his side.

"OUCH! Okay."

Gem pulled her finger away and stuck her tongue out in a playful manner.

"Thank you. Anyway, brass will not like two of their investments in a relationship."

"Oh, I see."

Link said in a very shallow manner. He didn't think of that, but she was right. Gem looked at Links eyes; his expression went from lighthearted to melancholy in the span of one sentence.

"Link, it wont changes our relationship at all. We just can't let it be known to the brass. That means everyone above Coronel rank."

Link thought for a moment.

"Okay, it will be tough but I think we can manage."

Gem smiled at Link, her porcelain teeth were perfectly straight, as if adjusted to fit in their proposed spots by some outside source. Link could only smile back as he brought her close and kissed her again on the lips. Was this really happening? Link mused over the events of the mission so far. How the Marines and Agents held out against the Innies for so long, how John left himself behind for Link's sake. Like a heart attack, Link suddenly remembered John and his dire situation. He sprang up from the loading docks and jumped to his feet, Gem temporarily loosing her balance seeing as though she was using Link to lean up against.

"Whoa! Link, what's wrong?"

Link held is head as if it was going to explode from the inside. He passed back and forth trying to think on how he could send help to John's location.

"Oh my lord, no! How could I have forgotten about him?"

Link interrogated himself. His eyes bugged out of his head, focused on some object that was not there.

"Who did you forget?"

Gem asked, fearing that something serious was about to happen.

"A man, a Marine, he told me to leave him behind so I could catch up with you guys but now that it seems that everything is okay, I should have went back for him! I have left him out there for too long! The Innies are going to find him! I need a warthog!"

Gem stood up, not knowing how to handle the situation and just decided to help Link instead of standing in his way.

"Uh, you'll need to talk to Coronel Rafter. He'll let you take a hog."

"So what is our next course of action?"

Derrick stood in front of the holo projector, leaning on the control consul with his wrists. Coronel Rafter stood on the opposite end of the deck, rubbing his forehead as he whispered commands into his headpiece. Hon Rafter wasn't old mentally, although he was getting into his middle ages. He wore a standard UNMC cap that covered his balding head and a tattered uniform that showed many years of combat. Needless to say he was a veteran. His face was wrinkled from the power of the many suns that had beaten it with their strong light. The skin of his face was tight but it looked too tight, stretched taught because of dehydration. Eyes, a pale brown, mixed into his face's burnt color, the only thing separating the two was the white of his eyes. And they too were dark from sun damage. He stood, holding his headpiece, darting his concentration back and forth to the deck to the voice on the other end of the transmission.

"We have had a lot of scans throughout the areas around the downed Pelicans. The packages are still there."

Johan stood with his arms crossed behind Derrick, listening to Rafter intently.

"That is our next target but we are not in a good situation as of now. We have lost a lot of Marines and from what it looks like, some Agents. We need reinforcements; about a hundred Marines should do it. Once we have those Marines, we'll acquire some air support and get those packages back. The Definer has pulled out so we will need to be quick with the air units. Those anti-air cannons were ripping her armor to pieces and I'm positive that they took out the Invasion force as well, correct?"

Derrick nodded to Rafter regretfully. Rafter sighed.

"Well, we'll need some sort of strike team to neutralize the air guns, then we can get those packages, once the air guns are down, it'll be smooth sailing."

Derrick and Johan nodded along with the other Marines in the room who held high ranks.

"Who will be the strike team?"

A Marine to Rafters left asked.

"We have a team of ODST's who are chomping at the bit to get in the battle. We'll drop them in and let them handle the guns. Hopefully they can find a way out and get back safe."

The Marines all nodded again, their judgment backing him. But Johan and Derrick stood solemn and quiet. They disagreed. Rafter noticed their discontent.

"Got something you want to say?"

Derrick put his weight onto his left leg and crossed his arms.

"It'll be a suicide mission. Those marines wont agree to it."

Rafter chuckled to himself.

"They volunteered."

This wasn't a surprise to anyone. ODST's gravitated towards missions of great difficulty. This specific mission was indeed a suicide mission.

"Anyway, back to the plan. Once we get the ordinance from those crates that were –"

Coronel Rafter was interrupted by a fast paced Link whose footsteps were loud enough to hear from the opposite ends of the hall. Link stopped when he reached the holo deck and saluted Rafter.

"Sir, IRC Medical Agent Lincoln Henderson, sir."

Rafter looked up confused to see Lincoln standing in front of him in such a manner. His body language indicated distress.

"At ease. What's wrong?"

Link lowered his arm back to his side where he couldn't help but keep it clenched.

"Requesting permission to use a hog sir."

"A warthog? Why do you need one?"

Link took in a breath though his mouth before explaining.

"When I was returning from the Pelican crash site me and a Marine were making our way here but he was hurt so he stayed behind. We need to go back there and find him."

The Coronel took off his hat and rubbed his bald scalp.

"What is his location?"

"Okay let me check."

Link pulled up the map feature in his helmet and scanned for the last place he remembered where John was. The map was hard linked to the Coronels data updater, which let the Agents and any trooper with E-map see constant battlefield updates. The status of John's area didn't look to good as a red cloud had amassed over his position. The red mark stretched for almost three miles, where it reached to completely envelope the entire east side of the map; which lead to the capitol. Link found it hard to swallow as he gave the coordinates to the Coronel. Once he received them, Rafter only sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"That Marine is in the Blackout Zone. The Innies are crawling all over that area and we can't send any forces in with confidence."

Link felt his eye twitch and his fist tighten.

"Without confidence?"

"I'm sorry, he is lost to the forest now."

Rafter only could look Link in the eyes for a few moments before averting them back to the holo deck. Link could feel his body surging with anger and he darted his head back to Derrick. Looking desperately for help in some way by flailing his arms out to his sides, presenting a face of disparity. Derrick only shrugged and crossed his arms. Link just rubbed his head and walked out of the room slowly. His eyes watering as Gem made her way into the room. As Link passed her, she grabbed his arm in attempt to stop him, but she didn't faze him as he went to the makeshift bunks for sleep. Gem watched as he went out of view and into the dark barracks.

"So it's a no go?"

Derrick sighed.

"Yeah Gem."

"Why don't we make some sort of charge tactic? We can get him if we go in force."

"That's it, in force."

Rafter replied. Gem's attention shifted to him.

"First of all, our man power is significantly weakened. If the Innies knew the state we we're in now, we would be dead in a day. Secondly, we can't sacrifice all of those men for one soldier. It's not logical. Henderson will need to just get over it."

Gem looked at her feet as she rubbed her bruised face.

"But if it wasn't for the courage of the many…"

Gem glanced at Derrick and Johan, smiling at them with her perfect smile.

"The weak will surely die."

Rafter's pale eyes submitted to her, but not for long as he continued to give orders and call in data.

"The decision is final, Agents. And Spartan. We are now on stand by for reinforcements. This base is in full defense lockdown until further notice. Dismissed."

END

A/N: Wow, sorry guys for the week and a day late chapter… I have been in a weird way as of late. My best friend's friend committed suicide so I had to be there for him. Most of you can understand that. But anyway, I don't mean to be a downer. ^_^' This chapter was fun to write cause the love interest has finally come to fruition! :D I likes me my romances. So yeah, that is all for today! Thank you my Bear cubs and to anyone who hasn't been to my FF yet, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT! PLZZZZ! I might have trouble writing another chapter if no one comments. ;] check ya next Sunday!

Casey (Bearmaster)