Chapter 19

October 15, 2552 on the human calendar, Triumphant Declaration, leaving orbit of High Charity, Holy City of the Covenant

The repulsor engines of the Covenant CCS-class battle cruiser hummed hypnotically as the lead ship in the Fleet of Furious Redemption pulled away from the hub of the Covenant empire. Shipmaster Lepidus looked over the readiness states of the ships under his command with satisfaction. The Brute chieftain smiled to himself as he thought of all that had been accomplished of late. The Elites had been brought under heel and now the Jiralhanae were in their rightful place of prominence. His battle group was part of a larger one under the Prophet of Truth that would once and for all annihilate the human vermin that had so infected the galaxy with their reckless ambition. While Truth and his cohorts had talked about a search for holy relics that they believed would be found in the Sol System he was not quite so religious though he would respectfully defer to the Prophet who had brought together such a large and diverse coalition. No, his actions were holy in a way but were more a holy war of extermination.

Despite his bulk and aggressive demeanor Lepidus was a deep thinker and shrewd tactician. He knew that the fleet he was part of was paltry compared to the one that had taken Reach and that did concern him. Earth's defenses would be vaster and they would be ready. On Reach they had the element of surprise but not here.

"All is prepared, shipmaster," Mygaeum, the second in command of the cruiser and member of Lepidus' clan confirmed. "What are your orders?"

"We wait for the word from the prophets," Lepidus replied, his eyes fixed on the view screen and again contemplating the odds.

"Hmm," the shaggy, tan furred Brute snorted, "how long do we wait on their kind to make decisions? I tire of their dithering."

"Careful, Mygaeum," Lepidus rumbled. "Even our ships have ears."

The aggressive nine foot tall Brute snorted again derisively. "Yes, yes, proper deference to our wise prophets," he stated, but the aggressive warrior added, "I just want to know when. We've waited too long."

"Patience, my friend," the clan chief and shipmaster replied calmly, "The time will come as will the time of the Jiralhanae. One step at a time."

Lepidus understood the frustration of his eager clansman. They'd fought together for years but he could wait, especially when it profited him and his race. For now he would play the obedient soldier.

Their conversation was interrupted by a blinking red light on his command console. That was the signal they'd all be waiting for.

"Brothers, he roared, "the time has come for conquest and glory, take us out of orbit."

The Brutes around bellowed in joy as the ship began to pull away from the home city of the Covenant.

October 15, 2552, 0645 Hours, Losantiville, Seven Hills Region, planet Mars

Mike paced around his quarters like a caged animal. He'd slept little as his mind churned. They had a light day since the following would be a major two-day exercise. He knew he had to address the distractions going on in his mind before hitting the field. Natalia had been on his mind but so had Melanie. He took out Natalia's card and turned it around in his fingers. The Lone Wolf remembered the churning emotions around the turbulent woman and knew he didn't have the time or desire to go back there again but another part of him remembered the good feelings he'd had too plus some of the moments of real connection they'd shared. The thoughtful Spartan knew he just couldn't forget it and hope it would go away. Although he had to admit to experiencing some feelings towards Melanie they were undeveloped and still not entirely understood. In contrast they were deeper but also on a much wider plain with Natalia.

No, Mike knew he had to move towards some form of resolution here for the good of all involved. He got his device, took a deep breath and then punched in Natalia's numeric sequence.

Natalia was up already. Though still not dressed she was pacing since sleep had been fleeting. The telecon with her father had been nice but still left much to desire. Longings for connection coursed through her body.

The restless woman really had nothing to do and the idea of another day of factory tours was less than motivating.

MacKenzie had messaged her again overnight she saw, and she had to confess there was a definite tone change in the confident executive. He seemed no longer pushy but rather sweet and caring. Was that something she could truly find satisfaction in or would it be merely settling? Natalia's troubled mind wondered though if the time was coming she'd have precious other options and needed to consider compromising and settling. That was a scary prospect for the woman used to getting what she wanted.

Natalia then thought anew of Mike and their short but turbulent relationship. Relationship? Could she even call it that? Whatever they'd had it had been electric to the woman and she knew the intensity of feelings she'd experienced. But was that healthy? Was it sustainable? And she WAS a Misriah and he was a Spartan. Was that a bridge too far?

Still, Natalia reminded herself, she was on Mars and she'd resolved to connect with him. The first time had been a disaster and Natalia knew she'd reacted poorly. She picked up her device and almost punched in the numbers she knew to be his. Being in ONI had its perks. But he'd said he would call and the impatient woman still had enough pride to not look desperate.

If she were honest with herself Natalia wanted him to call, yes, desperately even. They needed to talk, to resolve this question one way or another. She would just have to be patient.

And then her device went off.

Natalia's hand shot our laser fast to the table it sat on. Holding her breath waiting to see who it was from her heart leapt when she saw the number.

It was Mike calling.

Fumbling to engage the call the tone went of several more times before she could connect with the call. "Hello."

"Hi Natalia, it's me, Mike," he identified himself a bit awkwardly. "Do you have time this morning to meet?"

"For sure," Natalia responded a bit too eagerly damn; don't act like such a school girl she chided herself. "I can meet you at the base anytime you'd like, I have transport."

"Why don't we meet off base?" Mike countered. "It'll be easier to talk. I'm sending you the location of a pastry shop."

The location of the café popped up on her device. Her heart sank as a dozen negative reasons flooded in. He wants to meet away from everyone else so he can dump me. Probably figures I'll make a scene or something. Just then another message popped up from MacKenzie. "Okay Mike, I'll see you there."

Ninety minutes later the pair sat is a small café just off a busy main street in the industrial city as a light rain drizzled the plate glass window causing a welcome distraction. Natalia picked away at the flaky pastry she'd chosen while Mike swirled a cup of coffee. Neither seemed to know where to begin or what to say.

"Mike."

"Natalia."

Both seemed to have the idea at the same time that something needed to be said so each spoke simultaneously. The thought caused each to chuckle which seemed to break the ice but it also reminded each that their thoughts had once been in alignment.

Mike took the initiative. "It's good to see you again Natalia. I've thought often about our time together on Reach."

"Yea, it's good to see you too, Mike," Natalia responded. He's still calling me Natalia, not Tali, she thought to herself. "I'm sorry, again, that I didn't get in touch with you when I found out where you were. There's no excuse, things were just…just complicated."

How could the troubled woman tell him about everything that had gone on? Of her father's reaction? Of what had happened with MacKenzie? Reach seemed like a lifetime ago.

Mike could see the turmoil within the attractive woman. Part of it drew him to her but another part irritated him involuntarily. He'd stayed and watched the team die. She'd left to safety and her life back on Earth. She had everything he had nothing.

Yet she'd sought him out on Mars and was sitting right before him.

A thought hit Mike like a slipspace jump, something he hadn't considered before. Yes, she went back to Earth but it wasn't her choice and maybe it wasn't the life she wanted anymore. He had been angry that she'd not contacted him but he'd done absolutely nothing to seek her out either. Maybe she'd thought he'd been the one to lose interest. The idea transfixed him.

And yet here she was.

He'd allowed anger, hurt, bitterness and even if he was honest, jealousy to impede his judgment. She'd shown no signs of the old person the last few weeks on Reach. He saw where blame rested and it was squarely on his shoulders. He'd been jealous of her privileges and had allowed it to taint his views.

But what about Mel?

That was complicated. He knew he had feelings for her but he wasn't sure what they were. Natalia was intoxicating and she sat before him. Mike took a deep breath, wondering how his life had gotten so complicated and decided to deal with one thing at a time. For now, Natalia was here, looking longingly into his eyes, threatening to swallow him up like she'd done before on Reach. Fight or drown, those seemed to be his choices.

Natalia had allowed the last statement to hang out there without response. She lifted her eyes to stare at Mike and could tell he was processing. The thought that she knew, or cared enough, to be able to read him in this way hit home. Natalia did care for Mike, deeply. She probably loved him if she were brave enough to admit it. His granite grey eyes that could seem so cold had a spark within, betraying a depth of feeling she'd experienced back on Reach. That's what had driven her to seek him out. Yes, he was handsome, not in the ways of the men she knew back on Earth, but rather in a more raw and aggressive way that showed not only power but self-control. She looked at the long white scar on his jaw and ruddy complexion and knew her attraction was to more than the power under control he exuded. No, she had to confess, she was attracted to him as a man. Could she jump in all the way and not hold back? Her intellect said she could, even she should, but her heart still held fear, the fear of rejection and really being alone. Could she take the leap from the edge of the precipice?

She's doing it again, Mike thought involuntarily. She has that puzzled look on her face that means she's processing something. I have to admit it's pretty cute. The thoughtful Spartan was caught off guard by the perception he had into the complex woman. He could chalk it up to simply being insightful or else he could be honest with himself, which he wasn't sure he'd been of late, and admit that not only could he read Natalia Misriah but it was because of the depth of the affection that had grown within him.

The billionaire's daughter had so much going for her and on analysis there was absolutely nothing Mike could give her and no reason for them to be together, he thought. Yet when you remove the material advantages he possessed some things she desperately needed like stability and consistency. He knew these were the things in him that she was attracted to but his pride at his lack of the material had clouded his vision. No, if he were to truly be free, no matter how many days he had left, he needed to face this head on, just like fighting an Elite, and come to some conclusion. He'd have no peace if he didn't. Thoughts of Mel crowded in; confused feelings swirled around, trying to push his current train of thought off the tracks. And then he caught her staring at him with that little smile that had captured his heart before and he knew he needed to leap.

Mel would have to wait.

The two looked at each other and laughed spontaneously knowing each had been likely thinking the same thing as the other. The ice was broken and conversation began to flow freely. Despite the rain now pelting against the window, the distraction of different strata's in the world or even an impending Covenant attack, the two then began to talk as if nothing else in the world existed.

As the two began to reacquaint themselves back at the Wolf Pack's training centre Melanie walked purposefully into the office of Gunnery Sergeant MacGregor who had been preparing a lesson.

"Do you know where Lt. Commander Mike is, gunny?" she asked without fanfare.

"Don't know ma'am, sorry," MacGregor responded cautiously.

There was something about the ODSTs response that didn't sit right with the perceptive woman. "Well, is he on base?" she asked pointedly.

"No ma'am. He's off site on some personal business," MacGregor answered, correctly anticipating what the Spartan would ask.

"Thank you, gunny." Melanie turned and walked away so the senior NCO would not see her reaction.

Mike was with that woman.

Melanie was livid at the idea and didn't know why. Was it jealousy? She'd didn't know since she'd not felt it before. Regardless, she was both intensely upset and intensely angry. The idea bothered her greatly since she wasn't even sure of her own feelings towards Mike. The emotions hit her like angry wave after wave crashing onto an eroding shore line. The thoughts of them together began to consume the competitive woman and she could scarce think of anything else. She needed to do something to rid herself of the mental picture so headed to the gym.

Mike felt a lightness in his heart that had been absent for some time as he returned to the training center. The conversation had gone well. Nothing really had been resolved between them but at least they were talking and enjoying each other's company. They'd made plans to get together again after the next big training exercise so that gave Mike a degree of happiness that would allow him to return to the task requiring his undistracted attention.

Travelling through the empty common area he came unexpectedly face-to-face with Melanie. Though casually sitting on a table the intensity of her look showed she was anything but.

Mike stopped to try to measure what was going through the woman's mind. He didn't have long to wait.

"Where have you been?" Melanie asked evenly.

"Pardon?" Mike asked, sensing danger in the calm demeanor of the female Spartan.

"I asked you, where have you been?"

"Out, on some personal business," Mike tried to deflect the question with little success.

"You mean out with that Misriah woman," Melanie declared, her look turning to a glare.

"What if I was?" Mike responded belligerently, not necessarily appreciating the direction of the questioning.

Melanie shrugged her shoulders as if to be nonchalant though a tension in her face showed otherwise. "Your choice and your consequences." She handed over a data pad with an article about her antics at the nightclub in Sydney.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means dude nothing happens in a vacuum." Melanie shook her head as if correcting a child. "You connect with someone like her and there are consequences up and down the food chain."

"So?"

So she does all that shit and she's still here? If that happened to any of us we'd have been locked away deep in the brig. She reeks of privilege man."

"I can see your point," Mike acknowledged, more to process the concept than to come onto the hostile woman's side. Yet there was a degree of truth to what Melanie was saying if he were honest with himself. He'd been bothered by the same thing.

The female Spartan gave him a smug look as if she were reading his mind, raising one eyebrow for emphasis.

"We're…we're friends, okay?" Mike was beginning to crumble under the withering gaze.

Melanie snorted. "You're a Spartan, she's a socialite. The two don't mix and even if they did in theory they won't with this one. She's in a strata all her own."

Mike opened his mouth, a retort already on his tongue, but he paused. Deep down he thought much the same way, that had been one of the many things bugging him. True, they'd had something on Reach and even earlier in the morning had had a pleasant time together but to bring such a thing into the light of day? While he knew he wouldn't be accepted in her world for the first time he began to realize she might not be accepted in his. The concept stopped him dead in his tracks.

Melanie was a seasoned combat veteran and knew when it was time to withdraw. "Listen Mike, I'm not trying interfere, I'm just trying to give you something to think about."

"Yea, thanks Mel, I appreciate that," Mike responded, dropping his head despondently, the air let out of his balloon. Heavily, as if carrying a half dozen Mjolnir suits, he walked from the room, forgetting the happiness he'd had when he'd entered it.

Melanie felt bad about the way she was acting. She knew Mike's story and desperately wanted him to be happy. The reconnection had reinforced that idea but not in this way and not with that woman. Was she jealous? The thought irritated her but she was wise enough to know she needed to entertain it. Her pride wanted to dismiss it outright but she was honest enough to not do that. Yes, there was something there but she wasn't sure what. Her own feelings for Mike were yet undeveloped but she did know she was jealous for his happiness whether or not she thought she could do a better job.

She almost called out to Mike as he walked away with shoulders slumped in dejection.

Almost.

Melanie knew she had to sort her feelings out for Mike because things were getting complicated beyond what she'd wanted.

While Mike struggled Natalia was filled with such joy she could practically dance. Their meeting had not accomplished all she would have liked but there was definite movement and by the end Mike had been tender and attentive towards her. As she went about her business the rest of the morning she began to think incessantly about him to the point where she just wanted to see him again. They didn't need to talk; she just wanted to see him.

Initially the increasingly focused woman dismissed the idea since he was prepping for a two-day exercise but then her fixation grew to seeking to find a pretense for why to visit his training area. There was no excuse for her to see Mike but if they just so happened to 'bump into' each other, what was the harm in that?

But how?

Then it came to her, as if a gift from the divine.

She was on an inspection tour of production facilities on behalf on ONI. She would go and visit the unit's commanding officer and make a 'courtesy call' to introduce herself and if Mike wondered why she was there, well, she could say that was part of her duty. Sure, it was a bit of a stretch but it should work. Besides, he would likely be happy to see her.

It took the motivated woman only a couple of minutes to find out the name of the officer in charge was a colonel by the name of Ackerson. That didn't really matter to the focused woman, she now had her mission.

Natalia decided to go late afternoon, which would still be considered operating hours, but a time likely Mike would be around. Her excitement grew and she practically floated up to the guard hut at the training area and presented her credentials along with the request to speak to the commanding officer. She'd been there before so entry was easy.

Natalia was ushered into the commander of the Special Operations training unit's office by an ODST corporal who then left her with the brown haired colonel.

Good, Natalia thought to herself, hopefully he'll let me show my way out. Despite her agenda the observant woman could see the slender officer was eyeing her suspiciously, putting her on her guard.

"So, what do we owe the honor of your visit, lieutenant-commander?" Ackerson asked politely but his dark eyes boring into her.

"Well, sir," Natalia gulped involuntarily nervously, "I'm doing an inspection tour of production facilities on behalf of Admiral Parangosky. I was in town so wanted to introduce myself."

"I see."

Natalia waited for Ackerson to expand but he didn't. His lips tightened and he remained silent. "Well…I, uhm, thought it was a courtesy to stop into this military facility and introduce myself while I'm here." That was so lame, Tali, she chided herself, you sound like an idiot.

Ackerson breathed heavily, his nostrils flaring. Pursing his lips he responded. "Okay, that's great. I hope your tour goes well."

The conversation was short and awkward but ultimately Natalia didn't care. She wasn't here to impress James Ackerson or build political connections; she was here to see Mike. When the unit's commanding officer asked if she could show herself out without escort Natalia was overjoyed and practically leapt out of the seat she'd been sitting in.

Ackerson watched the ONI officer leave and wrung his hands in dismay. She'd brazenly announced she worked for Parangosky and her scope of operations meant she had absolutely no reason for calling on him. That could only mean one thing- the admiral knew about his new project. He'd be more vigilant about what type of information he posted since the officer was smart enough to know she'd find it. Despite his initial shock this actually proved advantageous to him.

"What has that idiotic girl done?"

Back at the Hive on Earth, Admiral Parangosky was furious at what Natalia's actions and veritably breathed fire in response.

Captain Osman was smart enough to stay silent but kept an extra step of separation from the dangerous woman as a precaution.

Parangosky regained her calm quickly but was still seething. "Very well Princess Natalia. You want to screw up your screw ups, well, we'll see what happens when you need some help."

The admiral still considered the troubled woman an incendiary device ready to go off so she would make her pay for messing with the perfect plan somehow and some way. There was a certain amount of mathematical certainty to it.

Natalia was oblivious to all the politics going on around her. She was taking a circuitous route to the exit. She was rewarded by the sound of voices down the hallway she was travelling coming from a room at the end of the hall. They were a mixture of female and male and it was obvious they were Spartans. This was it, she thought. There would be a crowd likely but things would go different. She'd say hello and just keep going and see if he came after her. Regardless, she'd see him. Her heart beat in anticipation and even rehearsed a couple of witty lines. She entered into an open room and ran right into Melanie.