Chapter Fourteen
December 20 2536, Sargasso

"Colonel Fant, I've brought Ms. Ward." Carolina looked around, they were in a conference room of all places. It was completely empty except Colonel Fant and someone he was talking to, sitting in a high back chair. She couldn't see the person sitting there, but from the voices it was a female.

The Colonel dismissed the marine, "Carolina, how are the children?"

"Looking for their friends and family, and taking a much needed rest. They've been through a lot."

The woman in the chair stood, "How have you been, Carolina?" It was Emily, her sister. She was in her ONI uniform, but she had a large smile on her face.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" Carolina ran over and hugged her sister.

She hugged her back, "I was here for two days on business, I was going to give you a call, but the Covenant showed up."

"Then you know about Will?"

Emily nodded, "I do. Don't worry, I've got a message that went out on one of the civilian transports. The information will be put to good use."

Carolina nodded, and hugged her sister again, "I'm so glad you're here, and safe. One less thing to worry about now."

"It's good to see you too, now why don't we catch up on some things."

"Ajax, Jacquelyn, this is my sister, Emily. She works for the Office of Naval Intelligence," Carolina said, some hours later. They were gathering for a briefing about the next transport leaving the planet with most of the children and families that arrived after the first transports left.

"I hear you two are quite the students," Emily said. "Lieutenant Ward, at your service." They greeted her, and watched as a bunch of people filed into the room. Emily headed up to the front of the room, and grabbed a small microphone so everyone could hear her. "Attention, everyone. Quiet please." She waited a few seconds, "We are about to begin boarding the next transport, you and three other rooms will be taken on board, and we will leave as soon as possible. The Covenant are still in orbit, so we will try to out run them with a low-atmosphere flight to get around the planet."

She waited a bit while people talked among themselves, "There is no promise that if you choose not to board that there will be a better opportunity to leave, and there is always the chance of glassing. So if you want to leave, get your stuff together. Some Marines will be arriving in twenty minutes to guide you to the ship. Stay calm and orderly as you move to the ship."

Jacquelyn looked up at Carolina, "Ms. Ward, are you getting on this ship as well?"

"Me? No. I'll be staying with my sister. We'll be taking an ONI ship once the Civilians are gone."

Ajax stepped over, "Can I stay?"

"What about-"

"My family didn't make it. They weren't on the list," he said, cutting her off. They had made a list of all people currently in the base, and shown it to everyone, trying to help reunite family members. "I want to help everyone else."

She paused, "I can't ask you to do that."

"I'm not getting on that ship, so let me help."

Carolina nodded, "Very well."

Jacquelyn looked at Ajax, "Are you sure, you might not make it?"

"Are the chances any better if I get on that transport?"

"Well, not really-"

"Exactly."

Emily walked over, having finished her speech, "We should head to the ship to see if everything is ready."

"Ajax has decided to help us. He has no one to evacuate with," Carolina said softly, trying to be polite.

She nodded, "Bring him with us then."

As the group started to walk away, Carolina with a hand on Ajax's shoulder leading him, Jacquelyn followed after them, "If Ajax is staying, then I am too."

"Jacquelyn, you should go meet up with your-"

"They'll be fine. Ajax is my friend, he saved all our lives, and I want to help him help everyone."

Emily laughed, "Seems like we have our crew then."

"You can't be serious? They're students!" Carolina said.

"You told me they were a resourceful and smart group, if she wants to help, let her." Emily kept walking, "Frankly, we need all the help we can get."

Carolina looked at the young girl, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Definitely. I want to do this."

"Then come with us," she said, and led the two students after Emily. Under her breath she muttered, "Stubborn girl... Going to get herself killed." Ajax heard her, and a small smile formed on his face.

December 18 2536, Covenant Shipyard Crafted Virtue (UNSC Asteroid ID K7-49)

Will closed the door to the bathroom, and started the water. It only took a few minutes for the tub to fill, and that was his limit of backing out of this. He nervously avoided looking toward Kev as he pulled his shirt off. "Will, are you going to help me?"

He looked over his should when he heard his name, and instantly winced on the inside. Kev was trying to pull her clothes off, shifting her weight around in the wheelchair. "Sure, Kev," he answered, going to help her. He stripped her naked, and by that time the tub was full. He carefully picked her up, and set her in the water. She leaned back against the side as her casts floated on the surface.

He finished undressing, and got in next to her. He noticed she avoided looking at him while he got in. "Is it too hot?" He asked, trying to be casual about things.

"The water? No, no the water's fine..." She said, stuttering a bit. "But, you're rather attractive with your clothes off."

Will looked at the wall, "Oh, uh, thanks. You too... I mean... I haven't seen any other Jackals with their clothes off, so I don't really know... You're cute." He was equally as awkward as she was. They sat in silence for a while, only the occasional splash as the quietly washed themselves.

"Can you wash my back?" Kev asked suddenly.

Will finally turned to look at her, and she had her back to him, "Uh, yeah." He grabbed a wash cloth and gently rubbing it along her shoulder blades. "On one condition though."

She looked over her shoulder at him, "What?"

He smiled, "Wash mine afterward."

"Of course," she blushed, and looked back at the wall. Will ran the cloth all along her back, blushing as his hand slid down toward her ass. He could feel her muscles and spine, and realized just how much she trusted him to present herself so undefended. After a few minutes she spoke again, "Will, you don't need to wash everything twice... Once was good enough."

He blushed, and pulled his hand away, "Sorry."

She smiled, "I was enjoying it as well, but we can't spend all night in here. Now hand me the cloth." He gave it to her, and turned around. He felt her three fingers gently touch the middle of his back, and start to gently rub him. She moved slowly, taking her time, and occasionally her other hand would find it's way to gently touch his side.

Will sat there, his face red, and tried his best not to think about anything at all. When it started to get too awkward, he decided to say something. "Kev, I think that's good enough. You can-"

She cut him off, wrapping her arms around his chest. He felt her body press up against him. "I love you."

Nese put her drink down, and gracefully sat in a chair. She had a smile on her face, though it was forced. She had been trying to put on a show like she was enjoying herself, when she really just wanted to leave. She had told Yen that if she couldn't get away, that after a certain time she should invent some sort of problem to get her out, and that was still an hour away.

Vare sat across from her, a smug grin on his face. He obviously believed her lie, and thought that he had managed to improve his chances with her. "Are you enjoying your time on the shipyard, Nese?"

She nodded her head once, "It is an impressive facility, and this close to Human space must only make it that more important."

"We are the front most refit station for our ships, and we are ever growing. In a few short months we'll have our next docking port finished, and that's one more ship we can repair at a time." He was obviously proud of his accomplishments, and trying to show off his status and power.

"Yes, well, I will hopefully be able to understand Humans enough that this mindless violence will turn into a proper cleansing," she almost couldn't finish her sentence, her views on Humanity had changed so much since she met Will.

He laughed, "I hope your research is successful as well. While making our campaign easier is a great task, it would put me out of a job."

She laughed, "I did not mean to diminish your work, Vare. My apologies."

"What do you say that you give me than apology as a kiss?" He grinned. Nese had not expected him to be so forward all of a sudden, and she was speechless. He stood and moved to her chair, kneeling beside her, "Well, Nese?"

She slapped him, as hard as she could. "How dare you speak that way to me!" He sat there, his head still turned from the force of the slap. She stood, and quickly moved toward the door. "This is over, and if you ever try to force yourself on me with twisted words, I shall have you removed from your position."

Yen looked completely shocked, and barely recovered enough to follow Nese out of the room. She had to jog to keep up with her, "Priestess, was that really a wise choice?"

She growled, "At this point, I don't care if it was or not. He deserved it."

They walked back into their room, and found Will sitting out in the study area. He looked back at them, "Back so soon?"

Nese went straight into her room and sealed the door. Yen slowly walked over, "It did not end well."

"What happened?"

"He was, as expected, overly confident and tried to get her to kiss him. She slapped him, and we left."

"Bastard, I knew he was jerk. I'm going to go make sure she's okay," he jumped up and headed for her door, leaving Yen standing there. He knocked, "Nese... It's Will." He opened the door, and stepped inside. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor. "Nese, are you okay?"

She sighed, "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's completely understandable," he said, slowly moving to sit next to her. "He's a jerk, sometimes they just need a good slap upside the head."

She shook her head, "In your culture, maybe. I should have maintained my composure, and declined with grace, continued the conversation, and then left at an appropriate time. I could get in a lot of trouble from this. I might loose my position, or even be declared as unfit for mating."

Will was surprised, "That seems overly harsh."

"It's the truth, I assaulted a warrior, and one of power even." Will wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. They sat there, before she eventually turned and pressed her face against his shoulder. He hugged her, and gently rubbed her back.

Author's Notes: Bleep Bloop Achievement Unlocked: Two Cliffhangers in a Single Chapter 30GS - Seriously though, this chapter probably had the most back and forth on ideas and dialog than any chapter before it. Some of the things I came up with were so dark this would have needed an AO rating... So enjoy it, and use your imagine to come up with what it could have been. =3