Chapter Ten: When Duty Calls
1832 Hours, June 27, 2558. City of Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Long-Awaited Message," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow
A few days later I left the grounds of Pensacola's War College as quickly as I could once my classes were over to get back into the city. I had an important engagement this evening that I didn't want to miss: my son Gabriel's first soccer match since he'd started camp.
I was thankful to arrive just on time at the sound of the starting whistle blow, looking around for a minute for Willis and the twins before spotting them standing on the sidelines close by. I cut my way through the crowd, passing mostly gatherings of other military families, and returned salutes from a number of Marines still in uniform. Right now I was none too pleased by the protocol; I simply wanted to watch my kid play.
Willis turned as I approached and gave me a small grin as he held Olivia up on his shoulders. Little Liam stood beside him, quietly taking everything in.
"Hey, honey," he said, leaning down a little to kiss me. I kissed him back - technically not something we were supposed to do since Willis was in uniform this time, too - and I heard our daughter make a heaving noise.
I smirked as we broke apart and looked at her. "Hi, Liv. I see you up there, too."
"Hi, Mommy. We're watching Gabe play!"
"I know. Let's see how your big brother does." I walked over to where Liam was then and stood behind him, putting my hands on his small shoulders as I pulled him against me. "How about you, little man? You having fun yet, baby?"
"Uh-huh!" my youngest son cried. "Daddy said we get hotdogs after the game if Gabe scores a goal. I really hope he gets it in."
I laughed and exchanged a quick glance with Willis. "Well, I guess that's one way to get you guys engaged."
We watched without distractions for a while, cheering on Gabriel and his team as they hustled up and down the field. He had a good shot on goal at one point and both twins held their breath, waiting for the kick that would grant them a junk food dinner, but it didn't happen just yet. Gabe was beaten at the last second by one of the defenders on the other team, and then the ref blew the whistle for a corner kick that another kid on our team took.
"Aw," Liam whined, tugging on my arms and stepping up onto my boots to see better. "I wanted hotdogs."
"Li, there's still a lot of the game left so don't get discouraged, little buddy," my husband said. "And stop using your mother as a gym set."
What our youngest son was trying to do now was use my arms to hang off of. When he'd been smaller I'd been able to hold him up like that without a problem, but he'd grown a lot while Willis and I had been on Khan. Especially after a physically demanding day at the College, I didn't have enough left in me to get him off the ground. Luckily his dad's scolding did the trick and he stopped...for the moment.
Halftime finally came around and Willis set Olivia down to go run around the empty field for a while with her twin brother. In the meantime Gabe remained in a huddle with his team and their coaches on the other side.
"We need to look into getting the twins into something active, too," I said to Willis now that the kids were gone. "I don't think their day camp is taking good enough advantage of their energy levels."
"I can take them over to the park for a while during the second half. It's just down the street from here. I think they've stood still for as long as they possibly could."
I gave him a look. "Should I just tell them Gabe scored when you get back so we can have that barbecue?"
"Nah. We're doing it either way. They just don't know that."
We stood there side-by-side for another moment, not getting too close because of regulations while we were in uniform. I looked over at his though and wondered again how much longer I'd get to see him in it.
"Have you made a decision yet?" I asked quietly.
My husband folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "No. It's a big leap to make, Cooper. And I'm still not sure which way to jump." He sighed. "But I have to choose soon. The letter gave me fourteen days to make a move, and one week's almost gone already. I guess we'll find out soon."
I reached over to squeeze his arm in silent support when my datapad buzzed. I pulled it out of a pocket on my uniform jacket and frowned. "This is from the regiment," I said to him. "I'll be right back."
After stepping out of earshot, I answered the call. "Lieutenant Colonel Cooper here."
"Ma'am, this is Lieutenant Lloyd. Is this a bad time? I noticed you didn't stop by your office today, so I - "
"I'm at my kid's soccer game, Cal. I'm guessing it's important, so just tell me."
It was obvious he'd been spending time with Brewer again. She was the usually the one to get a little longwinded instead of cutting to the chase.
The ONI operative released a sigh on the other end, and that's how I knew for sure the news was bad. "I won't sugarcoat it, Colonel. I got the follow-up message from HighCom just now. The 52nd's going to Requiem."
I suddenly felt like someone had dropped a bucketful of ice on me, but I tried not to let it show. "How soon?"
"Two weeks, ma'am. That's all the time they're giving us to prepare, so they must need us out there ASAP."
"And the port - I mean, have they even found a way to get us there?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be giving you and Major Brewer the full briefing on that tomorrow. In the meantime, you're going to need to contact the Dean at the College and let him know about the situation so they can suspend your classes. HighCom's already approved of the departure for you, but it's best to check in just the same."
"Got it. I'll get that done in the morning then. Thanks for letting me know."
"No problem. I just wish the news had been better. Enjoy the rest of that game."
I'm going to have to now, I thought to myself as the connection cut, still in a bit of shock. This is going to be the last time in who knows how long that I'll get to see my son play.
I headed back to the sidelines in a daze, feeling sad and upset and overwhelmed all at the same time. I'd only just gotten home less than two months ago from a campaign that had cost me many precious lives - and almost my husband's and my own. I wasn't recovering from the huge blows that well so far, and I wondered how that might hamper my performance on Requiem. I was also in the middle of War College, Willis was going through a transitional phase of his career, and our three kids were expecting to have me around for almost a year. If I hadn't been sure of what to say to them before, I really didn't know how to share the news now that it was official.
Willis gave me a look as soon as I returned to his side with my arms crossed over my chest, refusing to make eye contact with him. "Natalie? What's up? Did something happen?"
"Don't take the kids to the park."
"Huh?"
"Can you guys just stay here while we watch Gabe, please? For me?"
My husband frowned. "Coop, what - "
"Hey, big brother! How's that high life as a major going?"
Both of us turned around at the voice, grinning when we saw who it was. Twenty-year-old Matthew Hawk in the flesh, dressed head to toe in fatigues that beared the symbol of the UNSC Marine Corps, and with one single stripe on his sleeve. It appeared the younger Hawk had come home early as a surprise. He stood there at perfect attention, saluting us, before Willis pulled him in for a hug.
"Christ, Matt! What are you doing here? You said you still had a couple more weeks!"
Matthew chuckled. "Got you, didn't I? Graduated earlier this week. Finally got time off to come see you guys now that I'm officially a PFC." He glanced over at me. "Like the new look, Nat?"
"Love it," I said, still beaming. "Come here, kid. Congratulations."
I gave my brother-in-law a hug as well, and then we stepped apart, taking in the newest member of the Corps in our family. Willis peppered his baby brother with questions, like how boot camp had been, how long he was on leave for, what his new unit was, etc. I stood there and listened for a while, then decided to leave the two brothers to it while I went to go get Liam and Liv off the field before the next half began. They went a little crazy too when they saw the new arrival, and ran off ahead of me yelling, "Uncle Matt!"
"Hey, guys!"
Matthew had only just met Gabriel and the twins when we'd gotten home from Khan. Before then he'd been presumed dead after the ship he was traveling on on a school trip during the War had been attacked by the Covenant. My brother-in-law had only been seven at the time, and Willis and I had just graduated high school together on Mars. We spent the next twelve years thinking he was dead until I'd found him in a rebel uniform one night on Khan during a skirmish with the locals.
His parents had only found out about his survival via video link at the end of our mission, and had seen him only once face-to-face when we'd stopped on Mars to pick up the kids on our way home. It'd been a happy and teary reunion, especially for his mother, and she'd been reluctant to let her younger son leave again when he'd announced his intention to ship off to boot camp right away. Eventually his parents had come to understand his desire, though, and had given him their blessing to attend.
"So how'd you even know where to find us?" I heard Willis ask Matthew then, continuing with the inquiries. Matthew started to reply when I cut him off.
"Honey, the poor kid just got here and you're bombarding him with questions," I said to Willis. "How about giving him a second to take it in and enjoy his nephew's game?"
Willis smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, okay. Sorry, little brother. I'll cool it and let you relax for a while." My husband looked over at me while the kids bounced with energy. "You sure you don't want me to run them over to the park for a few minutes? Might make for an easier night. They're even more hyped now that Matt's here."
"Okay. But don't be gone too long."
"We won't."
As Willis left with Liam and Olivia, the whistle went off again as the soccer game resumed. Matthew and I stood watching Gabe for a minute until he spoke.
"So...do I have to call you 'ma'am' now?"
I smirked. "Sure do. But only on official business. Here you don't need to worry about it so much. I take it you'll be staying with us a few days?"
"Yeah, I'd like to. After that I'm off to visit my parents on Mars. I'm sure they'll want to see the new uniform, and they've been calling and writing me nonstop. Sometimes I think they still can't quite believe I'm alive."
"It'll take them some time. It was crazy finding you out there after all these years. But don't worry. They'll get used to it eventually, like we did. We just got a lot more time with you on Khan."
"Yeah, I know. We'll work it out." He rubbed at his nearly bald head, his light brown hair shaved close to his scalp. "So what's the scoop on the homefront here? How's my brother doing?"
"We take it day by day. He's fully recovered from his wounds now, but his therapy to return to flight status hasn't been going well. They sent him a letter the other day saying he has two weeks to decide whether to keep at it for another few months, switch MOS, or leave the Corps."
"Ouch. What did he choose?"
I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think he's even decided himself yet." I let out a sigh then. "And there's more."
"What?"
I gave him a look. "I haven't told your brother yet, or your nephews or niece, so keep it on the down low."
"Okay."
"I'm shipping out in two weeks with the 52nd," I said in a rush.
His deep brown eyes went wide. "Holy shit. And you haven't told Will yet?"
"No. I just found out for sure a few minutes ago, actually. I didn't want to stir anything up until it was official, and now that it is...we're here, and you showed up. I was going to wait until we got home tonight, but I'm not...really sure what to say."
Matthew glanced down at his boots. "I get it. But how can they even order you to deploy? I thought you were studying at War College right now to make full colonel."
"I am. Apparently that doesn't matter when they need you bad enough."
"Guess so. Where are you guys going?"
I was about to tell him that I couldn't say when we heard someone clear their throat behind us. Matthew and I both turned around to see Willis standing there, the twins still coming up behind him. I hadn't even realized that much time had already gone by.
My husband's expression said he was anything but happy at the moment. He looked right at me with his hazel glare and said, "Natalie? What's this about shipping out? And who's going where?"
