Chapter Fifty-One: A Return to Normalcy
1320 Hours, December 2, 2558. UNSC Concord Naval Air Base, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Last Goodbye," Planet Earth. Two Weeks After the Battle for Savannah's End
As I looked out at the sea of Marines and Navy personnel in Class A dress uniforms surrounding us, I frowned when I didn't see him. It was like he'd just vanished after Savannah - and for some reason I couldn't quite put my finger on, that didn't sit well with me.
"Natalie?" Willis said behind me, and I turned around to face him. "They're going to be starting soon. We should go get our seats."
"Right."
I nodded and quickly followed him through the throng of military members, my chestful of medals clinking along with me, the sound grating just a little on my nerves. It was the one thing I hated about having to be dressed to the nines instead of in our usual fatigues. Too much pomp and circumstance for me.
After telling my higher-ups I was expecting back in Charleston, I'd been granted conditional clearance to go to Georgia with the rest of my 52nd Regiment when the time came, shortly after things were wrapped up in South Carolina. The only stipulation was that I stay out of hot zones and remain safely with the rear echelon units inside the command tent, along with Brigadier General Bolowsky, and send out orders with him from there. That'd been fine by me, and we'd gotten through the area in Georgia in three weeks. In that time, the remaining smaller cities with a strong Storm and Promethean presence had been cleared as well. Earth was safe again...for now.
And yet I couldn't figure out where my ex had disappeared to. I hadn't spoken to him at all since Charleston, but I knew he'd gone in with our unit in Savannah based on rosters. And now that that was over, too, he was gone. He'd been a pain in the ass to deal with and had caused more than enough trouble with his antics while we'd been forcibly paired together, but it felt wrong to leave without saying a word. For all his faults, I'd seen him make significant strides over the last few months.
But that was a mystery that might not ever be solved - and in some ways, I was glad for the easy out. Maybe it really was for the best.
"Come on," my husband hurried me as he took my hand. He turned to face me briefly and grinned. "We get front-row seats now."
I snorted, finding his enthusiasm for something so minor silly, but lovable at the same time. "All right, all right," I said. "Don't rush me, or I might throw up on my nice polished shoes."
In Savannah, Willis had begun to come into his own a bit as the new commander of the 87th Air Wing. I'd been very proud of his progress, and he continued to grow more comfortable with the role every day. One thing he couldn't seem to get over, however, was all the preferential treatment he now received, even outside the unit - stuff like front-row seats here today.
Although, I kind of doubted having coveted seats for a funeral was really something anyone desired. For Willis, I thought it was more the idea of it rather than the reality. Because the general mood in the auditorium when the ceremony started was truly somber and subdued.
The memorial was for all those we'd lost during the invasion, and so both General Bolowsky and Willis's normally out-of-sight commander, Colonel Patrick Finnegan, were both slated to speak. The numbers of those who'd perished in Savannah were significantly lower than in Charleston, the main epicenter of the attack, but many had died before we'd even arrived, holding the enemy back all on their own to save the city's people.
Entering from the wings of the stage, Bolowsky approached the podium at center first, adjusting the mike to be heard. The left side of his chest glittered with rows upon rows of colorful ribbons and medals, and I was in awe of the famous commander I'd had the pleasure of serving with twice - once during the War, and now again here on Earth, five years later.
"Ladies and gentlemen, these types of ceremonies are not my strong suit," the brigadier general began. "I hate to lose Marines and sailors under my command, but sometimes, such sacrifice is necessary. Both for the mission, and for the people they exist to protect." He paused to take a breath before continuing. "When this invasion began, we were barely prepared for what came after us. What little warning we did have was thanks to a bright, gutsy Marine I know - and my XO throughout the campaign - Lieutenant Colonel Natalie Cooper."
Surprised by the mention, I caught the general's eyes and gave him a slight nod of thanks.
"Thanks to her efforts we had at least some time to collect ourselves before the Prometheans and Storm arrived in space. Unfortunately, despite our best attempts, many of our servicemen and -women - both groundside and in orbit - were called to make the ultimate sacrifice, so that Earth could be kept safe.
"We honor each and every one of them here today. And as a sign of our remembrance - as a sign that we'll never forget - I've commissioned the building of a memorial plaque with the names of all the souls we lost in this second invasion of our home planet. This will include civilian lives as well. I hope to unveil it to you all soon."
The crowd burst into applause then, although the feeling remained one of sad pride in those we lost. Beside me, I could see Willis looking up at the general in solemn gratitude, for doing something to remember all the pilots and buddies he'd lost in the fighting upstairs. And the CO I knew he sorely missed.
"We will not forget the heroes who made today possible for us to see, in safety and tranquility. Semper fidelis, Marines."
"Oorah!" all of us assembled in the crowd shouted back.
We stood there for several minutes awaiting the next speaker, and shortly, he came to the front as well. Colonel Finnegan was a stout man, clearly more built for ground work than flying in a cockpit, which was probably why he didn't do it anymore. Willis's eyes darkened when he took the stage. He'd told me long ago he wasn't fond of the "desk jockey", thanks to years of belittling Major Collins for her command of the 87th in the skies, while he remained in the nice, cushy safety of an executive office back home. It seemed a waste that he was the one to represent her and the other pilots they'd lost, rather than my husband.
"Marines and sailors, we're here today to honor our dead. We all fought the good fight in our own way when the aliens and robots came a knockin', but some of the trickiest maneuvers were pulled out in space, above orbit, where no land-dwelling grunt could see."
I frowned at his choice of words, as I was sure many who'd been planetside did as well. I had no doubt the fighting in space had been just as tough - and maybe even more perilous in a lot of ways - but it was just in bad taste for the branches to try to one-up each other at such an occasion.
"While the invasion raged down on the ground, we were upstairs working hard to make sure no other enemy forces could make it to the surface. We also nuked the biggest damn Promethean ship I'd ever seen, with a devastating weapon onboard that literally wiped a whole large city clean. If it hadn't been for our skilled pilots and Special Forces teams, places like Charleston and Savannah would have met the same fate as New Phoenix. But another major catastrophe was averted, thanks to our flyboys in gray."
Willis rolled his eyes and leaned over to me once the colonel had finished speaking, whispering, "Yeah, like this clown knows. He keeps saying 'we' but he wasn't even out there with us. All he has is the holos to prove it happened."
A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips, but I said nothing. General Bolowsky soon appeared again as Colonel Finnegan walked off the stage, the two passing each other rather cooly. It seemed to me like Bolowsky couldn't get rid of him fast enough.
"Thank you, Colonel Finnegan," Bolowsky said, likely out of courtesy only. Then he turned to face the crowd. "If anyone would like to say a few words for the fallen, the mike is now open."
Much to my surprise, my husband was the first to move forward to walk onto the stage. He did so without a word, yet collected. It seemed he'd been waiting a long time for this moment - ever since Collins and his fellow pilots' deaths. He looked calm and poised behind the podium, despite having rarely made speeches before - and probably never to a crowd this size. Practically our whole base was here today.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Major William Hawk," he began, looking out at the sea of uniforms before glancing down at the podium, then back again, his voice returning strong. "As the new CO of the 87th Air Wing, I don't have a lot of experience being in charge like my wife, Lieutenant Colonel Cooper."
That got a few chuckles, but he sobered quickly.
"But I do know what a good leader looks like - and, more importantly - what being a good leader takes. My former CO, Major Erin Collins, was just that. We served together for many years and for some reason, she saw potential in me when I still pretty young, and eventually made me her XO. Now I have enormous shoes to fill that I'm not sure I ever can. She built an amazing rapport with all her pilots, knew all the ins and outs of command, and tried her best to do it all so that I didn't feel a lot of the burden most of the time. She was truly a great commander for us."
He paused then, and I watched him swallow hard before continuing. "Probably the best example of her character was in her death. She knew we had to nuke that Promethean ship in order for the people on the ground to survive. She knew we would lose people of our own in doing so, and there was no way around that. There was no time. Rather than save herself, and leave others behind whom she'd known, and whom she'd led, Major Collins decided that she would be with them till the end. She was with them in life as well as death, and it will always mean a lot to me to know that the people I knew and worked with, too, didn't die alone out in space. Thanks to her."
With that his speech ended and he walked down off the stage, his face impassive the whole way, even though I knew inside he was hurting at the loss of his CO and his friends. It hurt me in turn to see him like that, and I couldn't wait for us to get alone so he could finally unburden himself and not have to hide his feelings. But that wouldn't be for a while still. For now, there was the senior officers' reception after this.
Nothing made me more unsettled than a collection of colonels and generals in impeccable dress uniforms enjoying themselves at a somber occasion, but that's exactly what was happening here in the grand hall on base, following the remembrance ceremony. People were talking and laughing and drinking champagne - except me, of course - without much of a care in the world now that the official functions were over. Most of them hadn't been on the ground with us - or in space, as Willis had pointed out about Colonel Finnegan. They were just enjoying the party and the fact that the fighting was now done. We were the ones who'd have to live with what we'd seen. I found it all a little stomach-turning, and not because of the obvious.
"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper. Just the Marine I was looking for."
I was taking a drink from my glass of sparkling water beside Willis when I looked up to see Brigadier General Bolowsky coming toward us. Unlike the others, he wasn't cackling like an idiot or tipsy yet. Instead, he had a sort of grim smile on his face at all the hoopla - kind of like me.
"Sir," my husband and I said in unison, but Bolowsky was quick to wave us off.
"Colonel, Major. If you two don't mind me saying so, you don't look like you're enjoying yourselves very much."
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" I asked, and waited for his nod. "I'm not sure I find the atmosphere appropriate for what we went through. Not just us boots on the ground, but the sailors and pilots, too - and the civvies, sir. All of this grandeur is just...not really my scene."
The brigadier general laughed. "You prefer the battlefield. I know that about you, Cooper, and that's exactly why you made one of the best XOs for the ground campaign." He held out his hand to me to shake. "Excellent work, Colonel. A lot of our success in Charleston and Savannah were due to your orders and actions. The survivors in both cities have much to be thankful for because of that."
I had a genuine grin on my face as I shook his hand. "Thank you, sir. I did what I could." Then the grin disappeared. "The people deserved it after it was me who brought this on them."
"You may see it that way, but not others. Certainly I don't. What happened with the portal on Requiem was, I felt, inevitable. You gave us the warning, and you came back to save them. That's what you should be focusing on."
"Yes, sir." I still wasn't sure how much I believed that, but found that agreeing with him was best.
"Earth is in your debt once again, Cooper." He glanced over at Willis then. "Major, you can be very proud of the work your wife's done here. I think it's wonderful that you'll both be getting a much-deserved rest now."
"Thank you, sir," Willis replied. "And I am proud."
"Good." The general nodded to us then to excuse himself. "Congratulations to you both on the upcoming new arrival. Colonel, when you're ready to return to action, let me know. I'll put in a good word for you at the College in case they're on the fence about taking you back."
"I will, sir. Thanks."
He left us with a warm smile, and I found that I was going to miss working with him. He was a war hero yet down-to-earth, in addition to being a great leader. He was exactly the kind of commander I was very happy to serve under.
"There you go, Coop," Willis said next to me with a grin, taking a drink from his champagne flute. "Looks like you got all your ducks lined up still. Don't even have to worry about missing out on your chance to make full colonel."
"Yeah," I answered with a smile of my own. "That's good to know. But even if it didn't work out, I think I would've been okay." I placed a hand on my abdomen and looked down. It'd be a while still before I started to show, but the action was still comforting. "I just want the baby to be healthy and safe."
Willis put his arm around me momentarily. "She will be. Or he. The Prometheans and the Storm are gone now."
At least for the moment, I thought. But knowing what had occurred in the past, just how long would that last?
But now wasn't the time to linger on that. Now was the time to remember the lost, and to look forward to the future.
It was early evening by the time the ceremony and festivities were over and we got home. The kids were excited to see us, as we'd just gotten back a couple weeks ago from the fighting up north. I'd been relieved to know that the three of them had been safe the whole time, and never touched by news of the invasion, although their caretakers had been worried for a while.
Probably the biggest shock to their lives wasn't that their father and I were home so soon, or that AI-bots and aliens had attacked the Earth again. Nope. Their biggest concern was when they learned they were getting a new sibling soon.
"What?" Gabriel had asked, confused.
"Really?" Olivia had said excitedly.
"Why?" Liam had moaned.
I couldn't help but chuckle at my youngest son's reaction, knowing this might be the toughest on him given his current status as the family baby. I drew all the kids in close and said, "It's going to be a big change for all of us. But I know you'll love your new brother or sister when they get here. And it means I'm not going anywhere for a long time."
"You said that before, Mom," Gabe reminded me. "But then you left anyway."
At that I nodded and sighed. It was a fair point. "I did, and I'm sorry about that. But this time it's different. Until I have your brother or sister, I can't go anywhere. So I will be home now, for sure. Promise."
Obviously still skeptical, Gabriel looked to his dad for reassurance. "Is that true, Dad?"
Willis bent down to hug all three kids as well. "That's true, Gabe. Your mom is guaranteed to be home for at least a year."
"What about you, Daddy?" Olivia asked.
"I don't know, honey," my husband answered honestly. "I'm in charge of a lot of pilots now, and they might need me sometime. But one of us will always be here with you."
That seemed to satisfy them for the moment. And presently, as I shrugged out of my uniform jacket and hung it up in the bedroom closet, I wondered if that was enough to make things simple for now.
I could really use some simple after the past year or so we'd had.
After the kids were in bed and asleep, later that night, I sat exhausted on the couch in front of the holoscreen, unable to sleep. Willis was next to me and I snuggled in closer to his side, closing my eyes and letting the heat from his body radiate around me. It felt odd to feel so relaxed after so much had happened in the last few months. But at least now we were safe, and home.
"Something's been bugging me," he finally said, and I opened my eyes again and lifted my head up a bit to look at him.
"What?"
"Where was Ethan today? Hell, where has he been since Savannah?" He sat up a little straighter to meet my gaze. "Did Lloyd mention anything to you? A new assignment or something?"
"Not that I know of," I said. "Although I thought it was weird that he just left, too."
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad the asshole's gone, but...I don't know. Something isn't right."
I shrugged. I really had no idea myself, so it was all I could do. "Honestly, I just figured it's for the best. What he's up to now is his problem. Why dwell on it, you know? We've got our own stuff to think about right now." I reached out for his hand and placed it lightly on my stomach. "And we have this new baby to look forward to."
Slowly a bright grin enveloped my husband's face, and he leaned down to kiss my tummy. Then he raised his head up to kiss me on the lips. "You're right, Cooper. You're exactly right."
Author's Note: I went back and forth a bit with deciding whether I wanted to actually write out the battle in Savannah or not. Eventually I chose to do a time-skip instead, as you can see. I was going to be very limited with what I could put Cooper through, and in the end I figured it wasn't going to be very fun to write, or read. I hope you guys found it okay and got enough action out of Charleston, haha.
And now...one last chapter to go!
