A Calm Before the Storm

Time: 1238 hours

Date: May 31, 2562 (Military Calendar)

Location: Onboard the UNSC ship Warlord, orbiting Uxxasr Omicron, Diluvia System

"Neala?"

"Yes, who it is?"

"It's me… Charlie… Can I come in?"

"Give me a moment…"

I had been in my quarters throughout most of the day, cleaning my weapons, as I had not done so after our last training session. Plus, I wanted to customize the weapons a bit so that it worked in my favor. Clad in only a black tanktop and black shorts, I pulled on my sweatpants and opened the door. There was Charlie, standing 2.4 meters without his suit, wearing a dark blue tanktop and matching shorts. I smiled a little and let him in.

"Don't mind the grease stains and scattered equipment," I joked, pulling out a rag to wipe away a stray splotch of oil from my desktop. "Haven't found time to clean it…"

"No worries," he replied. "I have the same thing in my room."

Both of us chuckled as I pulled up an empty chair while he sat on my bed.

"So, what's on your mind?"

He glanced about my plain cube of a room and let out a sigh.

"I've been thinking about what Chief Mendez told us before we left… About using and wasting people… I mean… The dead Marines and ODSTs… Our brothers and sisters who died during our time on Reach-II… How do we know if we are using and not wasting? It doesn't make sense to me."

"Hmm… You remember when we studied Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his last stand at Little Big Horn?"

"Yes… I remember that. He was foolhardy and rushed headfirst into a battle without analyzing the whole situation, and he did not regard his scouts with the respect they deserved."

"Yes, that would be wasting lives. You see, because of his decisions, he wasted the lives instead of carefully using them to their full potential, and as you can see, it led to a heavy loss…"

"But didn't it turn out good for us in the end?"

"To an extent, all it did was lead to more battles," I rebutted while reassembling my battle rifle. "Why fight many when one that can fully resolve is enough? It keeps the wasting of resources down to a minimum, no?"

"You have a point there…"

I closed my case and began to reassemble my M90. I knew Charlie's train of thought after working with him for so many years, but I also knew that he wanted to take that one crucial step to become the leader that he always wanted to be. It was as though a tiny flame was glowing, waiting to become a raging firestorm. I carefully selected my words.

"Charlie, if you're afraid of your decisions, then just follow your instincts… Sometimes it is best to go with them if not more than anything."

A few moments of silence passed as he dwelled on these words when he broke the calm with a question I was not ready to answer.

"How do you do it?"

I looked at him from my greased hands, slightly clueless.

"Do what?"

"Back on Reach-II during the survival training, how did you manage to get us all out of there? How did you manage to get everyone out, both the well and the wounded? How were you able to not waste any lives?"

Come to think of it, I never did look back on that day and wonder how I had pulled off such a feat. It was as though it was natural for me. All the training that Mendez had put us through, from the Flagstaff Campaign to the Namibia Cove Excursion, it was as though every tactic known to man had been programmed into me. For once, I did not have an answer…

"I… I don't know…" I whispered, putting down my shotgun. "It's as though it was only natural that I act upon the situation given…"

Charlie only nodded as he absentmindedly picked up one of the pistol's bullets and twilled it between his thumb and index fingers. He placed the ammunition on the table standing up and sighed.

"I know these are small missions, but I am afraid, Neala… I don't know what to do when the time comes that I must make a decision between life and death…"

"You'll know what to do, Charlie. I believe in you. After all, during our mission in the Tragedian Polar Zones, wasn't it you who helped lead everyone to the LZ while I was bringing back Team Sitco?"

"But I didn't do it alone. I had Pei and the others to count on."

"I know. That's the point, Charlie. You aren't doing this alone. We go in together; we come out together. You know the saying, 'Leave no man behind,' right?"

"Of course."

"Then we won't leave a man behind… Everyone who goes in will come out…"

My teammate could only smile when he heard that, assured that I wasn't going to leave him behind. He caught me in a bear hug from behind, almost suffocating me. We laughed a little as we talked about our training days when a knock came at the door. Charlie left to answer it while I finished assembling the rifles and stashed them on to their wall mounts before slipping into something more in uniform, which were a pair of black slacks and a white, freshly-pressed collared shirt. I had just put on my shoes when the door slid away, little Kitty bounding in and hiding in my bed.

"Kitty?" I asked, fixing my hair a little and picking up my white cap. "What's wrong?"

My young pistol specialist peeked out, squeaking a little to reply.

"It's Tommy… He's at it again with his tails!"

"Not again…" Charlie chuckled. "Seems like that boy doesn't know when to stop with those dried pieces of flesh."

"I don't even know what to do with him when it comes time to battling and he can't leave without his good luck charm…" I mumbled, putting on my hat and helping Kitty out.

"He said he always keeps it inside his suit!" she chirped as we walked towards the mess hall for dinner.

"Ugh… Now that's just gross…" Charlie commented. "He's gonna stink up his whole suit before the sweat does!"

"Well, that's not our fault, is it?" I laughed as Kitty straightened out her shirt and readjusted her cap.

"I'll meet you in the mess hall in a few, ok?" he said, gesturing down another hall. "I have to get changed before entering, no?"

I nodded and turned back to Kitty, who was playing with her tiny blonde tail of hair forming from the base of her skull. For some reason, she just didn't want to cut that tiny lock off, save for trimming it to keep it at a certain length. It was a small part of her that always kept her separate from the others. Regardless, everyone had a small quirk about him or her that made him or her unique, not only in terms of combat but also outside of combat. I just found some of them more… interesting than others…

We had arrived at the hall, and everyone was already there, eating and talking merrily, some of stories of their training while others to see who could make the largest fib. After picking up a tray of fruits and some protein, I looked towards where Pei and the others were and met up with them. Pei had her dark hair shorn down to what she called 'peach fuzz.' Harper and Tobias had their hair grow out a little bit, but only to about six centimeters long. If it went past that, then Admiral Josiah Nathaniel Sheppard, our commander and admiral of the Warlord, would be going after them with a blade in hand, literally. He was a man of tradition, and any small deviation would result in some rather hard punishment. Then again, he did not care about such strictness for the Spartans, as we were only here as part of the offensive and defensive, not regular crewmen. The others had theirs at what was considered standard cut for the Marines, a crew cut. We enjoyed ourselves with stories, amusing the others with tales of our training when the ship's AI, Temujin, barked on the PA.

"SPARTAN-468, the Admiral wants you on the bridge before we dock."

Kitty pulled a face at the PA, murmuring something about the AI sounding like an old man. Then again, I thought the voice sounded a little like Chief Mendez. It was odd, but it reminded me of him a bit. Standing up, I cleared my space and headed directly to the bridge. I was not one to eat and run, but when duty called, I did not really have a choice. Not wanting to keep the Admiral waiting, I decided to take a shortcut and climbed up one of the support beams to the second floor. There, I dashed for the wall and pushed against it towards another pillar, only to jump to yet another pillar. I grabbed on to a thick pipe and swung myself on to the third level, taking a quick breather as I calmly walked on to the main deck.

The metallic doors slid away, and the control room stood before me. Several members turned briefly to see who had intruded, only to return to work. I approached the elderly admiral in a submissive fashion and saluted.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked in a very formal tone.

The admiral, a tall man with thick dark brows and dark eyes to match, turned to look at me. He was a well-built man of mid- to late-fifties with the hint of seeing many battles, either winning or retreating from them. However, I had heard that this man was a war hero, and that the decorations on his suit were just a fraction of what he really had acquired. For a Spartan who had successfully lead every mock mission, just looking at him made my knees weaken a bit, but I mustered my courage and stood at attention. This wasn't my first time meeting him in person, but just the aura, this atmosphere, that surrounded him, made everyone feel highly inferior to him. The holographic podium was disturbed slightly as an image began to appear. It was that of a Mongol from the ancient times of China. He sat there on the pad, fiddling with his bow. I took notice that there were three spots on the bow that glowed brightly. Odd, but it was worth taking note of for future references. After a few moments, Admiral Sheppard broke the silence.

"Looks like you'll be heading into your first real battle, 468…" he pointed out as a map of Uxxasr Omicron was projected on the screen. "But you won't be working alone. You will be taking your whole team down there and giving assistance to another group of Spartans."

"Another group, sir?" I quickly questioned as this surprised me a bit. "No one said that there would be another cadre here."

"Well, plans change as quickly as they are made, 468. Be sure to remember that, or else it could lead to horrendous failures."

Just the way he said it sent a shiver down my spine, but I answered as straight as I could.

"Yes, sir… I will remember, sir…"

"Good… Now, situated in the Zerusesaro Mountain Range is a base that the UNSC ship Forbidden Evolution picked up and relayed to us…" The map of the planet zoomed into the mountains and revealed a crudely made camp. "…From what the local authorities have reported, there are grunts there, as well as several Elites."

"The Covenant…"

"Not quite. These were images that the Forbidden Evolution sent us, and with the enhancements, they don't look like your normal Covenant units…"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"See for yourself… Temujin, bring up the video feed."

"Yes, sir…"

A screen came up and an image filled the white void, revealing a strangely clad Grunt.

"What in the name of the stars is it wearing…?" I muttered, staring at the strange putrid-brown armor and the oddly humped methane tanks. "Those… Those are Grunts, aren't they?"

"It's safe to assume so, but we're not too sure. Temujin has already fitted the Pelicans with Warthogs, so you will be combat-ready when you land. Your LZ is on the western side of the mountains while another group will be sent to the cover the south. The other Spartan teams down there are covering both the northern and eastern sides. Your objectives are to take over their base and capture as many units as possible. Keep damage minimal. We'll be landing at the Mellor Docking Station in a few hours. In the meantime, take this chance to prepare the teams for deployment. You have about five minutes when we arrive. Any questions?"

"Sir, no, sir!" I replied, snapping a salute.

"Don't let me down, 468… I am counting on you."

I nodded and turned heel, marching towards the door. I paused for a minute and looked at Temujin.

"Sir, permission to speak?"

The admiral turned and nodded.

"Temujin, order all the Spartans to get their gear on and meet me in the hangar for further briefing."

The rustic AI blinked at the fact that he was taking orders not just from a young officer, but a young female officer at that. He loathed it greatly to be ordered around by those of the opposite gender, but after getting a cold glare from Sheppard, he meekly complied and relayed the message throughout the ship. With a satisfying grunt from the Admiral, I quickly left his presence and headed for my quarters to retrieve my cleaned weapons before heading down to the armory to meet up with the rest of my team.

Charlie had already set up everyone with a battle rifle and all of them were waiting for me as the crew fitted the breastplate around me. It felt good being in armor again, but at the cost of the poor maintainers. The suit was heavy enough to crush them if they did not have the equipment to haul the heavy armor, but they got the task done, and I went on to spilt up our group into two teams.

"Harper will lead Tobias, Isis, Pei, Titus, and Rath while I take Tommy, Kitty, Brass, Charlie, and Carl," I began as our weapons caches were set in front of us. "We'll keep in touch using the private COMs, but other than that, keep to hand signals and don't give out your names to anyone, not even the SPARTAN-IIIs. Dr. Halsey pointed it out very clearly a week before we left Reach-II. We don't know how stealthy these guys are, so stay on your toes when we land. Harper!"

"Yes, Team Leader?"

"I want you to take a couple of the landmines with you and see if you can't set them in their base. It'll be like the time you went up against the Argent Squad."

"Ha! That's easier said than done!" he laughed. "They almost caught me with all the tracking equipment they had in there!"

"Well, we're up against a group of stinking Covenant dogs," Rath grunted, his reddish blonde hair glimmering a bit under the fluorescent lights. "If they had the sense of smell to match their canine forms, then I think they'd be able to find us, but other than that, they're as good as dead!"

Tommy gave a reverberating howl from inside his helmet, and laughed as he depolarized the lens so that everyone could see his dark face.

"I say we rip them up good…" he growled, baring his white teeth for fangs.

"Ok, you go do that, and I'll see to it that you're locked in a kennel for a week!" Kitty mustered, arms stretched out for the wolfen Spartan.

Tommy whimpered playfully as my young teammate got him into a headlock. We all laughed as we checked our weapons one more time and headed to the hangar, where our Pelicans were waiting. One by one, the Spartans boarded their respected ships while I was talking with Harper, Charlie, and Pei about our plans.

"Harper, your team will be dropped off from the southern side, so that means the sun will be playing against you until nightfall, which is in five hours," I explained. "We will head from the eastern side, which will also play against us as the Covenant units will have an easier time spotting us."

"I'll take Isis and Rath with me to scout ahead and make sure that the path is clear for our team," Pei volunteered as a holographic map of the terrain appeared. "Looks like there are tons of places for us to hide in, especially the trees."

"Might want to be careful about that though," Charlie warned as I noticed that the admiral was approaching us. "Who knows what those beasts are up to…"

I quickly stood at attention, and the others, even the ones on the Pelicans, follow suit.

"At ease," he gestured after saluting us. "468, I have this for you…"

He handed over a chip and I promptly inserted into the disk dock in my helmet and strapped it into place. It felt like a cold fluid had been poured down my neck and enveloped my whole body. I tensed slightly, only to hear a gruff voice in my mind.

"So, you are SPARTAN-468… The one that has the third highest scores in the UNSC for the sniper challenge, up there next to SPARTAN-058 and SPARTAN-384…"

I growled softly until the admiral held up his hand. I stood quietly, but with another entity in my mind, I was growing uneasy.

"468, what I gave you was a small program chunk of Temujin," he explained as I was still having a mental fight with the AI. "He will be assisting you while you are down on Uxxasr Omicron…"

I began to protest in a controlled manner as I loathed Temujin greatly. For an AI, he did not have an ounce of respect for my fellow comrades, Pei, Kitty, and the other female Spartans especially. He reminded me greatly of Randy, but even he confessed in the end. I let the words escape through gritted teeth.

"Sir, as much as I appreciate the help, I prefer that I work without an AI."

"Kid, you have a lot to learn," the Temujin clone laughed. "You're far from being able to work on your own. Trust me, I know…"

"Ok, you're the one who doesn't want to listen to my commands…" I hissed lowly.

"How about this… I listen to your commands, and you go change yourself into a guy…"

"WHAT?!"

I instantly pulled out the chip and shook my head. The coldness sloughed off, but I could still sense something tingling at the back of my mind. I handed the chip back to the admiral and stepped back.

"I am sorry, admiral, but I cannot accept an AI who has little respect for a female officer…" I spat as I looked at the others. "Let's move out."

The admiral glared at the chip and held it in his hand.

"I'll see to it that my program engineer fixes it…"

"Don't bother with it, sir… I prefer to not work with an AI…"

However, I had a feeling he was going to be waiting for me with that disrespectful program in hand. Our weapons cache has been lashed to the floor of the Pelican, and we geared up as we made last minute checks to our suits. The Warlord touched down on the docking station, and after about five minutes, the four Pelicans took off into the void, heading into the atmosphere of a possible war zone.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I am sorry it took a while for me to get this up, but here it is. I'll be answering/replying to those who have commented soon. Still trying to get back into the swing of things. And yes, there are tons of new chapters that were made, at least 13 more. So yeah, hopefully, I'll be able to put at least a chapter up every week. Hope you enjoy!

Lt. Jessie Jay Falcon