Chapter Nine: A Nudge From A Friend
Inside the Chief's helmet, Cortana processed the AI equivalent of a resigned sigh. Those two were hopeless. Not that she could have one much even if she had a body and could talk to both of them, really. Humans can be so thick sometimes. There had been an obvious…chemistry was the word, she believed, right from the start. Yet those two were intent on ignoring it, which certainly couldn't be healthy. And once they got back to Earth, Hawkes would disappear, most likely on another infiltration op. Cortana reviewed the files Hawkes had sent her, as well as a few files she herself had hacked. She was an excellent operative, her records practically screamed that much, but her lack of discipline had gotten her demoted more than she'd been promoted. A perfect study in opposites, the perfect foil for the Chief. All those two really needed was a little incentive…Cortana processed the equivalent of a smile as an idea began to form in the back of her 'mind'.
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Cortana checked the environment around the team using the sensors in the Chief's armor: the cave they were in was cool without being dangerously so, at least for a normal person. For someone who'd been hit with a plasma blast, however, the cool damp environment might be a problem. As much as Cortana wanted to 'play matchmaker', she knew Hawkes' injury was the more pressing concern: if the UNSC didn't arrive soon, the wound could likely get worse. Even though she received less than the normal damage count, there's still enough to worry about. The wound was more similar to a third-degree burn than a plasma burn, true, but the skin had been blistered rather badly. And with the irritation of the slightly-damaged blacksuit, there was a strong likelihood of the raw, damaged skin opening and becoming infected.
Cortana sensed the Chief turn his head to regard the ONI lieutenant, who was now dozing in one corner of the cave with plasma pistol close to hand. Part of being inside the Chief's mind involved being able to sense his thought processes and emotions to a degree, since different parts of the brain processed different 'human' emotions (she rather liked the thought that the human mind was similar to a computer); while he was looking at Hawkes she sensed pity, compassion, and admiration, along with a physical desire that he was trying to stave off. In a way, it was interesting to 'watch' the play of emotions in the Spartan's mind—especially since these were emotions he hadn't previously experienced during any of their missions together—but now was not the time to stand by and observe.
"Anything the matter, Chief?" This could be interesting, she thought with mild amusement; his brain activity indicated that he was trying to cover up his interest in the lieutenant.
"Nothing, Cortana. Just making sure the lieutenant's in good shape."
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John wondered why he was watching Lieutenant Hawkes, who was dozing in one corner. She seemed in relative comfort, all things considered, and he wondered how many other injuries she'd received as an undercover operative. Her helmet was still on, so he couldn't see her face, but from the way she was resting he could tell she was uncomfortable. She lay partly on her side and partly on her stomach, one hand poised near the plasma pistol on the floor, and her other arm served to cushion her helmeted head. He felt bad for the woman, since she'd gotten shot (though it was her fault anyway, a little voice reminded him), but couldn't help admire her for sticking it out. In point of fact, Hawkes had a lot of admirable qualities, not the least of which being her knack for stealth.
He continued to watch Hawkes, noting how the blacksuit fit her body, how she was positioned facing the cave entrance in a completely innocent manner. John felt an almost overwhelming urge to go to Hawkes and touch her, and forced it down; he didn't know what was causing this, but now was certainly not the time to have to deal with it.
"Anything the matter, Chief?" Cortana's voice cut into his thoughts.
"Nothing, Cortana. Just making sure the lieutenant's in good shape."
"You're not a very good liar, Chief," the AI replied with what sounded like a chuckle. "Your pulse rate has increased and your body temperature is up three-tenths of a degree. Factor in your emotional responses right now, and that leads to one very interesting story." John sighed inwardly; he'd forgotten that Cortana had free access to his vitals, and to a degree his mental states, which meant he couldn't lie to her at all and get away with it. His best bet would be to ignore her comments.
"Hiding isn't going to do any good," she parroted in his ear. "Face it, Chief, you're attracted to her." The comment brought him up short.
Attracted? John supposed that was as good a description as any. He was impressed with Hawkes' combat skills, and her stealth ability rivaled the Spartans' own. She was cool under fire, so far at any rate, and she hadn't complained once about her injury; hell, she'd even tried to lie when she said she was fine when it was obvious she wasn't. She would've made a good Spartan, he thought, and again felt the urge to touch her. Now's not the time.
"You keep saying that and eventually you'll wind up believing it," Cortana interrupted; John had inadvertently said his thoughts aloud.
"There's no way this can happen, Cortana," John sighed, finally admitting defeat. "You know the rules. I have to find a way to deal with this."
"Chief, in this case there's not a whole lot you can do except wait and see." John frowned at this: Spartans didn't like waiting as a rule. They were trained to take the fight to the enemy, not wait for the fight to come to them. To sit and wait was almost as alien to him as the Covenant. Unfortunately, Cortana also had a point: there wasn't much he could do otherwise.
A stirring from the corner brought his attention to Hawkes. The ONI operative shifted in her sleep, hissed in pain and sat up, placing one hand over her back. Her wound was obviously bothering her again, but she didn't move to tend it; rather, she pulled her helmet off and rubbed at her ear. Her brown hair, which she'd pulled back in a braid for the mission, had come loose and hung haphazardly around her face, but it didn't hide the pained expression.
"Her burn must be hurting her, Chief. Better see if she needs a hand." Cortana's voice gave him the nudge he needed; standing up, he moved over to the lieutenant and set one hand on her shoulder.
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Cortana "watched" through the Chief's sensors as Hawkes shifted, her wound bringing her back to full consciousness. Oddly enough, she pulled her helmet off and rubbed the side of her head rather than tend to her back. Though sleeping in a helmet would hurt, why isn't she dealing with the larger problem? Then the answer hit her: she couldn't do more than had already been done, and no doubt was uneasy about exposing herself more than she needed to. Remembering Hawkes' reaction when the Chief had uncovered her the first time reaffirmed her conclusion. Though how much of it was from the fact that we were exposed to the Covenant forces at the time?
The idea from earlier took shape in Cortana's processors, and she saw the chance to finally do something about those two humans. Finally.
"Her burn must be hurting her, Chief. Better see if she needs a hand." Cortana processed the AI equivalent of a smile; though he restrained himself, she could sense the Chief's eagerness to approach the lieutenant, and she had little doubt that her scheme would be successful.
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I am never sleeping in a helmet again! Jessica fumed silently as she massaged her ear. Granted, she should be more worried about her back than her ear, but there was only so much she could do for that. I've done all I can for that burn, or rather, the Chief's done all he can. Besides, with her luck a Covenant trooped would discover them and raise the alarm the moment she pulled her blacksuit down.
She'd been sleeping so peacefully when she'd tried to roll over; a sudden flash of intense pain had yanked her brutally back to wakefulness. Regretting her obvious hint of pain—no doubt the Chief had heard her gasp—she tried to ignore the burning in her back and focused on rubbing some life back to her ear.
Jessica started when she felt an armored hand on her shoulder, gasping as another wave of pain made its appearance. Gritting her teeth, she looked up into the helmeted face of the Master Chief.
"You all right?" his gravely voice, though hushed, echoed in the cavern. Jessica forced herself to nod and continued rubbing her aching ear.
"Well enough, Chief, thanks for asking." She finished with her ear and looked around for her helmet, dimly registering a slight hissing noise nearby. Finally locating her helmet, she made to put it on when an armored hand stopped her. Startled, Jessica looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes.
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Why did I do that? He'd taken his helmet off in a war zone, for the first time he could remember. There was no logical explanation, really…other than wanting the operative to actually see his face. It just felt right for her to see him like this.
Hawkes was startled, that much was obvious. She probably hadn't been expecting this either. John forced himself to say something, anything.
"We should check your wound."
"I'm fine, Chief. Besides, we've done as much as we can for the moment. ONI can patch me up more thoroughly when we reestablish contact; until then I'll just need to wait it out." She finally looked him in the eye, her green-flecked gaze showing her own worry.
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He's worried, but why? Does he think ONI will abandon us? Jessica saw it, hiding in the back of his eyes. She wasn't going to comment on it, though—after all, how would it feel to have someone pulling her thoughts into the open when she wanted to keep them private?
"We should check your wound." Was that concern in his voice? She told herself she was imagining things, but the thought rang hollow.
"I'm fine, Chief. Besides, we've done as much as we can for the moment." That much was certainly true: all that could be done about her plasma wound had been done already, for the moment. "ONI can patch me up more thoroughly when we reestablish contact; until then I'll just need to wait it out." She looked him in the eye, trying hard to prove she was fine, and saw concern. Concern about what, though, that's the thing.
An impulsive thought crept through her mind, and for once she didn't shove it aside. You'll regret this later, Hawkes, an inner voice cautioned, but she ignored it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, something she'd been dreaming about for years, and she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip past now that it was here.
Leaning up a bit, closing her eyes and blocking out the pain, Jessica kissed him.