Wow, we've finally broke 100 reviews! Thank you all so much, your words are seriously keeping me going! Life has been mega busy with my fiance graduating and starting grad school right after and me interviewing for jobs and moving around, so updates have been hard to squeeze in! But with the announcement of the master chief collection, my Halo love couldn't be stronger! Who else is freakin out!? HAHA! I hope you enjoy this sizable chapter and give me some time to get ahead after this! This is where we start to get into a lot of the character development I keep talking about, I really like this chapter. :)
Weeks passed in a fashion very similar to this. Cortana eased into work and John eased into a routine of taking Joan out to the park in the morning and staying in after they had gotten lunch. John was surprised how much he enjoyed eating out for lunch-he liked being able to leisurely drink coffee with a newspaper while he ate. Joan was surprisingly good most of the time if he simply explained to her that it was "quiet time for Daddy." She even preferred to mimic him with her own book even if she couldn't read. He supposed it made her feel grown.
One day after lunch John was surprised when he got a comm from Lasky.
"Good afternoon," he greeted formally.
"How long have you been on Earth," He asked excitedly. John assumed he looked at the comm channel address.
"About two months, Cortana got a position at Columbia University and was required to do a residency before she started teaching from the Outer Colonies," he explained.
"That's amazing, the duty day is almost over, would you like to get coffee?"
John couldn't help but feel that Lasky had very certainly known he was on Earth and very certainly wanted to make sure he wasn't lonely which seemed a little absurd to him. He supposed it was a nice intention but he never had been one for social calls. He and Kelly would often spend time together but it was usually in silence, exercising, or drinking, which were both very often done quietly; it was always more about the presence of the other's company for them. He found himself missing their relationship when confronted with the prospect of other social interaction.
Joan squawked loudly in the background, playing a game with one of her stuffed animals.
"I have Joan right now," he said.
"I would love to meet her," Lasky continued.
John held back a sigh. He should get used to this kind of thing, it would be good for him. "I suppose you could come over for dinner, if you would like you can bring Sarah, I'm sure Cortana won't mind, you know how she is."
"That sounds even better, Sarah will be a little later she has a debrief at the end of the day," he said.
John felt that it was at least more polite to extend an invitation to Sarah, she was Lasky's girlfriend and he assumed that they didn't get to spend a terribly large amount of time together. There was a small part of him that would feel guilty or rude not inviting the both of them even though he wasn't particularly fond of the woman. He didn't dislike her at all and found her perspective interesting but had a difficult time understanding how he was supposed to conduct himself around her. He got a strange feeling that she was walking on eggshells around him.
John changed Joan into an outfit that he thought was a little more befitting of having guests, not that he cared entirely too much but he didn't have anything better to do. He also thought that her tights and skirt were cute, as silly as that might seem. Her bangs were getting long again and she kept pushing them out of her eyes.
He decided to go grab a pair of shears and try to make her life a little easier. She held still when he asked her to and he had to admit he was impressed with his skill, it looked good and identical to the way the professional had done it a few weeks ago.
When there was a knock on the door John went to go open it revealing Tom Lasky in civilian clothes.
John heard Joan's quick footsteps and she proclaimed "Mama!"
John sighed. Joan stopped in her tracks when she looked at the door and saw someone other than her mother, a look of extreme disappointment on her face.
"No Joan, Mommy is still at work, this is Tom Lasky, you should say hello," he coached. He found it amusing that he was coaching his daughter on social skills as she frowned at the deceptive door knock when really he felt like she had the right idea, frowning at guests.
He invited Tom in and Tom immediately kneeled down to Joan.
"So you're Joan, it's very nice to meet you," he said sweetly.
Joan continued to frown.
"I brought you something," he reached into his bag and pulled out a stuffed bear that was wearing a UNSC dress uniform. He offered it to her and she looked up at her father warily, not sure if it was a good idea to take the gift.
"Go ahead Joan, it's a present for you," John said sternly. She tentatively reached out for the bear and appeared to inspect it, touching its ears and the clothing. John watched her start to smile gradually. He was glad, she wasn't often introduced to new people and he knew it was important that she learn to socialize.
"What do you say when someone does something nice for you," he continued.
"Thank-you," she said articulately.
"Why don't you go introduce your new bear to your rabbit while Tom and Daddy talk for a while," he requested.
While Joan could be clingy, she could also be fiercely independent. She liked being given instructions or ideas. When he gave her tasks to accomplish she usually went to do them with fervor, though she was eventually distracted by something she found more amusing.
"My Kelly Bunny?"
John chuckled at the name she has given her animal-she associated it with Kelly because it had been a present from her and Fred and thus the animal was named "Kelly bunny."
"Sure, Kelly bunny likes making friends right?"
"Sometimes, other times she likes to be left alone," said Joan realistically.
"Well go check if she's in a mood to make friends," instructed John.
Tom couldn't help but smile as she ran off to her room. John invited Tom to sit and got them both water.
"You didn't need to bring her a present, Cortana just spent a ridiculous amount on toys for her after she was sick for a twenty-four hour period," said John.
"Well I had to get her something, I didn't send anything for either of her birthdays," he replied. John was shocked that the thought had even occurred to him. "Besides, I saw it at the exchange and thought it was just too perfect to pass up."
"Well thank you, I'm sure she'll enjoy it plenty," said John politely.
"So it hasn't been long but how are you finding Earth?"
"It's different than I would have imagined," John replied. "There is a lot to do."
"I love it, it feels so nice to finally be here, I wish everyone could live here if only for a little while," said Lasky.
John wanted to ask how work was but it felt intrusive. He couldn't help but wonder what the UNSC in a time of peace was like. Was it relaxed or was it just as intense, constantly preparing for a new threat? He knew that they were most assuredly not resting on their laurels but he couldn't imagine operating with the same sense of desperation that his career had consisted, of so needlessly-normal soldiers couldn't handle it for such extended periods of time.
Cortana walked in the door looking a little bit weary. When she heard the door catch, Joan tentatively looked out the door of her room, wary of another disappointment. Upon seeing it was her mother she launched into something of a sprint.
"Mommy!" she exclaimed, nothing short of elated as she completely threw herself at Cortana.
Cortana laughed and lifted her up. "Well hello to you too sweet girl!" she said, peppering kisses all over her face, particularly her cheeks.
"Oh hi Tom," she said noticing him sitting on the couch. "John, what did you do to her to make her so excited to see me? Is daddy being mean to you sweetpea? Or is he just boring and grumpy?" she said, lowering her voice comically, jutting out her bottom lip into a mock pout.
"Tom came in the door and she thought it was you. She was severely disappointed until she was presented with a gift. Maybe she was convinced that you had turned into a man and is relieved to learn otherwise," John said sarcastically.
Cortana laughed. "I know someone else who might find that kind of news upsetting. Tom you might gather that we don't really have guests, it's nice to see you, you look well," she commented as she hitched Joan up further on her hip.
"God, she is getting heavy, what are you feeding her?" she said, setting her briefcase down. She sat on the couch next to John, brought her hand to his cheek, turned him to her and kissed him. "Hi," she greeted sweetly, relaxing finally. John couldn't help but feel the slightest amount of embarrassment at her affection.
"Same food as usual. Tom called me and Sarah is coming over for dinner," John said.
Cortana sighed. "I don't have anything nice enough for guests planned."
"Why don't we order in?" he asked.
"There's no need to make a fuss over me and Sarah," Tom replied.
"No that sounds nice, we haven't ordered in yet and the food here is supposed to be to die for," said Cortana. Joan was starting to babble excitedly. Most of what she was saying was complete nonsense but John heard a few words like 'bear,' and 'book.'
Cortana continued to listen attentively at the incoherent rambling, interjecting things like "Mhmm," and "Is that so?"
"Dada does work," Joan said wisely.
"Oh, what kind of work does your father do?" Cortana was amused.
"I help him," was her solemn response.
"Are you talking about when you sit on my legs?" John asked.
She nodded seriously.
"She sits on my legs when I do leg lifts in the morning and sits on my back for push ups. We're working on pull-ups," he explained. He was trying to get her to stand on his feet while he did pull-ups because it was easier for him to focus on repetitions when he knew where she was and the extra weight didn't hurt.
"I'm sure that you're a very good helper for your father," said Cortana seriously. Joan nodded and stuck her thumb in her mouth. She squirmed out of her mother's lap rather unceremoniously and ran off to go do whatever she deemed important.
"She is really smart," said Tom, clearly impressed. "I haven't been around a lot of children but dang, she's two?"
"She gets that from her mother," deflected John.
"I suppose it's only natural," he agreed.
The door buzzed and John got up to get the door. He invited a somewhat weary looking Palmer inside-her hair was wet from showering after work and she looked a little haggard.
Cortana got up to go change into someone more comfortable. John couldn't help but notice the way Tom's eyes lit up for a fraction of a second looking at the Spartan commander-it was clear that he was very taken with her while Sarah seemed a little less affectionate. John understood how that was. He didn't know what Spartan training was like nowadays but he assumed that it was still difficult to connect to people outside. Perhaps she was simply tired.
Cortana came back wearing jeans and a t-shirt and greeted Sarah enthusiastically.
Sarah couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved at how kindly she acted towards her. The resemblance to Dr. Halsey was very apparent and it was strange because she knew that Dr. Halsey was most assuredly not her biggest fan considering she'd attempted to kill the woman. Ms. Palmer my ass, she thought irritatedly to herself, recalling the condescending way Dr. Halsey had addressed her.
"What kind of food do you like, I've got a few menus queued up," she said, expanding the search.
"I could go for Asian, that's one of the best take ins around here," said Tom.
They ordered and Cortana kicked up her feet.
"So I can't imagine John called you up to just chat, what brings you over here?" said Cortana.
Of course she has to make fun of me somehow, he mused.
"I actually saw in the news that a certain physicist from the Outer Colonies who revolutionized slipstream travel had started a residency at Columbia, naturally when I saw your picture I figured you would be around so I thought I'd say hello. I also wanted to personally thank you, I have a very bothersome allergy to cytoprethaline and I'm happy that I don't have to think much about it anymore," he said.
Cortana glowed at his praise. John knew that she loved being validated by people besides him.
"Well it's definitely great to see the both of you, most of my social interaction is a bunch of college kids. They're all very intelligent but they're college kids nonetheless," she laughed. "We had our first exam recently and the grades were a little rough, I haven't decided if I'm going to curve it or not," she said.
"I think I probably will end up curving it, I'd rather make the exams a challenge and have them get more wrong than give them an easier test and have them get a higher percentage," she continued.
"Why can't they just get a good grade on the more challenging exam?" said John bluntly.
Sarah couldn't help but chuckle, it was such a Spartan thing to say.
"How about I give you the hardest problem on the test and we'll see how you fare John, it's for my Intro class so it's fair," she teased.
John couldn't pass up the challenge. He hadn't done math in a long, long while but he had been plenty proficient in his teen years, he also had gotten better at most academic subjects from spending so much time with Cortana in his head.
"Okay, sure," he accepted.
Cortana shook her head as she took a projection out of her briefcase and tossed it, letting the problem expand in front of him. It looked extremely complicated. It really didn't belong on an Intro exam but she had graded it very easily.
Cortana was seriously doubting his ability when she watched him stare at the equation determinedly.
He stared at it for another minute intently, not writing anything.
"I haven't done math like that since college, I'd be out of luck," said Lasky.
Another minute passed and right as Cortana was going to tell him to give up he started writing. He wrote quickly and neatly, his penmanship was extremely measured, everything looked perfectly even, all of the numbers and letters looked exactly the same with no variations.
The problem was now a few lines long and Cortana started to laugh.
Tom and Sarah looked at her a little confused. She shook her head as she continued to laugh.
"He's about to solve it, goddamnit," she said still chuckling.
He finished and turned it towards her.
"Well, you're right, that's the answer, only two students in my class got the right answer and only one showed their work properly," she shook her head. "I guess you're not just the muscle-bound automaton the press makes you out to be," she teased.
John smiled remembering when she had said that to him right when they had met.
"Interesting choice of words for an Artificial Intelligence," was all he could reply with. Cortana laughed a little harder.
"Well now I know you can properly count to ten," she continued. Tom and Sarah looked slightly confused.
"When John and I first met, I detected a high degree of activity in his cerebral cortex so naturally I had to give him a backhanded compliment, he wasn't quite used to my...John, what would you call it?"
"I wasn't used to having someone so obnoxious in my head back then," he commented.
"Oh who had you had in your head before that for comparison?" She said. "Anyways, it was a really...interesting exercise to say the least, I'm sure you can imagine but John is a stickler for rules."
John nearly sighed. This again?
"I mean, doesn't that kind of come with the Spartan territory?" questioned Tom.
"When it's convenient for them sure," joked Cortana.
"Yeah, I love it when I get stuck lying to Admirals for Captains with a misguided sense of duty," said Sarah sarcastically.
"That was years ago," said Lasky.
"How is work going for you?" questioned Cortana.
Sarah sighed. They were both still cardholders and she knew it was ridiculous to worry about either of them saying anything to anyone so she didn't feel entirely wrong speaking a little bit about work.
"It's fine, better than a while ago, we're just constantly adapting to new force demands. The first class of Spartan-Vs are graduating soon and it's going to be a huge integration for the force tactically and supply wise," she said.
"What kind of capabilities do they have in store for all of you," said Cortana a little sarcastically.
"Obviously it's very classified but in all honesty most research seems to be going toward creating results nearly identical to the Spartan-IIs without the expense and mortality that's effective on adults. It's proven difficult, we just don't want to get as tall for some reason," she said.
"There are reasons for that," said Cortana a little cryptically. For the first time John felt uncomfortable thinking about his augmentation procedures. He had been so blind to what was going on. The juxtaposition between him as a 14 year old and grown adults was staggering at times. He didn't know how it should make him feel. Living in what many would refer to as the "real world" outside of the UNSC he couldn't help but feel that he had been so naive for so many years despite seeing so many things during the wars he'd fought in.
"How is the Admiral?" he said quietly. He thought of her as Serin-019 in his head still. He didn't know why she came up in his thoughts or why he called her that-she was an Admiral. Her first name felt right in some ways and like a distant, sad, memory in others. He hadn't thought of Kelly or Fred with their Spartan tags in almost a year. When he had taken a last name 117 started to fade away, very much a part of his identity still but just not something he referred to himself as anymore. It had surprised him how natural it was to let go, to let 117 fade away, always a part of him but not at the front of his mind.
Sarah also seemed surprised at his question. The door buzzed and Cortana got up to get food.
"She seems well, or as well as someone who's the spook of all spooks can be. As difficult as she can be she is one of the best damned commanding officers I've ever seen," she said firmly.
John wondered what it would be like to see her, to see one of the few remnants of his Spartan family besides Kelly and Fred. He thought of Linda far away in her monastery, Maria who was somewhere on Earth and any others that might still be alive. Fred and Kelly had seen Naomi after the end of the war, though from the way they spoke of it the visit had been somewhat upsetting for them; they chose not to go into great detail aside from stating that Naomi was alive and seemed to be well when they saw her. He didn't know if anyone else was out there, but it was something he thought of from time to time. The Admiral had been on his mind fleetingly for a few months now, something about her being alive when they had been lead to believe that she was dead bothered him. He should have been used to being lied to, his whole life, in many ways, had been centered around lies and secrets but the notion that they had mourned Serin as dead when she had lived, it seemed rather cruel to him. It also raised many more questions: what other lies had he been told?
"Joan, come out here please," he raised his voice so she would know he was speaking to her. She ran out to the living room and to her Father, looking up at him. She quickly noticed Sarah as a new person in their house.
Instead of frowning or glaring she started smiling. John was surprised. Joan walked up to her and looked at her.
Sarah hadn't seen a child in a long while and she was astounded at how simply adorable the Master Chief's daughter was. She had big, dark blue eyes and bright red hair, she looked every bit her father's daughter with only very subtle traces of Cortana, mostly in the way she softened a lot of John's harsher features-the shape of her mouth and her pouty expression were reminiscent of her mother. Other than that her coloring, cheekbones, and face shape, were tiny, feminine versions of her father's features. She was dressed very cutely in green and grey.
"Present?" She squeaked. John felt a rush of embarrassment and Tom started laughing.
Cortana groaned, "Joan you're being a brat, look what you did Tom now she expects presents from every visitor."
Sarah couldn't help but laugh. She was also clearly precocious.
"Joan," her head snapped towards her father, he was using a voice that always got her attention. "It's rude to ask people for presents, Sarah is our guest and we treat guests well. Maybe after dinner you could go make her a present since you like receiving them so much."
Certainly not for the first time Sarah found herself shocked by the Spartan. He seemed to be a very attentive, loving father. She had no idea how he was capable of this considering he had no mother or father, no childhood and had seen some of the worst things the world has to offer. She herself had no idea if she could ever be a mother after everything she'd seen and done.
Joan smiled happily at the idea. "With colors?"
John thought of the special pigment sheets she had that she could make pictures with, she had made him about twenty pictures over the course of the week and he kept every single one.
"Yes you may use your color sheets, but after dinner," he agreed.
Dinner was satisfying, John had never eaten food like this and found it interesting. Joan had gotten better about absolutely destroying her food and only got her face messy instead of constantly playing with her food. John noticed that she switched the hand she ate with, showing no real preference of right or left.
Joan seemed fixated upon Sarah. Sarah initially thought she was imagining it but after Cortana had wiped her mouth and let her out of her chair she went immediately to her chair and started trying to crawl up onto her lap.
Cortana laughed. "She likes you, she never does that to anyone besides Kelly."
Sarah was surprised to be shown such ardent affection by the little girl. She had crawled her way onto her lap and was looking right at her smiling for no apparent reason.
"You like Spartans like your daddy don't you Joan," teased Cortana.
She had never really considered herself a "Spartan like her daddy," the differences seemed obvious to her. Sarah knew that a toddler couldn't possibly understand what Spartans were but she supposed that the most normal person she's accustomed to is her mother who is also anything but normal. She had no idea what growing up would be like for her with the most extraordinary members of the human race as her standard for normal.
"I like you," Joan confirmed. Sarah felt her heart skip a beat.
"I like you too," was all she could choke out. It was a lot, after two wars and a challenging peacetime. It felt strangely gratifying to have something as simple as a child's approval.
"Why don't you bring a few of your favorite toys out here to show Sarah how you play," Cortana encouraged.
Joan smiled widely and with coordination that seemed unbefitting her toddler stature she jumped off Sarah's lap and ran to her room-Sarah was beginning to wonder if this child ever walked.
Tom looked at Sarah and could tell that it was an oddly emotional encounter for her. He felt that for many people, it would be. It was surreal that someone as legendary as John-117 could retire and have a happy, well-adjusted child. It was quite literally the perfect success story, what the UNSC hoped for when members got out, a story that seldom played out this well.
They moved back to the living area and Tom continued to talk mostly with Cortana while John listened. Sarah was roped into coloring. Joan continued to 'explain' to her what her picture was.
Joan presented her with the drawing that was mostly scribbles with a few circles and lines, she seemed rather proud.
"Thank you," she said earnestly. She would put this in her office for sure.
"Joan, it's bedtime," said Cortana quietly.
"No," she whined rather skillfully.
"Joan, when your mother says it's bedtime you need to listen like a big girl," John spoke sternly but somehow still gently. Joan frowned but started to get up, dragging her feet forlornly as she gathered her toys.
"Say goodnight to Sarah, she can visit another day," he assured.
"Goodnight," she said tearfully. Sarah had no idea how they could deal with such melodrama seriously, she just wanted to laugh even though she knew that this was quite the blow to the little girl.
"Goodnight Joan," she said politely. Cortana took Joan by the hand and walked her to her bedtime fate.
John sighed. "She doesn't like going to bed when people are over, she thinks she's missing out on excitement. She always refused to go to bed unless Fred and Kelly's daughter went to bed with her when they were over for an evening back home."
"The drama is high," chuckled Tom.
"You may laugh but I can assure you she doesn't find it amusing, she takes herself rather seriously," said John.
Cortana walked into the room in time to quip, "I wonder who she gets that from." John smiled softly.
"She wants a hug and kiss from you, those are her demands," Cortana said running a hand through her hair.
Sarah watched as the Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 got up wordlessly to tuck his daughter into bed. She had no idea how the world hadn't collapsed in on itself.
Sarah felt the question slip out before her filter could catch it. "What does the old bat Halsey think of that," she gestured towards the bedroom John had walked into.
Tom glared at her rudeness, "Sarah-"
"No, it's okay, I understand. My relationship with her is...complicated at best, I take no offense, having a child helped me truly understand the differences between her and myself," she paused and wrung her hands.
"To be honest I think she finds the relationship John and I have strange and uncomfortable not only because I was an AI whose origins lie with her but because she doesn't necessarily view John as an autonomous being. I think that while she holds a certain degree of love and affection for her Spartans, perhaps most of all John, they are tangible manifestations of her intellect and secondarily they are people. She takes pride and ownership over them-nothing ever simply exists for her, they are her Spartans, I was her AI. Before the SPARTAN program she was cold and callous to an almost horrific degree. In some twisted sense the SPARTAN program softened her heart, as completely wrong as that must seem."
That's for sure, that hardly makes sense. Bet she did some real soul searching when she was kidnapping a bunch of kids, really honed her maternal instinct, thought Sarah sarcastically.
"I think Joan is particularly problematic for her in many ways. She is not only very unique, she represents something that Catherine never thought John would have. I think that a part of her almost thought I had somehow magically gotten myself pregnant until she walked in on us once."
Sarah couldn't help but understand where the doctor was coming from in that regard-it was weird. It just seemed contradictory, but who was she to have an opinion on the Chief's sexual endeavors? She also would have paid to see the Doctor's reaction to catching the two of them going at it. After the little she had heard of them at their wedding she was quite certain they had a rather functional sex life making anything the Doctor had witnessed probably all the more traumatic. Her face must have been nothing short of priceless. She probably would have imagined her Spartans dying sad virgins-highly unfortunate.
"She sincerely loves Joan which must seem strange for a woman who chose not to raise her daughter but I know it's true. In the short amount of time she stayed with us she not only watched me deliver a baby, which she expected, but she saw something she didn't entirely anticipate. She saw John become a father. In short, I think she finds it deeply, deeply disturbing on a personal level but also feels a sense of possessiveness over myself, John and even Joan," she finished calmly.
John sat down next to Cortana. Even though he had most certainly heard everything she'd said he didn't act like it.
"How do you do it?" She asked pointedly. She couldn't help but ask, especially since she had already started asking forward questions. "How do you, of all people, manage to be this accessible, gentle, loving Father when there are vets who've seen a fraction of what you have who come home and strangle their spouse after years of finding themselves in the bottom of a bottle. I know that we are Spartans but you have shown me that you aren't so different despite being so fundamentally changed as a human, so how in the world are you doing this?"
Silence filled the air. Sarah worried for a split second that she had gone too far but she also knew that she had to know. She had to know if John-117 truly was a better man than any other or if he was as fundamentally broken as everyone.
Cortana looked at John. She could tell he was thinking very carefully about how he would respond. She understood why Sarah might have felt the need for justification from him.
"Before Joan was born I worried constantly about the type of Father I would be, but when she finally got here," he paused remembering the feeling of how real she was, what it had been like to hold her in his arms for the first time, how everything about her was a part of him, "It was easy, easier than anything I've ever done. She is so perfect and happy, she depends on Cortana and myself entirely, we're her whole world."
He cleared his throat a little, continuing. "I think because I have never viewed myself as some grandiose hero it's not difficult to simply move on from that part of my life, to move on from the Halo Campaign and everything else. It was my entire life, yes, but it was easy to compartmentalize-I didn't struggle with admitting that it was over like Kelly or Fred did. It simply was," he said solemnly.
Sarah looked at him and still saw the proud Spartan-117 until, for a moment, she saw a glimpse of something else on his stoic, proud face, something she couldn't place.
"If what you are really asking is how a man with no memory of a mother or father who spent his childhood being taught how to kill people can rationalize having a wife and a daughter, I can't give you an answer. It's something I think about every day. Every day since Cortana told me the basic information about my family I've grappled with reality. I see my daughter and wonder if, in four years time, I would be able to look at her and accept sacrificing her for the greater good of humanity. I have given everything for mankind, answered every single call and endured almost every possible test and yet, deep down, I know I'd rather watch the whole world burn than lose her."
He felt desperate thinking about it. It was an impossibility. His Joan, who smiled and "loved him best," gone to him forever could never, ever happen. He had arrived at that conclusion over the last year. Where that left him he didn't know.
"That terrifies me. It doesn't line up with my perception of myself. I don't know what happened to me much before age 10, only fleeting memories mostly of Kelly and Sam. Over the past few months I have thought about learning more and trying to understand," he was extremely grave in his speech.
"Which leads me to something I have wanted to ask of you, Tom," he looked at him very directly.
"Of course, anything," he said quietly. After hearing that kind of information you couldn't help but feel something. Tom felt a strange pit in his stomach.
"I want to know if you could get me a meeting with Admiral Osman. I want to speak with her."
Sarah saw it. In his eyes. He was both. He was just as broken as anyone and strong enough, good enough for it to be arbitrary. She was awestruck.
Lasky thought about this. Most people couldn't simply request an audience with an Admiral, let alone the head of ONI, but he had a feeling that this would be a special exception.
"I can figure that out," he promised.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it's up there for me. :)