Author's Note: So...BioWare came out with an expansion pack for Dragon Age a few weeks ago, so that's my excuse for having been MIA for so long on this fic. ;) Addictions, however sad, must be fed. Anyway, I'm hoping I'll be able to update a little more regularly now even though school's started for me again. In the meantime, enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Four: Wake Up Call

1634 Hours, January 30, 2553. Near the City of Portoviejo, Ecuador. "The Dilemma," Planet Earth. Day Sixteen of the Fate of Humanity

Sitting down on the wet earth with my back propped against a large tree trunk might not have been the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was peaceful. There was no sound in the jungle at the moment besides raindrops hitting the foliage, no motion except for the water falling from the sky. The rain had returned a day earlier, making things soggy and miserable again, but for once, I was actually grateful for it. It made it harder for anyone to notice the look on my face.

Now that the company had a moment of downtime, I sat alone with all I had left of my family: the picture of me, Gabe, and Willis that I'd managed to pull from my office when the base had been attacked, and the other of just my son. The one of my little Gabriel was the same one that had helped me make it through the rough times in Cote D'Azur almost a year ago, and the one that had been a source of hope as Willis and I fought the horrifying Flood in Austria after that.

But the images weren't as comforting as they once were. Before, I'd known that this was what I was fighting for, this was what awaited me at the end of all the combat. Someday, when it was all over, I'd finally get to go home to my husband and son. For good.

Except now that they were both dead, I knew this was the closest I'd ever get to being with them again. So what exactly was it that I was fighting for?

"Captain? Would you mind?"

Though I was surprised to hear the voice, I didn't let it show. I continued to sit there with my two pictures, ignoring the rain soaking through my uniform as my best friend sat down beside me.

Lewis didn't say anything at first, so I took the opportunity instead. I pointed to Willis in the photo initially, then kept my gaze fixed on Gabe.

"We would've had our sixth wedding anniversary in June, Dean." I took a deep breath. "Four days after that, it would've been our son's third birthday."

A choking sob escaped me before I could stop it, and I felt Lewis put his arm around me. I leaned into his shoulder, trying hard to get a grip on my emotions, but it took a few moments before I was able to.

"Cooper, you have no idea how sorry I am, about your unborn child and…all this, as well." He squeezed my shoulders. "But, you've got to remember, William and Gabriel's deaths, at least, are not for certain. You still have plenty to hope about, Natalie. They could both very well be still alive."

"I know, Lewis. But the Covies...they blew the city to hell. The chances of them actually having survived..." I shook my head. "It hurts too much to hope, Dean. Because if I end up finding out at the end of all this that I'm right and they really didn't make it, I don't think I'd be able to go through hearing that news a second time. It's bad enough trying to...deal with it all now."

My friend hesitated before asking the next question. "And am I correct in assuming that our new Elite friend's recent revelation hasn't helped things?"

"They knew, Dean," I answered in disgust. "They knew the Covenant were out here, and they knew they were going to attack. If command had launched a preemptive strike on the Covies, my kid would still be alive."

"I'm sure they delayed for the right reasons. You heard what the major had to say. They were waiting for the Covenant to lead us to their true cause for being here. It was a gamble, certainly, but the payoff would have been enormous had everything gone according to plan."

I pulled away from him then and stood. "What the fuck kind of gamble is worth all those lives, Lewis? My child is dead! Hundreds of Marines are dead! No information is worth risking an entire base for."

"Natalie," Lewis began in a soft tone, "try to think of it differently: If we hadn't done things this way, we would not have known about the Flood presence until they were already upon us. How many lives would we have lost then? The entire base would have been wiped out in a surprise Flood attack instead of a Covenant one, we'd all be mindless zombies adding to their parasite army, and the Flood would have continued about their merry way wreaking havoc on the next outpost they found." He quirked an eyebrow at me, a faint smile on his face. "Does that sound a whole lot better in your opinion?"

"No," I replied grudgingly, hesitating for a moment before sitting down again. "But my kid's still dead though, Lewis, and to me, anything that jeopardized my child's life like that isn't worth the sacrifice."

"I understand, Cooper. I truly do. If it had been my own child...well, let me just say that you're holding up remarkably well for everything you've had to endure. I'm not sure I'd be strong enough to do the same myself were I in your shoes." He smiled at me. "But that is why you are in charge and I'm not, ma'am. You're able to do what only few can."

"What? Whine about things I can't change?" I snorted. "I'm not the first to do that, Dean, and I won't be the last."

"No. Press on and do your job exceptionally well, despite the odds. It's what we admire you for, Captain. Why you've earned the respect of every single one of your Marines ten times over."

"Yes, ma'am," a third voice interjected. "The lieutenant's right, Captain. If we have to go into the bowels of a Flood-infested ship, it's only you I'd follow there."

I glanced up, squinting in the rain, to see Corporal Joshua Porter standing over us. He was holding his SMG with the barrel pointed at the ground, a huge grin on his face. Even I had to admit, it was kind of contagious.

"So that's it then, huh?" I asked my aide with a slight smile of my own. "Major Phillips finally gave us the go-ahead?"

Porter nodded. "Affirmative, ma'am. He wants us to get there ASAP, make sure the demo team rigs the insides quick before anymore of the things can get out. Then we can bail."

"Walk in the park, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Releasing a sigh, I hefted my MA5C and got to my feet. "Well, in that case, we'd better get moving." After taking one last glance at my family photo, I stuffed both pictures in my pocket and added, "Come on, Marines. The Flood awaits."

It felt eerie knowing we were going to face the parasite again. No one in my company, including myself, had come across them since the fighting in Europe, but those of us who'd been there sure as hell remembered. Never again had I wanted to encounter those disgusting, terrifying creatures. Ever.

And yet, here we were.

"Captain," Lieutenant Lewis said over the COM channel. "Major Phillips reports they've successfully evacuated the wounded at the aid station, ma'am. The rest of the battalion will be reassembling within the next few days, and then they will rendezvous with us. A second transport fleet out of the base in the capital city of Quito is due to arrive to extract us then. Orders say we need to complete our mission before they land."

"Acknowledged, El-Tee," I answered through my shirt mike. "But what about the Covenant here, the ones that took over base? Regiment is just going to let them have free reign of the area?"

"The major was only now able to re-establish contact, ma'am, and Lieutenant Colonel Davis made clear that the priority at the moment is eliminating the Flood presence, not the Covenant. The colonel wishes us to regroup with the rest of the 603rd Regiment in Quito before they plan a counterstrike op to retake Portoviejo."

I sighed in frustration. Were the higher-ups really that dense? "But we're already here. We can take the Covenant now, while we're still on the ground, without having to drop back into enemy territory later."

"Negative, ma'am. I presented a similar point to Major Phillips, and he explained that though he'd thought we could attempt such a thing at first, we simply do not have the numbers, Captain. Besides our 102nd Battalion, only about three companies' worth of Marines and staff from various units survived, and they're mostly scattered by now. We are not in a position to begin a counteroffensive without considerable support, ma'am."

"Shit." I held my soaked rifle tighter across my middle and glanced down at the mud caked on my boots. "All right, then, let's get this over with. Cooper out."

I cut the connection then and started stepping over the forest growth to get second platoon organized. I'd be marching in with them at the head of Bravo Company, with Lewis bringing up the rear with third, and first platoon in the middle. I hoped to hell we wouldn't see the Flood before we reached the ship.

"Ma'am? Are you sure we're ready for this?"

When I looked over at First Lieutenant Casey Frederick, standing just off to the side of me, his face was washed out from anxiety. I gave the slightly younger officer a firm pat on the shoulder. "We've faced them before, El-Tee. They're nasty sons a bitches, but in the end, one good shotgun pump to the stomach is all it takes. We'll make it through ok."

"Yes, ma'am."

God, it's about time I started believing what I say, I thought.

I keyed my mike again to address the whole company. "Marines, this is it. Second platoon will be moving in first, and once we secure the area, first and third will follow. Lieutenant Hillburn, wait for my signal."

"Got it, Captain."

"Good. Then second platoon, you're on me."

Why do I get the feeling this is going to be easier said than done? I wondered to myself a few minutes later.

I could see flashes of sunlight glinting off metal in the distance---a big, huge metal something, and that something was what I assumed to be the downed Covenant ship Boteem had told us about. The one where the Flood seemed to have come from. I was suddenly grateful that Willis had come for a quick visit a few weeks back, and not just for obvious reasons---since he was likely to be dead now, the information he'd had on the parasite would have been lost with him if he hadn't let me know of the downed ship he'd discovered in Holland. After hearing what both Willis and Boteem had had to say, it didn't feel like a coincidence that these ships were starting to appear all around the globe---and the implications of that sent chills down my spine.

But speculating wasn't part of my job. Mine was eliminating that threat, no matter where it came from or what its purpose was.

That's why I was soaked to the bone with rainwater and ankle-deep in sticky mud right now, leading my Marines straight into a nightmare.

"Stay alert, second platoon," I whispered through my mike as I gingerly stepped through the wet foliage, MA5C at the ready. "Remember that the Flood can pop up anywhere at anytime. Watch your HUDs if you've still got a helmet, and keep an eye on your six."

A small acknowledgment light winked green several times on my mike, so I kept moving with the rest of the platoon trailing behind. Closer to me were Boteem and 'Kuatee, with my aide, Corporal Porter, to the side; a quick glance to my left made it clear that the younger Elite was trying hard to contain his fear. In that moment, he seemed less alien and more like Lieutenant Frederick in that respect.

"Do not be frightened, Boteem," 'Kuatee said to him. "Many of these humans have encountered the parasite before and lived. We are unlikely to be taken over."

"Yeah, unless they fucking swarm us, right?" second platoon's leader replied from further back. "Then we're all dead or worse."

I immediately turned around and shot him a glare, even though I knew he probably couldn't see me through the thick vegetation. "Stow it, Lieutenant. That's an order."

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, Captain."

Truth was, we were all scared. I had yet to meet a single being, human or alien, who wasn't terrified by the Flood and what those creatures could do. But it usually wasn't good for morale to spread that fear around.

Still, I felt my own pulse spike when I heard it.

"Everyone halt, now!" I whispered fiercely into my mike. Then, going down on one knee as I swept my rifle from side to side, trying in vain to look through the tangled mess of jungle vines, I strained my ears to listen.

The grotesque warbling sound continued.

The entire platoon crouched motionless in the rainforest, struggling to see or hear signs of the enemy's approach over the normal patter of light rain and other organic jungle noises. In the meantime, I unconsciously held my breath for a moment as I felt rivulets of sweat begin to slide down my face and back. Come on, you bastards, I thought to myself. If we're going to do this, just show yourselves already.

So they did.

"Captain!" Sergeant Hynes, bringing up the rear guard for second platoon, suddenly shouted into the COM channel. "They're attacking us from behind!"

"Take 'em out, Sergeant, fast!" I ordered.

And then we could no longer hear the warbling between the trees, because dozens of automatic weapons opened up at the same time.

Turning instinctively to the sounds of the guns, I didn't even notice for a second that more Flood Infection forms were bounding our way now as well. The sick little balloon poppers I hadn't seen since three months ago moved fast, seemingly swimming through the air, and my heart started pounding so hard I could've sworn it was going to beat right out of my chest.

I quickly took aim at things and pulled the trigger, spraying them with tens of shredder rounds in seconds. But, just like that day on the snowy mountain ridge in Austria, the more I cut down to ribbon-like confetti, the more extras seemed to show up, appearing from behind leaves and trees and bushes at such a rate that we couldn't possibly keep up. Even with the platoon's two portable thirty cal machine guns, which I could hear going off somewhere to my rear, things were going to get rough. Always true to their name, the Flood simply kept coming.

With such a large wave of the creatures jumping towards us, I spent my clip in less than half a minute and bent my head to reload. I fumbled trying to pull another clip from my cargo pockets, since the ones in my cartridge pouch on my web belt had long been depleted---and all the while, I could hear 'Kuatee, Boteem, and Porter firing their own weapons beside me. The noise enveloped my ears until I couldn't even think.

But I'd been soldiering for so many years now, I didn't have to in order to perform the simple task. I slapped the new magazine home, cocked my assault rifle, and jumped right back into the fray in no time. It looked like more of the poppers had appeared, but I held my trigger finger down as I'd done before and watched each one burst in quick succession. Bullet after bullet, the things were getting ripped apart...but more were always close behind.

"Fire in the hole!" I shouted, finally fed up. I yanked off a frag grenade that hung from the top of my chest armor, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the oncoming wave of parasitic spores. Water and mud and torn foliage leaped into the air from the detonation a few seconds later, but I didn't stop there. I sprayed the rest of my clip into the chaos, not wanting to get caught off guard by surviving Flood creatures, and only then did I pause to key my mike again.

"Hynes! Report!"

"There's a lot of 'em, Captain, but we're starting to get things under control back here!" Sergeant Hynes answered through the COM. "Wherever they're coming from, it looks like there's less of 'em coming at us now."

I glanced over at 'Kuatee and Boteem, who also looked relieved at the news. On our end, the never-ending influx of Infection forms was gradually slowing, too.

With my MA5C depleted of ammo now, I quickly pulled out my pistol and fired two shots at one of the last spores to jump at us. It went down in a cream-colored burst of flesh, just like the others.

Yet still, I didn't breathe a sigh of relief. The task we had ahead of us was far from over, and I knew this was only a taste of what my company was likely to find inside the corrupted Covenant ship.

After wiping the moisture from my face, I turned to First Lieutenant Frederick as I holstered my sidearm. "Platoon status, El-Tee?"

I watched him take a deep breath and run a hand over his wet blond hair. The poor kid was easily the Marine most spooked by the parasite.

"Gunny Dreiss reports three WIA, ma'am. Four others were..." Frederick swallowed. "Four had to be shot, Captain. They got stabbed in the spine by the little bastards; no way to keep 'em from becoming one of them."

"Jesus." Glancing away for a moment, I released sigh before addressing the company. "Ok, Bravo, listen up. First platoon, you're free to move up, but watch your step. We don't have any way of knowing if there's more Flood around, and the probability is high. Third, you follow in behind while keeping our six secure. And second platoon, we get the ugly task of going ahead of the others again. Let's move."

I didn't want to lose anymore men to the parasite today---and my only hope now was that I could somehow prevent that from happening.