Chapter 25

August 17, 2043 hours, Somewhere in Eposz District, Planet Reach

It had been dark for several hours and the human camp settled in for the night. Those on guard duty could see the plain before them with thermal and infrared imaging so their perimeter was secure. But at this point few worried about attack from the Covenant. Though the new invasion fleet was several kilometers away the glow of burning fires from the attack earlier in the day still glowed on the horizon.

As it got later the temperature began to drop. With it the wind picked up causing a further chill in the air. For Mike and Natalia in MJOLINIR armor that caused no issue, they were in a fully climate-controlled environment. Even the ODSTs were protected by the BDU battle armor they wore. The UNSC Army troopers and Mandy were not as fortunate and they felt the bite of the snow-laced wind.

Sitting down with her back again the bumper of the Warthog Natalia chided herself for acting like a jealous school girl the previous two days. She'd worked so hard to learn and to grow and now she felt like she was blowing it. Why? Because some other woman was interested in Mike? She was so why would it be a surprise someone else would find him attractive? Maybe because she felt as if she didn't measure up and would lose him in the end, something she wasn't used to experiencing. She was a Misriah; she was Stinger, a champion.

Yet none of her advantages seemed to matter here on Reach. The troubled woman considered anew what her father must have gone through to acquire the armor she wore as Mike silently field stripped his assault rifle to clean it. Correction, the Spartan armor she wore. Mike, as had all who wore the coveted and expensive ensemble had been physically augmented to operate the half-ton fighting system. Not her. Instead of the soldier being augmented the suit had been adapted for God-knows how much money so she could operate it.

And she wasn't even a real soldier, Natalia sighed.

Only the best for Spanner Misriah's little girl she thought to herself with a tone of bitterness. Now that she'd been around real soldiers for a while she began to understand the dirty looks and off-hand comments that had been thrown her way when people saw her in the red armor. Even the color screamed privilege. She stuck out like a beacon on the barren plain of Eposz. It was certainly a different world than what she was used to at ONI headquarters on Earth.

But she was a real soldier. The past was in the past, it was the present that mattered and what she did with it. She'd fought to the best of her ability, she'd learned, she'd grown and she'd contributed in a modest way. Best of all she'd been accepted by Mike and the others of Noble Team. That meant more to her than anything else she'd ever accomplished. Despite the threat of death she didn't care, right now, she'd rather not be anywhere else in the universe. Her life was making a difference and she was with a man she truly loved. She was alive; this is what it meant to live. A smile lit up her attractive face.

Then Natalia's mind focused anew onto the perky little medic who was carefully tending the wounded ODST at the other end of the Warthog and that caused a frown to suppress the smile.

Mandy was oblivious to the turmoil she had caused coming from only a few meters away. She tried to ward off the night chill but the wounded Private Weise wasn't so fortunate. His armor system had been ruptured plus the trauma of his wound made the ODST shocky. He'd been wrapped in several metallic Mylar blankets plus a small emergency shelter had been pitched to house him, but still, his temperature had been dropping in synch with that going on outside.

Mandy had mounted a constant vigil over the wounded Marine and rebuffed any overture for her to be relieved at the moment. The medic wanted to monitor the vital signs of the operator closely herself, trusting no one else with the delicate instruments.

That wasn't her only reason for separating herself from the rest of the group. The short conversation she'd had with Gunny Stacker was heavy on her mind. The NCO had warned her off of a relationship with the Spartan Noble 6. But he wasn't merely that. He was more than his designation or role, he was Mike. Her feelings were already conflicted before the Marine had kindly given his warning. She did have feelings for him but what were they? She couldn't tell. Now new feelings were rising, stubborn belligerence. Who was he to warn her off? More importantly, who was this Misriah character to interfere in her happiness? It was obvious the tall ONI officer didn't like her but was it because she saw her as a threat? Mandy wasn't certain.

The thoughtful medic also wasn't certain she wasn't a threat. The conflicting thoughts and emotions bounced around inside of her and yet they were not unpleasant. In fact, after the trauma of the death of her family and misery of what she'd seen, these new sensations were rather welcome. It felt good to feel like a woman again. Back in the days she had been pursuing education and med school she would have dismissed them as silly emotions, not worthy of reflection but now she'd seen much, too much. Silly suddenly was a welcome respite. Besides, she could be dead the next day or the day after that. Why not feel something again, something like…, she paused for a moment to ensure the silent admission was correct. Like love. It was correct and she thought she might just be feeling it.

Double checking Weise and then Private Perez, the woman knew she needed some sleep. Burrowing into two Mylar blankets under the rear bumper of the Warthog slumber came quickly. Despite the cold she was warm from the flush of emotions she was feeling.

Morning had not yet dawned. In the chill of the early hour Mike and Stacker huddled together planning the next phase of their operations against the large Covenant force. During the night Mike had scouted the perimeter of the landing zone to assess the results of their activities. While they'd put a dent in them the invaders were far from stopped. Returning, the creative Spartan had a few ideas to rectify the situation. As the two leaders talked Mandy approached the command group. Her usually happy face was marred with a grim look of concern that Mike knew as he watched her approach wasn't good.

"Excuse me," the medic cut in, "Can I interrupt?"

"Sure Doc, what's up?" Stacker asked.

"I have good news and bad news."

"Okay, shoot," the ODST NCO answered evenly.

"Perez is good. It's Private Weise I want to talk about. Well, his wound is healing fine and his condition is stable," she began.

"But," Stacker interrupted.

"But," the woman avoided eye contact, "his vitals are dropping. I almost missed it because it's real slight but it is happening at a steady rate."

"I thought you said nothing major got hit?" Stacker shot back in concern.

Mandy recoiled, obviously embarrassed and uncomfortable with the situation.

Mike jumped in. "Well I'm glad you caught it. What do you think's happening?"

Mandy's heart soared as Mike stepped in to defend her. "The problem is I don't have the proper instruments to do an assessment," she explained. "I suspect a vital organ may have gotten nicked by the sword when he was stabbed. Regardless, his condition is deteriorating. He needs to get to a major medical facility."

"So you're telling me he's bleeding out?" Stacker confirmed.

"Yes gunny, that's essentially what's happening," Mandy answered unhappily. "He needs an evac or we may lose him."

"Where?"

"New Alexandria is likely the closest."

"Okay. He'd likely be dead by now if you weren't with us. So thanks for what you're doing," Stacker stated kindly to Mandy's relief. "Henderson," he barked, "I need the radio now."

The African-American corporal brought the set over and Stacker toggled the switch for regional comms. "Kilo Lead this is Kilo Four-Zero, over," he called out. "Kilo Main, this is Kilo Four-Zero, over," he tried another. "Any station this is Kilo Four-Zero over, we need immediate medevac, over." But nothing but static came back. "Damn it!" he slammed the hand set down. "Comms are still out, or blocked. Okay Henderson, get everyone up."

It didn't take long for the group to gather and the gunnery sergeant got right to the point.

"We need to get Weise out of here," Stacker reported. "So we'll load him and Perez into the Hog with a security detail and send them to New Alexandria."

"We got a problem with that gunny," Corporal Brown cut in.

"What's that?" Stacker turned sharply to the lean trooper.

"Hogs low on fuel," the UNSC Army NCO reported. "All the jerries are empty too. We've exceeded the anticipated range for this mission. It'll never make it all the way."

Stacker sighed heavily and rubbed his scruff goatee beard with scarred hands, weighing all the possibilities as everyone else avoided eye contact. Resolved, he declared, "Right, well then we pull out ASAP and hump it back."

"That'll likely take four days," Henderson pointed out.

"And what about the Covenant landing force?" Mike added. "It's still out there and still a threat."

"There are lots of threats to Reach, son," Stacker responded grimly. "We've set them back on their heels. We've bought some time," he added doggedly. Then turning to Henderson the ODST NCO answered the implied question. "Doc'll keep Weise alive for four days, no problem," he stated emphatically, "won't you Doc?"

Mandy nodded her head vigorously in agreement, caught up in the moment.

"So we set the wounded up in the Hog until it runs out of juice then we carry from there. We may get lucky and come across some other UNSC forces along the way or the comms may clear up. Regardless, we're getting our boy to treatment. Any questions?"

The other operators all nodded their head in determined agreement. Mike and Natalia wisely stayed out of the conversation as they knew this wasn't their call.

Corporal Chin and two other operators ranged ahead of the main column as it moved slowly away from the Covenant landing zone. Thus far they'd seemed to attract no attention. Still, that didn't mean there weren't any other attackers between them and their objective. Private Weise lay on an improvised gurney in the back of the Warthog between the LAAG housing and the front seats while the also injured Private Perez sat in the passenger's seat. Gunny Stacker led the main column while Mike was off to the left providing flank cover. Mandy hunched over the wounded ODST in the Warthog while Natalia walked in the column just behind the vehicle. The two women occasionally took glances at each other but nothing was overt. The rest of the UNSC troops were spread out in a loose formation.

They'd made it past mid-day without incident then kept moving though taking regular rest intervals until darkness fell before making camp for the night. There was little talk; most were saving their energy for the continued march.

Still nothing could be raised on the radio. Mike though was restless and edgy so kept coming and going from the camp. The Spartan would patrol out then return to report to Stacker and setting out again. Mandy noticed this, and also that his limp was starting to become more pronounced. Staying up later then she would have liked she checked on the two wounded ODSTs but really was waiting to see if Mike would return but he didn't. Finally, exhausted from the day's march, she turned in.

Mandy awoke the next morning to the glow of sunlight just peeking out from behind a distant mountain range. She looked around and saw the other troopers were eating and adjusting their kit for the day's march. She got up, checked on Weise and then went over to sit with Gunny Stacker. Natalia sat off by herself alone. The medic realized Mike wasn't there.

"Where's Mike?" Mandy asked.

"Six? Out sweeping the route of our advance. We'll reel him in I reckon probably around mid-morning," the ODST NCO predicted in his southern drawl.

"Was he up all night?"

"Probably," Stacker answered, looking at her with curiosity. The perceptive Marine could see Natalia glaring at the woman and couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess my advice would have been better given to the hogs, like my daddy used to say."

"Umm, well…," Mandy stumbled, her faced reddening.

"Don't worry about it, Doc," Stacker set her at ease. "You're a big girl; you can take care of yourself. We've seen that. You'd have made a good ODST."

The woman was stunned by the rare compliment. "Thank you," she breathed, her voice choked with emotion.

"You earned it," the seasoned veteran responded. Looking at her anew he asked bluntly, "So what's your concern with Six?"

He had read right through her. "I don't think he slept at all last night. He keeps coming and going. Plus I think his injured leg is bothering him. I'm worried about him."

"Are you worried about his combat effectiveness or worried about him?" Stacker asked pointedly.

Again Mandy looked away in embarrassment but decided to be honest. "I'm worried about him," she confessed.

"Do you know how someone becomes a Spartan?" the NCO asked, his voice dropping.

"Well, I've read a bit about the enhancements. Most of the info is classified though. I do know that they are physically augmented so they can wear their armor system."

"That's part of it." Stacker looked over at Natalia then back at the concerned woman. "They are enhanced physically but also psychologically. They're made to be able to become stronger when things get bad, to draw energy from injury, and turn to crisis into opportunity. He knows we're in a tough spot and so he's going into the zone."

"That's terrible," Mandy whispered.

"Naw, the situations not that bad. We'll make New Alexandria all right," the Marine tried to encourage her, missing her point.

"That's not what I meant," Mandy corrected him. "I think what they did to him is terrible."

"How so?" Stacker asked.

"You're basically telling me they've altered the human psyche so that when they're at risk or injured they fight harder rather than seeking aid."

"That's right."

"Can't you see the danger of that?" Mandy pressed, her voice rising. "It's a death sentence! When they should withdraw for healing they instead keep going right over the abyss."

"I guess. It makes them hellova good soldiers in a pinch though," Stacker confessed butt then his voice became hard. "Listen Doc, I like you. But you know what? This is a war for our survival and there's going to be casualties. I don't like it any more than you do but I also don't like to see glassed planets." He paused to allow the words to sink in. Then, he patted her on the shoulder to comfort her and said, "Come on, we need to get ready to move."

By mid-morning as Stacker had predicted the main body had caught up to Mike. Mandy had taken the time to ponder the discussion she'd had with the ODST and she still didn't like it. Seeing Mike alone caused her compassion to only grow.

The Spartan knelt down by a rocky outcrop, nodding to the two ODSTs leading the way, allowing the main body to catch up before he got up and kept going, though it was obvious he was favoring his leg. He gave the gunnery sergeant an update then drifted off to the left flank again, putting himself between the likely location of the Covenant and the small party of humans. Mandy saw the limp from her perch in the Warthog as did Natalia.

The proud woman saw not only the limp but the medic continually noticing him. She wasn't sure what to think. Was it anger? Frustration? Or was it jealousy? Natalia didn't know. She'd never experienced the emotion before so really had nothing to compare it to. Mike had spoken with her little since coming back from his mission and hadn't mentioned her declaration of love. The woman was sure he'd heard it but now wasn't certain. Should she tell him again? Leave it to him to respond? She didn't know. Frustration grew.

A warning light came on in her HUD along with an alarm claxon. It wasn't enemy, rather something diagnostic. Natalia had never paid attention when the technician was running over how the adapted MJOLINIR armor suit worked when it had been presented to her. She remembered the day. Her father was there, proud and in control. MacKenzie hovered around, telling her how sexy she'd look in it, always ready with a compliment. He really was a good man. Why couldn't she settle for him? But that was the problem. It would be settling. MacKenzie feared her in some ways: for her aggression and her pedigree as all men before him had. She couldn't respect that. Mike, on the other hand, not only didn't fear her but could care less what her name was. And she loved him for that.

The warning light flashed more urgently and the alarm began to warble. Suddenly she found it difficult to maintain her pace, like she was walking through quicksand. Her pace began to drop and first the two UNSC Army soldiers passed her then the rear guard of ODSTs caught up and passed her as well.

Stacker got a signal from the operators and circled back, an irritated look on his face. "Something caught you eye, ma'am?" he asked casually but trying to make a point.

"No," she answered nervously. "No, everything's fine."

"Well would you mind picking up the pace then," he declared pointedly.

"Sure, no problem," she responded trying to sound casual but beginning to panic. Then the blinking light went solid red and the alarm went to a higher pitch just as she froze dead in her track. Despite everything she tried she couldn't move.

"Come on, stop screwing around, you can't fall behind," the gunnery sergeant called back angrily.

"I…I can't move," Natalia answered, almost ready to cry. "My suit's malfunctioning."

"What?" the ODST NCO asked incredulously.

"Something's wrong with my suit. I can't move," Natalia declared in embarrassment.

Stacker called a halt and the rest of the column including the Warthog came back to where the miserable ONI officer was dead in her tracks.

"What's up gunny?" Corporal Henderson asked.

"Suit malfunction, she can't move in it," he answered, trying to sound neutral but a definite edge on it.

The situation caused a degree of amusement among the young Marines who took delight in the woman's embarrassment.

"Okay, we've got to get her out of it," Stacker stated.

"Get a can opener," one of the ODST operators stated sarcastically.

"Funny," he responded without humor. "We need to find the emergency release and get her out."

"Wait a second there gunny, that's not going to happen." Mike tromped into the conversation and stood aggressively beside Natalia.

"What's going on Tali?" Mike asked quietly.

""I'm sorry. Something's gone wrong with the suit. I can't move. Nothing responds," she answered in humiliation. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

"Save it," he cut her off brusquely. Then looking around he did a cursory inspection. "Looks like the hydraulics are malfunctioning. And she's not coming out of the suit."

"Of course we wouldn't leave it behind for the Covvies, we'll blow it up," Stacker answered, trying to get things back on track.

"That's not what I mean," Mike shot back tensely. "We're not taking her out of the suit," the Spartan declared aggressively. "She'd have no armor protection. We can't leave her that exposed."

"What? Kind of like us?" Corporal Brown huffed under his breath.

Natalia heard the comment from the Army trooper and her face reddened inside her helmet.

"And we can't stay here, we're sitting ducks," Stacker noted, irritation growing. "If she can't move then we can't either. We have to push on. If you want to stay with her, fine, we'll send recovery back with we get to New Alexandria. We got no option."

The ODSTs looked at each other in surprise at the declaration. An awkward silence overtook the group.

"I worked a P-5000 Power Loader when I was back on the farm," Private Shoemaker piped up. "If it's the hydraulics I might be able to fix it."

"A Caterpillar Loader? You're kidding me right, Josh?" Corporal Brown cut in. "This is a multi-million dollar piece of technology and you think you can fix it like a civvie mech?"

"Hey, it's worth a try," Mike shot back.

"Just do it," Stacker shot out walking away in frustration. "Rest of you, defensive formation."

"Mike, I…" Natalia tried to say but he again cut her off.

"Don't worry about it," he answered. "We'll get you sorted out and back on-line, relax."

She couldn't tell his facial expression behind the visor. Was that sympathy? Anger? Disgust? It was beginning to drive her crazy. She did see Mandy give a smirk and then run over to treat Mike's leg wound. She tried to move in response but was still stuck. In frustration she screamed at the top of her lungs though she was smart enough to turn off her comms so no one heard.

The Army private moved over and looked at the suit for a few minutes, not saying anything.

"Well, what do you think?" Mike asked, as Mandy gave him an injection into one of the med ports on the suit.

"Let me see," the young soldier said to himself, kneeling down at the back of the suit. "There we go."

"Do you got it?" Stacker joined in, asking with a degree of anxiety.

"This looks like the entry into the control panel," Shoemaker confirmed. "Ma'am, is this the right spot?"

Natalia suddenly realized she'd no clue. She'd been given a briefing by the Misriah Armory technical team but hadn't paid attention. The impetuous woman had been more interested in putting it through its paces then learning how it ran that day. She suspected she'd been told but didn't know. Shame growing by the second her first impulse was to lie and go along with it. No one would know.

But she would.

People's lives were at stake. She wouldn't allow her arrogance to put people's lives at more risk. "I don't know," Natalia swallowed her pride and answered honestly. "I was given a briefing about the suit but didn't pay attention. I'm really sorry," she added.

"Oh man, that's just great," Corporal Henderson spat out in disgust, walking angrily away from the scene.

Stacker rubbed his eyes in fatigue but said nothing to Natalia. Instead he said to the Army trooper. "Okay son, it's up to you. We need you to make this happen."

Shoemaker nodded his head understanding what was riding on this. "Brownie," he called to his partner, "I need the tool kit in the Hog." With that, the unassuming soldier got to work.

Stacker wandered off to check on his operators but Mike stayed by Natalia's side though he said nothing. Mandy stood next to him, close enough that there was no daylight between the pair. Natalia's heart ached but there was little to do. She had become the center of attention she desperately didn't want.

Shoemaker was able to pop open the hatch in the MJOLNIR armor and began to poke around.

"Gunny, we got tangos inbound," Corporal Chin reported over the team channel. "It's not a big party, Grunts and Jackals with a pair of Skirmishers, but they're on course to intercept."

"Confirm, I have them on my HUD," Mike added, snapping to attention and adjusting the range on his IFF.

"Great, here we are with our pants down," Stacker exclaimed. "Where are we at, son?" he asked Shoemaker.

"There's definitely an issue with the servos," he reported, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. "I'm trying to jury-rig it."

"Make it fast," Stacker encouraged. "Everyone, stand to. We got inbounds," he called out to the rest of the team.

"I'll take my guys, hook up with Chin and we'll lead them off," Mike stated, slapping a fresh mag into his assault rifle. "We don't want them anywhere near us."

"Roger that, move," Stacker confirmed, "rest of you, eyes front."

As Mike pulled out Natalia wanted to call out to him, say something, apologize anew but she couldn't. She'd already done enough. All she could do was pray he'd come back and he'd look at her again like he once had.

Mandy had taken it all in and as Mike moved she went back to the Warthog to continue monitoring the two wounded ODSTs. She could only imagine how Natalia must feel. The compassionate woman took no delight in the other's misfortune. Plus it put them all at risk. She did note that Mike was quick to jump in and put himself once again in harm's way. The intelligent medic remembered her conversation with Gunny Stacker. "Oh Mike, if only you knew there was another way," she whispered to herself.