Simmons paces outside the door. You can do this, he tells himself. You know a little about machines and you're good with computers. Just offer to help her with her work. No big deal. He hears a door open and freezes, but it's just someone down the hall. He fights the urge to run back to the mess hall where Grif and Sarge are. You can do this, he thinks again. You can do this…
He stops pacing, remembering the curly-haired woman he'd met the day before. He remembers brown eyes and a no-nonsense attitude and that moment when she'd been standing very close to him while listening to his lungs. But above all, he remembers that she'd cared. She'd cared that he was broken and she'd cared that if he didn't get fixed he could die. For reasons Simmons is too nervous to think about, he wants to see her again.
Despite the pep talk he's giving himself, the thought of talking to her still makes his stomach flip. I can't do it, he decides miserably. Simmons turns and begins walking down the hall away from Yttri's workroom. He hears a door open and close behind him but ignores it, trying to get away as quickly as possible.
"Hey, cyborge" the familiar voice calls behind him and he freezes again.
Simmons turns to face the mechanic, glad that he has his armor on so his helmet can hide the blush on his face. "Oh, uh, hi, Yttri, I mean Yttrium. Um, how's it going?"
"I'm about to start working on the Hornet" Yttri says, ignoring his stammering.
"Oh, um, that's cool" Simmons says. This is your perfect chance, he screams in his head. Ask her if you can help!
"Of course, it's gonna take forever" Yttrium continues unhappily. "Normally Iodine would help me, but he's training right now." She studies Simmons for a moment. "You any good with machines?" she finally asks.
"I'm alright" Simmons answers, "but I'm really better with computers."
"You could work on the targeting systems while I fix the engines" Yttri says thoughtfully. "I mean, if you want to" she amends. "Normally I wouldn't ask, but I really need the extra hands."
"Of course" Simmons says quickly before she has a chance to take the offer back. "I'd love to help!" He starts to panic, worrying that he's sounding too over-eager and he should have tried to play it cool, when Yttri interrupts his thoughts.
"Cool. Follow me" she says, walking past him.
Simmons breathes a sigh of relief. That went better than I could have hoped.
Nickel enters the mess hall. He sees the Sim-Troopers all gathered around one table, except the maroon one who apparently left breakfast early. The rest seem to be enjoying themselves. Sarge is holding Grif back while Tucker tells some story that seems to involve Grif's sister. Donut is telling Caboose to stop poking at the bandage on his hand and trying to explain to him for the thousandth time why petting the cats here is a bad idea. Doc is babbling on about the nutritional value of their meals, although no one seems to be listening. Nick marvels at how quickly they've settled back into what appears to be a routine for them. Then, he turns his attention toward the former Freelancer also at their table.
Washington, once again wearing his armor, is sitting slightly off to the side, keeping himself separate from the rest of the group. Nick wonders if this is because he feels like he's not one of the group or if the situation just reminds him too much of his time in Project Freelancer. Or maybe joining in with the group would show how much he trusts them, and he can't accept that after being betrayed so many times. Or, you know, maybe he's just not a morning person, a slightly less dramatic part of his brain interjects.
Nick pushes these musings to the side as he sits next to the ex-Freelancer. "We need to talk" he says when Wash turns to look at him.
I flare the alien bike's engines as we near the ground, softening the landing to a point where I can hold on. After a few shaky moments in which I struggle to keep the vehicle from flipping, we shoot forward.
"Told you we'd make it" Rho says smugly.
I give her the mental equivalent of a middle finger. I'm not particularly afraid of heights, but I still want to avoid the splat at the end of a fall. "Let's not do that again soon" I mutter through clenched teeth.
Rho updates my HUD with a new path to the pelican. As I follow the glowing trail, I begin to notice a change in our surroundings. Where before we were surrounded by stores, and then homes, we now appear to be speeding past warehouses.
"According to the map, the city's broken up into districts" Rho answers the unspoken question. "We started running in the trading district, then we passed through the residential areas, and now we're in the industrial district." She pauses for a moment before adding "this district is also where the majority of the city's criminal activities takes place."
"Does that mean there's less security here?"
"I believe local organized crime pays them to stay away," Rho answers.
"Which is why you led me here" I say, shaking my head in amusement. "You never fail to impress, Rho."
"I try" she says, sounding pleased.
"But don't get cocky" I admonish jokingly. I zip around a corner, having finally gotten the hang of steering this thing. "We're not home yet."
"Really? Now you're trying to be cautious?"
"I guess getting shot at helped me get my head on straight" I say.
"Are you regretting not bringing backup?" Rho asks.
"Nope" I say brightly. "Backup would have slowed me down back there. Having you for a tactician is all I need."
"I think you would do better using a bit of common sense" Rho grumbles.
I smile at her annoyance. "I'm gonna assume our little escape back there threw us off course a little" I guess. "How much longer will this route take to get us to the ship?"
Rho considers this for a moment. "Somewhere between five and ten minutes" she finally says uncertainly.
"You're normally more precise than that" I say.
"You downloaded a tourist's map," Rho points out. "It's not exactly detailed in this particular area of town."
"Don't tourists like visiting the criminal underbelly of a city?" I quip.
"No, Si, that's just you" Rho sighs.
We fall silent as the alien bike buzzes through the maze of warehouses. As we pass more and more buildings that all look identical, I become very thankful that Rho is here with me. With no sun or major landmarks to follow, I know I'd have been lost long ago without her navigating.
Eventually, the trail stops moving forward and begins to shoot straight up a wall. I hop off the bike and stare up at the glowing green line. "So, where exactly is the hangar where we left the pelican?"
"About twelve feet in front of you," Rho says, "and seventeen levels up."
I glance at the bike. "I don't suppose that thing can fly" I say hopelessly.
"Not by my calculations" Rho confirms.
"Great." I step up to the wall and start climbing. "Grif was right, climbing does suck" I grumble three levels up.
"But you like heights" Rho reminds me.
"Yeah, but this is really time consuming. Also, it's not exactly the least conspicuous thing we've done today." I lean back slightly, trying to see the end of Rho's trail. "I should have brought a jetpack."
"That would have been convenient" Rho agrees.
In all honesty, though, Rho is right. I do like heights. Problems make more sense when viewed from above. Depths, however, are a different matter. It bugs me that I'm technically below my destination. Approaching from this angle will make it impossible to see the hangar before I'm already there. This seems like a wonderful setup for an ambush.
"What do you think the odds are that there are guards waiting up there for us?" I ask.
"I think it's highly likely" Rho answers.
I'm only one level below the hangar now. I glance down and for a moment feel a wave of dizziness. "Not now" I whisper, clenching my eyes shut and holding onto the wall tighter than ever.
"What's wrong?" Rho asks.
"Nothing" I lie as my vision once again clears.
"Are you still having dizzy spells?" she asks. "You told me that stopped."
"Just from time to time" I say dismissively.
"You know that's a bad sign" she reprimands. "You should have told Rhodium."
"He already knows." I feel Rho prepare to speak again and cut her off before she can. "Look, there's nothing we can do about it and it's already passed anyway, so let's just get this over with."
Rho stays silent, though I can tell she's not happy. I reach for another one of Yttrium's devices on my belt.
"Another flash-bug?" Rho asks.
"Mhmm" I hum as I turn the device on and set it on the wall. It manages to walk up the vertical surface without difficulty and climbs into the hangar. "They're pretty good for getting out of situations like this." A few moments later I hear the explosion from the small machine, followed by silence. I climb the last few feet and flip up over the edge into the hangar. At this same moment I realize the inconsistency. Flashbangs are usually followed by a lot of shouting from whoever they hit…
"It didn't work" Rho says at the same moment I realize my mistake. Standing before me are over a dozen Sangheli soldiers in zealot armor, each surrounded by the faint glow of an energy shield. The same type of shields which, I know from past experience, flashbangs don't work against. A force field appears behind me, blocking off any escape back down the wall.
The alien soldiers point their guns toward me and I lift my hands slowly. I open my mouth, whether to make a witty remark or try to make up some excuse for the soldiers, I'm not sure. It doesn't matter, though. One of the soldiers steps forward before I have a chance to speak and punches me so hard in my face that I fall backward. I think that if it weren't for my helmet I'd probably have a broken nose now.
The Sangheli leans over me and I kick up into his chest, knocking him back. I jump to my feet and pull my gun, but it's immediately knocked out of my hand. I'm surrounded and I know I'm in trouble. I punch and kick every direction but the blows aren't strong enough to take the aliens down. Something hits me in the back of the head and I stumble forward. A plasma blast slams into my back and I fall, feeling a slight burn through my armor.
"Silver!" Rho says urgently. "Get up! We have to get out of here!"
"I'm trying" I grunt, pushing against the ground in a futile attempt to stand. The soldiers hold me down as I struggle.
One of them growls something and although my alien languages are a little rusty I make out the words "sister" and "payback" amidst the sentence. Great, I think sarcastically. So not only do they know I'm more than just a random criminal, but now it's personal. The thoughts stop when my head gets pulled back slightly, then slammed back into the floor. My vision goes spotty and I fight a wave of nausea and dizziness.
"Silver" Rho pleads again. Her voice sounds strained and for a moment it sounds like there's two of her talking. The blow must have affected her as well. "Please, you have to get up."
"I can't" I mumble. The dizziness isn't going away this time and it's all I can do to remain conscious. I can feel the aliens kicking and hitting me, but the sensations are oddly distant, like they're happening to someone else. "Sorry" I whisper, knowing I'm defeated and knowing that she's trapped here with me; that she can't escape while she's in my head.
Suddenly, there's a new pain in my head. A sharp, familiar spike of pain spreads from the base of my skull through the rest of my brain. At the same moment that I recognize the feeling and realize what Rho's doing, I hear a shout from across the room.
"Silver!" Rho's voice calls out. The soldiers and I turn our heads at the same time and see a glowing, armor clad figure standing in the back of the pelican. The figure is holding a large plasma cannon with both hands and begins to fire as the aliens stare.
The soldiers release me as they dive for cover. I stumble to my feet and run to the ship, head still spinning. Plasma bolts fly past me and into the back of the ship, but manage to miss me. I run straight through the holo-projection standing in the pelican and sprint up to the cockpit, hitting the button to close the door as I pass. The aliens roar angrily when they realize the ruse they've fallen for. The sound is quickly cut off by the roar of the ship's engines. I forego normal safe take-off procedures and hit the throttle for all it's worth, flying away from the larger Covenant ship at top speed.
Once we're out of sight of the Covenant ship I pull my helmet off. My vision's still a little blurry and I feel like I've been run over, but I'm alive. At this point, that alone is a miracle.
Rho's avatar appears atop the ship's controls. I look down at her and chuckle slightly. "What was that you were saying earlier about being stupid and reckless?" She cocks her head to the side as though she doesn't understand. "You know you're not supposed to mess with your avatar like that. It strains your holo-projectors and is dangerous for you."
"It got us out of there" she points out.
"Yeah, it did" I agree. "Thanks."
"Of course, it wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't made us go alone in the first place" Rho points out.
I nod slightly.
"No more solo missions" Rho says, half scolding and half pleading. "Please. This was too close."
I hum a neutral tone, not really paying attention as I sink down in the chair.
"Are you okay?" Rho asks, the words sounding strangely muted to my ears. "Silver, wake up!" she snaps more loudly.
My eyes snap open and I breathe in sharply. "I'm up, I'm fine" I say quickly.
"No, you're not" she says, eyeing me critically. After a moment she sighs. "Plug me into the ship. I'll fly us home while you get some rest."
I feel her thoughts pull away from mine. Once she gives me the ok, I remove her chip from my head and plug it into the control panel. "Don't forget to double check that no one is following us" I say through a yawn.
"I know."
"And be careful with the thrusters on the right side. I think they took some damage during the escape."
"I know" Rho says again. "I've got this. Now get some rest. You need it." I begin to doze off, barely catching her final words. "Now more than ever."