Carrion sat alone in the galley, prodding at her food with her fork. She sighed as she dropped the fork onto the tray. A voice drew her attention as Wander dropped into the seat across from her.
"You left this in the conference room." He held out the bag of her clothes and she accepted it. "How was it to see your family?" she smiled at the memories.
"It was good. My father sent a recording with them. He regrets yelling at me for joining the military. He also said he'd be keeping tabs on us." She still got a warm feeling when the images of her brother being rolled in by her mother flashed through her mind. "Mother on the other hand, well she's very worried about me. My brother just said to be careful and keep kicking ass." He smiled at her. It faded before he spoke.
"And what happened with riley." Her eyes dropped down to her food again as she spoke.
"We were getting along fine until he said that our relationship was done. He hadn't known I had joined the army. Turns out, he hates the military. Only came to tell me to leave, then berate me on the 'wickedness' of my choices. Just a load of horseshit." She glanced up to look at him. He seemed to be waiting for her to continue.
"There's more to it than that isn't there?" she nodded and he gestured for her to continue.
"He was only trying to get back with me cause his ratings plummeted when he cheated on me. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come at all." She tried to hold back her tears as she spoke. She was shocked when he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hang in there, okay? The right person for you is a lot closer than you realize." She stared at him in shock as memories from the earlier night shot through her mind.
"What are you talking about Wander?" She leaned back a little as she spoke.
"Come on carrion, are you really that thick? There was someone you yelled at, slapped, and insulted, and yet, he was still right there for you." She nodded as she realized who he meant.
"But, there's no way you'd… you wouldn't, would you?" he raised an eyebrow, barely able to hold back his amusement. She rushed to simply say what she meant. "I mean, you wouldn't let us. We are squad mates, isn't it against the regs?" he smiled as he spoke.
"Well, why don't you take a good long look at Reynolds and Sánchez sometime? You'll find your answer. Elevator drops in twenty minutes. Might want to change." He stood and left. She checked her watch and leapt to her feet. Her room wasn't far, but changing clothes would be tight. She scrambled into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt before rushing to the airlock. It was open and robles was waiting with Wander, who had simply traded his uniform top for a beat up leather jacket. His dog tags were loose over his t-shirt. He nodded to robles and led the way to the elevator.
They climbed into seats inside the elevator and lowered the harness rigs into place. A tech came by a few seconds later to make sure they were all secure, then left. The doors closed and the lights shut off, replaced by a single spinning yellow caution light. There was a sudden jerk, followed by a familiar downward drop. She felt her stomach seem to rise into her throat as the elevator rocketed downward. There was a second lurch, this time in the reverse direction, as magnetic brakes slowed the compartment down until one final jerk signaled their stop. The clamps released and the group marched out into the elevator facility, instantly making for the street.
I stepped out of the terminal and into New Alexandria's crowded streets. Beasley was already hailing down taxis for himself and the team. My feet turned down the familiar street, moving away from the rest of my squad. I felt a hand grab my arm and I spun to find Carrion staring into my eyes.
"Where do you think you're going L-T?" she smiled at me as she spoke, looking almost like a teenager in her jacket. I quickly remembered that she technically still was as I spoke
"Just something I have to do." I smiled back to her, somehow knowing she would see right through it. Her smile faded, seeing the pain in mine.
"Ok. Come join us afterword. Okay?" I nodded and turned away, continuing down the street. I let myself walk the familiar path, quickly finding the flower shop. I stepped in, the clerk behind the counter instantly frowned when he saw me.
"Same thing this time kid?" I nodded as he grabbed the rose from one of his containers.
"Thanks, how much?" he shook his head as he spoke.
"No Wander, call it a gift." I nodded and toke the flower. The man had been helping out at the Actium memorial when I had first met him.
"Thanks. You're not going to see me again after this. Not for a long time." He nodded to me as another customer came in.
"Goodbye, take care of yourself out there." I turned and stepped out of the small store, continuing down the familiar street. I found the old cemetery and walked in, seeing the Actium memorial. The memorial was a massive granite slab with the names of the known lost on it. There were more than five million names on the wall. Nearby, where the graves of those whose bodies were recovered. I walked up to Mikayla's grave, crouching at the simple headstone. I fingered the quote I had them etch into the hard stone.
Through ash and dust, wind and rain, life and death, I always will be, by your side.
"Mikayla, I'm so sorry. I should've seen that round coming. I shouldn't have let you step in front of me. I should be in that grave not you." Tears flowed down my cheeks as I spoke the words I had thought for years. "I wish I could go back. Do the things I should've done. Shown you my love, not hidden it from you. Mikayla, I…. just want you back." I set the rose down at the base of the headstone, as well as my dog tags. My hand stayed by the flower as I let my tears flow.
Carrion watched as Wander cried at the tombstone, knowing whose it was. He hadn't moved in several minutes as she worked up the courage to talk to him. She walked up behind him and crouched beside him, wrapping her arm around him.
"Dan, it's ok." He barely reacted to her as he spoke.
"No it's not. I should be in that grave, not her." Carrion glanced at the stone, seeing the quote on it.
"Through ash and dust, wind and rain, life and death, I have and always will be, by your side. May I ask what it means?" he still didn't look up as he spoke.
"It's an old poem I said to her when we were young. It was her last words to me." He seemed to have stopped crying but he still didn't look at her.
"Dan, you are right where you belong. She saw that you could do things no one else could, and she gave her life to make sure you got that chance." His eyes locked with hers and she saw more sadness in them than she thought someone could even feel.
"And how could you know that, you never met her." She dropped her eyes as she spoke.
"Because it's what I would've done." She felt his head lean against hers as he spoke.
"I know. You know, you remind me of her so much." She backed off from him a little, raising an eyebrow at him. "I mean, she was as stubborn as a mule too." She chuckled slightly before speaking
"Fair enough. You have a team to take care of now. A family, you know that right? They're all waiting for you." He nodded and they stood up together. He hugged her, holding on longer than he should have.
"Thank you Maria. I, honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you right now." She walked with him to the street to hail a cab for them.
"You'd still be an asshole. Damien picked out a bar he knows. Told me the address." He smiled at her as he wiped away the last traces of tears from his eyes.
"Just thanks." A taxi pulled up on the street corner and they stepped into the back seat.
"Where to?" the driver was in his late sixty's.
"Um, I think it's called the Marina? I know it's out by the water front." The taxi driver smiled.
"Alright, I know the place. Aint as dingy and dirty as most bars. Well kept. If I may ask, what were you two doin in a cemetery?" Wander spoke up before she could.
"I'm from Actium. Have a friend who is buried in there. My squad mate just decided to go with me." He nodded as he drove. Wander stared out the window, almost as if he was unwilling to look her in the eye. Carrion's eyes bounced to his thigh, shocked. He still had his pistol on his side.
"Where did you get that?" she pointed at the weapon as she spoke. He pulled it from the holster, removing the magazine and handing it to her.
"It's a remake of a centuries old design. Called an M1911A1. Uses forty-five ACP ammunition. Doesn't have the punch of the M-6 but, well my father gave it to me, just in case the covenant showed up on Actium. Same time that he started teaching me to shoot." She nodded and they remained silent for the rest of the trip. She handed the pistol back before they stepped out and he put the mag back in and slipped the weapon back into the holster.
"Don't worry about the tab. I was on arcadia when it fell. Wouldn't be alive if soldiers like you hadn't saved my ass." She waved to him as Wander closed the door. She marched into the bar with him to find it empty of all patrons. The only occupants were the squad and some of their families. Beasley marched over and slapped a beer into each of their hands before shouting at the room.
"To Fire team Wraith!" the chant was echoed through the room and she raised her glass as she repeated it. Once they all had, she brought the drink to her mouth and took one long swig.
Beasley sat in the back of the room with me, both of us drinking quietly as the rest of the team partied. Ryan had been smuggling Anderson's younger sister beers for the past hour. Now the two of them were on the dance floor, along with bale and carrion, Kawa and Holden, and Sánchez and Reynolds. Locals were now trickling in for drinks. A lot of them were joining the somewhat wild party.
"You seem a bit off Wander." I glanced at Beasley as I toke a swig of my beer. My left hand instinctively dropped to the small necklace in my pocket. No one knew I carried it.
"Just visited Mikayla's grave, that's all." He looked puzzled for a second. "The friend from Actium." He nodded and we sat in silence for a while. I found that my attention was following carrion out on the dance floor. She had let her hair down, which easily fell down below her shoulders. It was also naturally slightly wavy, making it seem styled at times. She had mentioned to me that her family was originally from Spain, and her parents had moved to Verent just after her older brother had been born to work on the dig sight there. Beasley grunted beside me. "What?"
"Oh, I'm just not so sure that carol was wrong about you and carrion." I raised an eyebrow at him.
"And why is that?" he curled with laughter.
"Aw come on Dan, at both this party and the last one, you haven't taken your eyes off her! You gave up your family time to her, you go out of your way to keep her on this team! You like her, don't you?" I shook my head at him.
"Damion, I think you need to get your head checked. Besides, she likes bale, just won't admit It." he gave me a questioning look.
"Or is that just you're way of saying you won't admit you like her? That sounds more like an excuse to me." He smirked at me as I glared back at him.
"Why don't you finish that beer and drink a bottle of whiskey while you're at it. Maybe, you'll start thinking clearer." He just laughed.
"Only if you do it with me." We went back to drinking in silence when a local girl came over and asked Beasley to join her on the dance floor. He showed her his wedding band, and promptly shoved me out toward her. There was something distinctly familiar about her brown hair and blue eyes.
"Go get her tiger!" I glared at him as I hollered back.
"When we get back from this Sergeant, I'm kicking your ass!" the local simply laughed with Beasley. The music stopped as the live band changed to a different song. The girl and I had just started dancing when a boson whistle caught all our attention, I faced the door and saluted as robles marched in. the music came to a stop at the sight of two fully armored marines flanking her.
"At ease people. I'm sorry but we just got orders. Leave is canceled. There is a pelican waiting outside to take us up to the ship for immediate deployment. I'm sorry guys, wasn't my call." She strode out of the bar and I turned to my team as they gathered around me.
"You heard her, say your goodbyes, then mount up. Move out Wraiths!" I watched them as they said goodbye to their family and friends before I turned toward the local girl.
"Look I'm sorry. Thanks for the dance." She smiled at me.
"Don't worry about it soldier boy. Go save the galaxy. I'll be here if you ever want to finish that dance." She trotted off to the bar and I marched out, waiting for all of them to board the pelican before I stepped on. Ryan was the last to get on, having sprinted out of the bar at the last second. Patrons from the bar gathered outside to watch as the ship lifted off the ground and the door closed, blocking my view of the street below.
"Captain, what's going on Ma-am?" she was standing at the front of the hold, holding on to the cargo net.
"We received a distress beacon three weeks ago from a planet less than a week away. It's not on any known charts and it wasn't a military probe. But it was human. All the probe had was coordinates and the S.O.S call. So Admiral Freemont sent three stalwart class frigates to investigate. They should have been back by now. We are being sent to investigate. Overlord, Gettysburg, and Normandy will be stationed at the edge of the system. If we hit trouble, they are our only back up." I nodded and we rode through the rest of the flight in silence. As soon as we arrived on the ship, robles ran to the bridge. A few minutes later, a klaxon alarm sounded and the ship's communications officer came over the intercom.
"All hands, prepare for slip space jump. I repeat, all hands, prepare for slip space jump. Countdown, ten, nine, eight" techs were scrambling to secure our pelican. "Seven, six, five," I braced up against a crate. "Four, three, two, one, mark!" the ship jolted as its engines fired. There was a massive vibration, almost like an earthquake, then the ship went still, as if it wasn't moving at all.
"All hands, this is your captain speaking. I know we weren't due for a mission for another month but Admiral Freemont has given us an urgent mission. There is a star system less than a week's travel from here. By all records, it's uninhabited. Three weeks ago, we received a probe carrying an S.O.S. this was not a military signal people. Freemont sent the Aquarius, the Twilight, and the Saint Paul Jones to investigate. We have not heard back. Our orders are to discover the fates of his frigates, assist any rescue efforts and report back. All hands, condition yellow. We go red as soon as we hit the system. You have five days. Robles out." Condition yellow meant to you double check all gear and make sure it was combat ready. I made a circle in the air above my head and my unit regrouped on my position.
"Alright, get some sleep. Tomorrow, at O' eight hundred, I want you in the drop bay going over your gear, then we start going over all information we have on the local area. Dismissed." I followed them through the ship until we reached the cabin, stepping into mine and collapsing on the bed. Sleep didn't seem to want to come as I lay awake, fingering the necklace. It was a small silver heart, with a small blue gem in the center, also shaped as a heart. It had been a gift to Mikayla, at her fifteenth birthday. I put it on in place of my dog tags before rolling over to sleep.
Bale woke up, his head throbbing slightly. He shook himself off the bunk and started dressing. He heard the shower running. Clearly, Jones was already up. The shower shut off as he laced up his boots. Jones marched out a few minutes later, fully dressed. They nodded to each other and stepped out. Bale barely noticed as he ate breakfast. They marched into the drop bay and started checking their gear as soon as they were in there. He knew they were early but they didn't care. Wander was already down there, and all of his gear was ready to go. He was standing at one of the Holo tables with Colten, looking over the basic survey data on the screen in front of them. Their voices were too quiet to really hear. After a few minutes, Carrion and Sánchez joined them. Carrion winked at him and a chill ran down his spine. He could still clearly remember the night before, dancing with her. Both he and Jones were finished with their gear at O' eight hundred. Everyone else had trickled in, checking their own gear. The six Spartans were using the racks across the bay for their weapons. All of which looked cleaned, oiled and ready to go. The group slowly gathered around the table until Anderson trotted over. He was always a little slower with his gear. Wander's voice pierced the bay, suddenly enough that some of them jumped.
"Lights" and the lights dimmed. "Me and Colten have been up for three hours, looking this data over. There are two possible places a population could be sustained. There is an old attempt at mining in the asteroids here. It has pressurized bays that could potentially hold up to four frigates. But, the facilities there could maybe sustain seventy people. At least, that's what it was forty years ago. At about the same time, there was a research base on the fifth planet in the system" he glided the holographic viewer between each point as he spoke, showing the team these locations. "That research base was fully manned until about three weeks before it was shut down, same time as the mining base. It had a fully sustainable group of bio domes running off a reactor system deep in the planet. These bio domes supported close to a thousand employees, and it was built for easy expansion. Estimates say, with modification, this could be a sizable colony." Carrions voice was the first to interrupt them.
"Why didn't it get turned into a colony?" a few others murmured in agreement. The Spartans didn't seem to move or react at all.
"First the planet is a snow world. Not rich in minerals and with only a small band near the equator that melts. No natural life on the planet. Too cold for it. Bacteria doesn't count. So a planet that would cost more to colonize than it produced? Not really viable." Bale raised his hand and Colten pointed him out. "Speak up Bale."
"Sir, what do we know about the slip space probe?" Colten responded to this.
"It's close to thirty years old. But well maintained. Made multiple jumps. We ran the serial number and it came back as destroyed in jump almost thirty years ago. We believe it was stolen." Bale nodded as Wander continued.
"Now the air on the surface is thin, but breathable. Zero point eight-three G's of gravity, so a little lighter than we like. The bio domes were for the cold. It routinely drops close to negative sixty. General high is about negative ten degrees Celsius. Luckily, our armor is rated down to negative ninety. It may get cold, but we will survive." Ryan spoke up next.
"Has there been any traffic since it was abandoned?" Colten nodded as he spoke.
"No official activity. But there have been whispers. Particularly in the past seven years." Wander cut across him, clearly saying almost rehearsed lines.
"Most of these whispers have been about hyper cold temps at the colony. Mainly spoken of by insurrection groups at Verent, arcadia, and tribute. Add this to unregistered slip space sigs that were followed here. We've sent probes, but never detected activity. Best Intel was actually captured by Mason, Sánchez, and Reynolds four years ago. Said they were going to swing by the colony on the way to reach. Probably trade ships. The response asked if it was still cold there. Recovered from an indie Charon class frigate. Its Nav banks were wiped." Colten jumped back in at this.
"ONI shelved this info. If we didn't have mason on the ship, we wouldn't even know about It." one of the Spartans spoke up. Her name was Samantha if he remembered correctly.
"Commander, are you two saying that humans destroyed our ships?" she seemed almost afraid of the insurrectionists. Reynolds was surprisingly the one to answer.
"I remember that op. we took a prisoner at the boundaries. He actually surrendered. Reason he said was that he didn't want to kill humans. Kept saying that they had no problem with the UNSC, just wanted to be left alone. Sánchez's captain, um, well she..." Sánchez finished his statement.
"She executed the man. No trail, no reason for it. Said he was just messing with our heads." Wander cut back in as she finished.
"And mason thinks that prisoner was telling the truth. He also thinks that distress call wasn't a lure. He has a hunch that the covenant are involved. But be prepared for anything. We know this group had the skill to steal three Shiva class nukes from the UNSC. Det codes with them." The group fell into silence as bale glanced at Carrion. His gaze lingered there longer than he should've let it. He almost missed Colten and Wander's synchronized call.
"Alright, Dismissed!" most of the group idled around the holo table as they checked the time. Samantha moved over to Sánchez and she spoke quietly enough that Bale almost missed it.
"Can we talk? Privately?" Sánchez smiled at her.
"Of course! What about?" Samantha seemed nervous about it. Bale glanced at carrion, who was acting like she was tying her boot laces.
"Well, I don't want to say. It's not urgent but, I honestly would prefer now, rather than later." Sánchez tried to sound gentle as she spoke.
"Can it wait until after lunch? I need to make some recordings for home. So if the worst comes to pass. Should only be me and carrion in our cabin then if you'll meet there." Sam shook her head as she spoke.
"No, not with carrion." Carrion straightened up and spoke of her own will.
"Don't worry about it. I won't be there. Hey Haden, want to go for a run after lunch?" he did his best to make it seem like he hadn't been listening in.
"Oh, um sure Maria. Sounds like fun." She smiled at him and his gut turned to jelly.
"Um thanks. I'll see you then, I guess. Bye Corporal." With that, Sam turned and marched after the other Spartans.
Sánchez let her head drop into her hands. She had left a recorded message for her brother, should she die. She also left one for Reynolds. It took her a lot longer than she thought to put the right words in them. She glanced at her clock to find that it was well past lunch time and her stomach grumbled. A knock at her door drew her attention and she opened it. Sam was standing on the other side, in full armor. Her helmet was under the crook of her arm.
"Hey Sánchez. Are you busy?" she smiled and let her in.
"No, not at all." Samantha returned her smile weakly. She stepped in and placed her jet black helmet on the desk. "So why the armor?" she shrugged as the door closed.
"Robles wants the Spartans in gear during a yellow alert. Our armor can take up to fifteen minutes to be fully activated." Sánchez nodded and sat down in one of the chairs.
"So you wanted to talk to me?" she paced back and forth in the room, clearly having trouble finding words.
"Well, I tried to ask Wander yesterday. He told me to ask you. Because you were female, and he said I'd realize the other reason with you." Sánchez raised her eyebrow at her. "Well, It's about Colten."
"Ok, what about him?" her pacing became even more frantic.
"Well, me and Colten knew each other before we were Spartans. And, well, every time I'm near him, I get this feeling, like someone has tied a knot in my gut. And I start to worry about stupid things." Sánchez stared at her expectantly. When the Spartan didn't seem to notice, she finally spoke.
"Stupid things like what?" Samantha came to a stop and finally made eye contact with her.
"Like whether he is looking at me, or what he thinks about me. Or if he is even thinking about me. Above all, I worry about what I look like." Sánchez unsuccessfully suppressed a giggle. The Spartan glared at her.
"This is serious Sánchez! Will you please stop laughing?!" Sánchez finally brought the giggle under control.
"Well, I know why he sent you to me. Well Samantha, I think you have contracted a very painful thing in our line of work." She grinned at the almost horror on Sam's face.
"What is it so I can get rid of it!" she grinned as she responded.
"You love him you silly girl!" the Spartan gave her a quizzical look. "Don't tell me you don't know what love is?" she nodded as she spoke.
"I know what love is! I… just, this can't be love? Love is supposed to feel good isn't it?" Sánchez shook her head.
"Not always. Love is very complex. It's part trust, part caring, and part attraction. Some might say lust but I disagree. You can be attracted to someone and not want to screw them. I know you trust him. And when you really love someone, you are willing to give your life for them." She was silent for a while as she thought.
"So how do you know if someone loves you back?" Sánchez thought for a second.
"Well, its obvious isn't it? Ask yourself if he has ever shown an inclination to be around you, more so than others. Attraction. Then, ask if he trusts you. Trust. And finally, ask if he has ever put your life before his. Caring." Samantha stayed silent. She shook her head after a while.
"I don't think he has ever shown caring toward me." Sánchez stood and stopped her pacing.
"It may not be that obvious. Even if it's an extreme want to protect you. A good commander does love his troops. Maybe not romantically, but he does." She nodded.
"Well, I'm going to head out. Thank you for the help." She smiled at Sánchez, clearly still lost in thought.
"I'm always here for you. And don't ask Wander for help on matters of the heart. He has his own problems there." She returned the smile as Sam moved for the door.
Carrion walked through the halls with Bale when she suddenly froze. There was music filling the hallway their bunks were in. she pressed her ear to each door, trying to find the source. She finally placed her ear on Wander's door. She could hear the words almost clear as day.
"Today, today live like a warrior! Let yesterday burn and throw it in the fire, in a fire, in a fire! Fight like a warrior!" she looked at bale, completely confused.
"Have you ever heard Wander listening to music?!" he shook his head equally bewildered. She glanced down the hall to see Holden stick his head out of a doorway.
"Who's playing that? It's good. Never heard it before." Carrion trotted over to him to speak clearer.
"It's wander." His jaw dropped to the floor. "I know, we are all reacting like that." The door to her cabin slid open as Sam stepped out and froze.
"Hey, I like this song! Sarah has it. Who's playing it?" Sánchez stuck her head out the door as Samantha spoke.
"Curiously enough, wander." They both toke on bewildered looks as carrion knocked on his door. Half the squad seemed to have gathered around the door. The song changed as he answered the door. As soon as it opened, the music became crystal clear.
"I waited for you….today. but you didn't show, no no." this time, the singer was female.
"What?" Wander seemed equally confused as the group.
"Is that you playing this music?" she listened carefully, following the sadder slower music. Something about it made her want to sing and dance with it.
"Yeah, so what? Can't a bad-ass covenant slaying ass kicker listen to music? I do like some softer things ya know." The group seemed to recoil slightly. Samantha broke the silence.
"Where did you find it?" the group seemed to nod in agreement.
"I found it on the ships archives. I didn't know the first song, but I know this one. They are all from the twentieth and twenty-first century. This one is never alone, originally by a woman called Barlow Girl. Heard it back home a lot." The group just stared at him. He spoke again as he leaned away. "Well, um yall are getting creepy so I'm going to go…" he pointed back into his room as he spoke. The door sealed and the group seemed frozen like statues.
"Well, he's um, different than he's been." Everyone nodded in agreement to Holden's statement. The group slowly dispersed until only Carrion and Bale remained.
"Well, that was… different. Anyway, I'll see ya at dinner Maria." He hugged her and she returned it, still listening to the music. She pressed her ear to the door, and she could swear she heard him singing along with a male singer. Something along the lines of 'if I fall for you'. She shrugged and stepped into her cabin.