Chapter Twelve: Passing the Mantel

1400 Hours, December 28, 2552. Near the City of Portoviejo, Ecuador. "The Relinquishing of Command," Planet Earth. Prologue to the Fate of Humanity

It took me a few days to really get used to the idea before I started to decide who I should tell. I wanted Willis to be the first, of course, but short of sending him a letchip, which I'd already done but would take ages for him to receive, there wasn't a way for me to get into contact with him. So it came down to Dean Lewis, my best friend and my XO. I'd have to tell him anyway, since he was going to have to take over a lot of my main duties as commanding officer of Bravo Company from now on.

After going through the morning's PT and training sessions with the company, I called him into my office before I started in on the afternoon paperwork. Bravo was scheduled for a combat patrol in about an hour, and he would wonder why I wasn't going when I didn't show up.

My new aide, Corporal Joshua Porter, stepped into the room first. He was a young kid of twenty-two, with short dark brown hair and blue eyes, and was always ready with a fierce scowl whenever anyone so much as mentioned the Covenant. I'd read in his file that, much like my first aide, his whole family had been killed when his homeplanet was glassed some years ago. He'd joined the Marines at seventeen, just before his parents and younger brother had died. Though his past and his attitude toward the Covenant made his personality rather dark at times, he was a pretty friendly and obedient kid when it came to interacting with fellow Marines or superior officers. I liked him a lot, and I hoped that this time, his being assigned as my aide wouldn't condemn him to an untimely death.

"Ma'am?" Dressed in an impeccable uniform as always, Corporal Porter stood and waited patiently for me to nod before going on. "First Lieutenant Dean Lewis is here to see you, Captain."

"Thank you, Corporal. Send him in."

"Right away, ma'am."

As soon as Lewis walked in, Porter shut the door behind himself. The lieutenant started to go into the proper military customs when I cut him off.

"Dean, this is kind of an informal meeting. Just go ahead and take a seat."

My friend gave me a questioning look, but didn't say anything other than, "Yes, ma'am," as he sat down. Once he noticed that I wasn't speaking yet, his expression intensified and grew a little more worried. "Natalie, is something the matter? Is that why you've called me in here on unofficial business?"

I chuckled as I leaned back in my chair. "No, I'm ok, Lewis. I just didn't want to have to deal with all the ritual beforehand."

Seeing that I was at ease, Lewis finally relaxed as well. The curious look on his face remained, though. "And may I inquire as to the purpose of this, then?"

"Sure." A slight smile formed on my face. "You know how you thought I was making myself sick with worry?"

"Yes," Lieutenant Lewis answered hesitantly.

"Well, let's just say it turns out I have a lot more in common with your wife than you think."

He stared at me with brows raised for quite some time before he finally understood. Then he let out a short laugh.

"Ah, I knew it, Cooper. I've no doubt William's near-death was an awful event for you to handle, regardless of your current circumstance, but you're normally not the sort to go blubbering about." He smiled. "Congratulations, Natalie. I know the two of you have been wanting this for a while now."

"Yeah. Thanks, Dean. I'm really happy, and I can't wait to tell Will." I suddenly frowned. "It's just, I've also inadvertently caused a ton of problems for the company now, too. I was hoping to get that all straightened out as soon as possible."

Dean nodded. "I am here to help, Captain."

"Well, first of all, you know I'm not going to be commanding in the field anymore, so you're going to effectively be Bravo Company's commander from now on."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll still handle all the logistics and administration stuff, but once I meet with Phillips, he's going to restrict me from field duty. I'm trusting you to step up for that, Lewis."

"Of course, ma'am."

"As far as what else goes on on my end of things, I'll try to help you guys out as much as I'm able. I can still plan maneuvers, but I can't do any of the actual fighting for you guys. You have to be my eyes and ears on the ground, Dean."

"I understand perfectly, Captain."

"And then there's still the problem of first platoon." I let out a sigh, then met my friend's gaze once more. "I think it's finally time to promote Hillburn to first lieutenant, Lewis, and let her take over officially."

My XO quirked an eyebrow at me. "You believe she is ready now?"

I contemplated the question carefully before I replied, "In some ways, she still has a lot to learn. I noticed a few things in particular during Operation Everest that I didn't necessarily feel were good leadership qualities. But she also proved herself, especially in the forest battle, and she's been doing well ever since." I shrugged. "She's solid, Dean, and I need a permanent platoon leader. I really think Hillburn's the answer."

"Very well," Lewis said. "It is your call, Captain, so I'll go along with that. Anything else?"

Suddenly grinning, I answered, "Oh, yeah, Dean. There's a lot more."

My best friend groaned in mock disappointment, and then we both settled in on ironing out some of Bravo Company's issues---not the least of which was the changing of command.

It was during the talk with my executive officer that I started to feel a pang of regret. Not for getting pregnant, of course, but for no longer being able to lead my own company because of it. Even if temporarily, I was going to have to let Bravo, my Marines, go. That was a hard reality for me to accept.

I was going to have to entrust the lives of my men to someone else…and, even though that someone else was Dean and I trusted him fully, I still didn't like that fact at all.