Because of the In Amber Clad

Chapter 10

By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

On the walk back, we didn't talk much. 'We' included me, the Gunny, the Captain, an unusually quiet Romeo, Mickey, and Dutch. Master Sergeant Mao and Rena have also tagged along. It felt surreal walking out of the carrier, as if our entire world had just changed. It shouldn't have; we had gone this route before. Missions thought completed, we needed to go back. A war we thought was over, actually just teased us. The setting had certainly changed.

Dutch was still simmering over- well, everything. The rest of us were mostly shell-shocked, a pun that didn't seem so funny anymore. Our seemingly endless good New Year had turned, and so had we. But first, we had to go to see if Yuna and Leia had heard. And if to them, it had done the same.

Once we got out into the tubeways, that was it for whatever was left of Dutch's patience. Practically barreling his way through, Dutch got us through in quicker time than I had with Leia. Then again, he was going towards his girl; once we were at Mal-bok's he would Chatter Gretchen. A girl. That was the reason he shoved strangers out of the way, nearly tripping teenagers up as the ran by. I could understand though; I was second behind him.

I was usually calm, and I tried my best to be myself and keep that calm. But I could feel the anger, new and raw, rising to the surface. I don't know if I even knew what I was angry at, just that I was. Lies had been told. We had only been out of our skin for a week practically, and for what? So that something could take it all away from us again.

After almost bum rushing our way through the streets, the group of us were suddenly stopped in front of Mal-bok's restaurant.

"Hoo leee shit …" Murmured the Gunny.

A throng of people were grappling at each other like animals. It wasn't just in front of the restaurant that had stopped us; they were everywhere.

It was more than a mob at this point. The entire city had gone to hell. People in the squares were shouting, arguing, fighting at some points even, only stopping when the news on the big screens came back on. Commercials came as often as possible, but there were so many screens and the news was live. The newscasters didn't know what to do with themselves, the commercials being an attempt by the stations to buy time, I suppose. Viewers in Okinawa plaza knew it, too. I felt a little less angry, knowing we weren't the only ones upset by the misinformation.

However, we still had to get inside the restaurant. And each of us were obviously military, from physique and plain old common knowledge. Many other Marines were out here as well, some mixed with Army and Air Force, some not. Navy seemed to have decided that it would be better to stay on the carrier, I supposed. As made as I was, I did not believe that they should have been blamed any more or less. Navy had enlisted, too. At this point, only the officers of any branch seemed to know anything.

After me and him shared a look, Dutch just shrugged his shoulders and continued to shove people off. I stood aside and motioned for the rest of the group to come through; I was tall enough that I could protect the tail of our little line if need be. I observed Rena slipping her hand into Romeo's as they walked on; he glanced back, and I was thinking that he might shrug her off, from the way they had been acting today. Also, I could see that she was a bit guarded about the action. In her eyes. But Romeo surprised us both. He glanced back, nodded his head, and pulled her with him.

My anger disappeared for a while after that. We had changed; we were ODSTS again. But we had remained the same. Romeo still loved Rena.

I allowed myself a small smile, then took account of the area around me. Mao was the last one, and I followed quickly after him.

Me and him almost stopped, as we had lost track of the others. Then, I felt a sharp jab in the middle of my spine and nearly elbowed whatever was behind me. Thankfully, Yuna darted out in front of me before I could get her.

"Sorry, but you have to come this way, fast." She pushed me and Mao forward roughly and quickly, over to a large, round booth in the corner of the restaurant. It was an eery feeling, having been here just the night before, with a hopeful feeling and jazzy music. Now, things just seemed to go wrong. That feeling of negativity just kept popping up, in different ideas. What else did I expect? The war followed us like a plague.

"Sit!" Yuna commanded. The rest of the group looked just as confused; Yuna always explained the cause after the actions. The booth were a deep mahogany color, in bit of a contrast with the rest of the restaurant. The circle was tight enough that passing customers wouldn't be able to bump into us, and we could talk amongst ourselves.

There was only, really, a small opening where the guests could slide into the booth; once in, it was like a small nook, cozy but not claustrophobic. The waiter would regularly stand in between the two ends of the booth where people would slide in, so as to take the orders. Yuna now pulled up a chair in this area to sit. I guess she didn't mind people brushing her chair aside with each run by.

The restaurant was alright compared to what was outside. No less would have been expected of Mal-bok, who I knew would not stand to have her place in complete chaos. I noticed, also, that many people were out on the balcony; a dangerous place to stand in my opinion. Too many were crowded against the railings, and even more were grappling at the sides of the restaurant.

The rest of the ODSTS were looking too, and we knew to well what was happening. Those were not longer civilized humans out there, in the streets and the plaza, and maybe even in the city for that matter. They had turned into a horde of raw animals, waiting for something to set them off into a riot.

"So what's going down, guys?" Yuna cut straight to the chase, no beating around the bush. You could always count on her to get to the point.

"It's a long story …" the Captain replied, twitching at a shattering outside. Things were getting even worse, and I instinctively slid my hand into Leia's. Not look was exchange, but I could feel her grip tighten.

The fact that the Captain was getting twitchy made the Gunny twitchy. And like a domino effect, it made the rest of us feel the same. Sergeant Mao quickly took charge.

"Yuna, to make a long story short, the rumours are true." Yuna's eyes widened at the news Mao so succinctly gave. "The war is still on. We're all being shipped back to Earth, but we aren't sure what for- well, except maybe …" The Sergeant motioned towards Dare, who wasn't paying attention. She seemed a bit nauseous.

"Veronica?" I heard Buck murmur. "You alright?"

It was odd to see the Captain so nervous over this. From the look on her face, it was like she was trying to deal with something inside; what it could be, I wasn't sure.

" …. No." She managed out. She still looked like she might vomit. A pallor overcame her complexion. I heard Yuna shuffle her chair, and rise to nearly sprint across the room and into the bar. She came back just as fast with a two glasses, one of wine and the other of water. She balanced them both just as any experience server would.

"Here." The Captain ignored the wine glass momentarily, but by the Gunny's encouragement, took a small sip from it. It was as if the red wine had seeped right into her pores; some color came back to her face, and she began to drink more bit by bit.

I nudged Leia, who turned to me. I was surprised by her expression; it mirrored my own angry persona. I think she was a bit surprised as well, and we moved closer to one another to keep our thoughts along the same line. It was always how we had communicated.

At some point Yuna had also laid down a large, thin stick of battery. From what I concluded it had to be a battery for the long-distance Chatter; normally our phones would have worked fine. But Mickey had already guess that any long distance calls that were not video would be overrode by other forms of communication in the area, such as the huge telescreens.

"Thanks." Mickey murmured. Each time he worked with small gadgets like this, even with something as small as a battery, you could see the concentration. He enjoyed his work, and it seems that the vice versa was also true.

"Alright. Here." Dutch caught the Chatter just as Mickey slid it across the table. "You have a little while, Dutch. That Chatter has been a bit fixed up" Mickey had a momentarily smug look on his face. "to at least get through any media frequencies. I can't guarantee the clearest connection to Earth, but it should be enough for you and Gretch to talk a bit."

Dutch looked more hopeful than I wished he was. I could feel my brows press together in worry; it would not be the most loving conversation they ever had.

Dutch dialed in the number of Gretchen's own video Chatter. From what I heard, they sent many video messages over the course of her recovery. We were all waiting in anticipation now, to see if the call went through.

For what seemed almost long enough before Dutch put the Chatter back down, three beeps were emitted from the Chatter. "Yes" Dutch whispered.

After a couple moments of waiting, a somewhat bad- static filling the screen- signal came in. I saw a rustle of blonde hair. A smiled a bit for one second. Gretchen had ignored regulation these passed few months.

"Hello?" Her voice was smoother than her attitude; I heard the Gunny mention that Gretchen was as tough as a cookie, and shot like the skilled marksman she was. I personally had never met her, but I'm sure I would see a lot of her this next couple of months.

"Gretchen?"

When he said her name, it was like Dutch entered a whole other world. His voice became softer. He was speaking to his wife.

"Dutch!" She gasped. Immediately the screen from the other end of the Chatter call was shifted. Gretchen must have punched a clear up button, because the static somewhat disappeared. Both of them touched the screen at once.

"Hey Gretch." Dutch crooned. "How are ya, baby? Well, both of you," he grinned sadly. "I should be saying."

I noticed once of Gretchen's hands move to rest near her ribcage. Near her womb. "We're doing just fine."

They spent a few moments just looking at each other. Romeo said they chatted all the time; this must be what it was like, each time. Me and Leia looked at each other; we had sent letters to each other as much as we could.

Mickey had not purchased a video Chatter, nor had Gretchen; they were more expensive than they were worth, even with good long-distance. Gretchen had, basically, gotten it as a result of taking part in the dangerous surgery that had given her back her leg. Mickey had other means.

So to be more private- since UNSC didn't check mail so much- me and Leia had written many a letter. We doubted we were the only ones that did so. She had even sent me musical sheets in the letters, to remind me what was waiting back home. It had gotten me through more soul-searching and long talks with myself than anything else.

Except maybe her.

Dutch and Gretchen's moments were over now, though. They each removed their hands from the screen; Gretchen shifted so that she sat up straighter. I could tell that she was in a hospital bed. Dutch returned to his somewhat normal self as well, though to me, he wasn't Dutch without Gretchen.

"Have you heard the news?" he asked vaguely. Gretchen shook her head, bright blonde hair shaking back and forth.

"Everything has gone to hell here." she almost snarled it out, as if the hell had done some personal injury to her. I'm sure that something had irritated her, because Dutch seemed to think so as well.

"Did something happen?" he checked. But Gretchen simply shook heard head again. We could hear chatter in the background. "Well …" he stated.

"Dutch." Gretchen snapped him back. "What is going on?"

He didn't look like he necessarily wanted to tell her. After so much good news, with a baby and seeing each other, he only had another bomb to deliver. His face contorted, something Gretchen recognized even over the screen. This only made her more worried. Her face softened, seeing his hurt.

The Gunny moved the Chatter screen his way, taking control. "Hey Gretch. Its Buck. The news is …" Gunny glanced at Dutch, sighing. "The war isn't over, Gretch. The Covenant, apparently are still moving around somewhere on Earth."

Gretchen's reaction was not similar to any of ours.

At first, she was just reprocessing what the Gunny had said. But then her eyebrows went in and out, her face becoming fuller and redder.

"Shit … Shit!" she exclaimed, hissing through her teeth. Dutch had snapped back to reality.

"Gretch." he tried to talk to her. But Gretchen would not be controlled.

"I knew it!" With the free hand that was not on her stomach, she slammed it against her own Chatter. The screen from her end visibly shook, and I could hear a monitor increase in it's beeping. I assumed that it was her blood pressure rising, and perceived that someone would interrupt their conversation if the monitor set off some sort of alarm.

I quickly reached across the table to point at the monitor in the background out to Dutch. It took him two seconds to understand what I was trying to tell him.

"Gretch, be quiet for a minute, before someone comes in!" Dutch did not yell, but it had an assertive tone. Gretchen gave him a look that let him know she was decided to either argue, or cool down; she bit her lip, let out a groan, and leaned back.

"Okay, Dutch." She had become eerily nonchalant, flinging her hand in the air. "What now?"

"There is one piece of good news, thats what." Dutch wasn't smiling at this supposedly good news.

"Oh yeah?" Gretchens eyes were set in disbelief. "And what is that?"

"We're being shipped back out. To Nairobi."

He knew that would surprise her, because she did a double take. Then she shifted the screen back up. "Nairobi? You're coming here?"

"Yeah baby. I'll be with you guys soon." Dutch's voice had slipped back into soft speech.

Gretchen leaned back slowly, having propped the Chatter up on something. "Well." she breathed. Her breathing was a slow intake and out; her stomach rose and fell with it, which was how I knew. "I'll be damned."

I did know that neither of them had seen each other in awhile. A long while. I turned to Leia. I noticed that her stare was fixed on the Chatter; she was observing Gretchen carefully. Leia always looked hard at people she was beginning to like.

But my ears picked up on something before the others did. I slipped out of Leia's grasp to jump up and look above the seat, out the window. I felt Leia's look up at me, wondering what was happening.

I had heard some sort of yelling. It was not the call of a name, or simple anger. Something was going on outside. Then I saw the fistfights really start.

I sat back down, and pondered what to do for a moment. It would be a bad idea to go outside, but it would also be bad for us to stay here. Yuna and Mal-bok would be able to control the bar; her father was here today as well. We need to be somewhere anyways, and the fact that we were Marines would not endear us to the crowds. We would have to get out of here now.

I reached over and tapped the Gunny, and jerked my thumb out towards the windows. I felt someone slide out of the seat, to see Rena walking with a purpose towards the balcony. I tried to reach out to her, but she was gone in a few seconds.

"Shit, Rena," Sergeant Mao scooted out of the seat to go after her. "you choose the worst times."

Romeo, surprisingly, did not go with her. I glanced at him, then back at her. He noticed.

"She can take care of herself." he simply stated. His face was set staring at the table. For some reason he would not stop wringing his hands.

Calm Romeo was nervous.

I thumped his back, and when he turned to me I simply nodded. We were ODSTS again. That's all I needed to do.

He chuckled, closing his eyes. "Shit Rookie. You adapt to change fast, huh?"

There was another, larger crash outside. Now Leia stood up, her braid flying with speed. Her body remained still while her eyes darted back and forth across the plaza outside. Then she turned to the Gunny.

"We should go." she said calmly. But I saw her hands shake a bit. I took one of them in my own, and she stopped immediately.

Gretchen and Dutch, who I had heard, had been murmuring goodbyes just as the Gunny turned to them.

"Dutch!" Gretchen grabbed at the screen, as if she had one last change to touch him. I wondered if it was always like that. "Be safe sweetheart!"

"You too." Dutch whispered. "I love you."

"Dutch, I love yo-"

Something flew through the glass over my and Leia's heads. Instead of ducking, I wrapped my free elbow around her head and pulled her down with me. Leia didn't scream at all, knowing I would keep her safe.

Just as Gretchen was finishing her sentence, whatever had thrown through the glass hit the screen. Dutch yelled out and slammed against the seat. Romeo and Mickey cursed loudly, and Gunny reached towards his waist instinctively for his gun. The Captain was also jolted, but place her hands over the Gunny's waist. She didn't think it was a good idea to pull out a gun in an already heated environment.

I agreed with her. Until I saw what had flown through the air.

It had hit the Chatter's screen, cracking it right in the center. It was somewhat round, digging deep into the device.

It was a bullet.