Title: Chat
Pairing: Palmer/Lasky
Captain Lasky stepped into the monitoring center for the Infinity's wargames, inclining his head in acknowledgment of the salute from the technician running the system. "How are the games going?" he asked, glancing over at the unarmored Spartan-II who was also in the room. He wasn't sure what was the Master Chief's purpose for being there but redirected his focus on the crewman's answer.
"They're going fine, sir," the man said, turning his chair to look over the screens. "The current group is almost through with a round of oddball."
Tom glanced at the screen to check the score and frowned at the number of soldiers in the simulator that had scored no points. "Not a lot of competition," Lasky observed, turning his gaze to the screen that showed the events on the field.
He watched as Palmer sprinted forward through a room and activated the thruster's of her suit. She didn't hit the Spartan ahead of her directly, rather she deflected him away and off a ledge that he wouldn't be able to jump back up from. Further along the hall Kelly-087 stopped and looked back to the Spartan Commander, flashing her a thumbs up with the hand that wasn't holding the ball. Sarah shot back an archaic, one-fingered gesture in return. Lasky recalled she had said it was the female Spartan-II that had taught it to her. Kelly took off running and Palmer chased after her, while the other Spartans started to close in.
"Tell me when they're finished," Lasky instructed before he stepped away from the screen to allow the man to work.
He decided to chance making small talk with the Master Chief. "Kelly is impressively fast," Tom noted, feeling a bit dumb pointing out the obvious.
"She is the fastest human alive," was the Chief's matter-of-fact response. Even without a faceplate, Lasky was finding it difficult to read the man's emotions.
"Well, Palmer's the highest ranked Spartan in the UNSC." Tom wanted to kick himself for the knee-jerk reaction and how stupid it sounded. He would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he wanted the Master Chief to approve of Sarah and her role the way that he did. But that wasn't an excuse for trying to undercut the man's praise of his fellow Spartan-II. "What I mean is that Palmer's strength is more in leadership, though she's still a very good ground soldier." Lasky shut his mouth, realizing he was just digging a deeper hole for himself.
"She doesn't seem well-suited for the role," the Chief said, and the words struck Tom silent. He felt a mix of anger that he was saying anything critical about Sarah's abilities as a Commander, but at the same time he was sad to know the legendary Spartan didn't approve. He was wrestling with weather to be bold and reprimand the Chief for bad mouthing a commanding officer, until the other man continued. "But Musa must've been sure that her leading the Spartan-IVs was the best choice, even if that meant removing an adept soldier like her from the field."
"She was handpicked by him for the role," Tom said proudly.
The Master Chief paused for a moment before he turned to Lasky. "Can I ask you a question, Captain?"
"Sure thing, Spartan," Tom answered, trying to respond like he was talking to any normal soldier and not to a man who had made a huge impact his life at a young age.
"Does Commander Palmer have a problem with me?" the Master Chief asked. Tom furrowed his brow, confused by what Sarah could have done to give him that impression. "It's just that every time I suggest that we spar, or both take part in a rumble match, she refuses."
"Oh," Tom said with an inward sigh of relief. "She doesn't have a problem with you, Master Chief."
"Then why will she spar with Kelly or Fred, but refuses to do so with me?" The corners of the Chief's mouth tugged into a frown as his confusion started to show on his face.
"Neither of them is a war hero or legend," Tom pointed out. That response didn't seem to satisfy the Spartan II. There was some reaction on the Spartan's face but Tom couldn't figure out how to interpret it. "It's just not a situation that's going to end well for her. If she beats you it's either she just got lucky or you were going easy on her. If she loses then it reflects poorly on the Spartan IVs."
"Any victory would be because of skill, not luck. And I wouldn't look down on the Spartan-IVs if I won," the Chief assured him.
"It's not about how you would view the outcome," Lasky explained, understanding that the Spartan-IIs weren't really the kind of soldiers to care about public opinion. "It's more about how the crew, other Spartan-IVs, and most importantly Palmer would view the outcome. If she wins they'll dismiss the results regardless because they don't want their view of who you are challenged. If she loses then they'll think it's proof the Spartan-IVs aren't as good as Spartan-IIs and never can be. Because if their best can't beat you, then who can?" Tom hesitated for a second before he quietly continued, "...Though she would win."
"Most likely," the Master Chief surprisingly agreed. Tom hadn't expected him to admit to a loss so easily, even if it was just a hypothetical one. "Or maybe I'd get lucky," the Chief added.
"She'd win," Lasky asserted, taking a moment let himself be proud of his girlfriend's skills and boast on her behalf.
"Sir, the match is over," the technician hesitantly announced.
"Thank you," Tom said, nodding to the man before he moved toward the doorway. He was aware of the fact that the Master Chief was following him but he assumed that he was going to meet with Kelly just as he was going to meet with Sarah.
As they approached the doorway where the Spartans were filing out, Kelly and Palmer were lagging behind the beaten and dejected Spartan-IVs. "I have to say you do make a great defender," Kelly said, tucking her helmet between her hip and arm.
"I wasn't trying to defend you," Palmer huffed. Her own helmet hung loosely from her hand. "I'm not a fan of being used, Spartan."
"You sure about that?" Kelly asked, and Tom realized she had turned her gaze to look at him. Tom couldn't help the slight blush at the implication of her words. As he and the Chief reached them she shifted her attention to her Spartan-II teammate. "Enjoy the show?"
"I always enjoy watching you work," the Master Chief answered. Something about the tone of his voice made the comment sound a lot like a flirt. But Tom dismissed the thought, as it was probably his imagination. The Chief then looked to Sarah. "It was a valiant effort, but no one catches Kelly if she doesn't want it."
Palmer let out a chuckle that was seemingly ignored by the Chief; or he completely missed the risque implication of his words. "I can handle losing, Spartan. At least to her I can."
The Master Chief seemed to think for a moment before he spoke. "The wargames simulator has team game types, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Palmer confirmed, seeming a bit cautious.
"Maybe later we can gather the rest of Blue Team and take part in a match, with you as our fifth," the Chief suggested.
Sarah froze at the suggestion, her mind no doubt working through all the positives, negatives, and ways that things could go wrong.
"That's a great idea," Kelly spoke up.
That seemed to make the decision for Palmer, whether she was aware of it or not. "Yeah, sure," she agreed, though not sounding completely sure.
"Great. However I think that the Captain has need of you first," Kelly glanced toward Lasky and then turned to face the Chief. "How about we get you suited up, and we'll see if you do any better than the Commander."
"I do know all your weaknesses," the Chief reasoned, smiling slightly.
"None of my weakness that you know apply to the battlefield," Kelly pointed out with a small smirk. She looked back to Palmer and nodded at the other woman. "We'll get the other Spartan-IIs down here and find some Spartan-IVs with pride strong enough to withstand a devastating defeat."
The Master Chief and Kelly-087 then excused themselves, leaving Sarah free to converse with Tom. "So, what can I do for you, Captain? Please tell me you have a suicide mission I need to go on."
"Nothing that exciting," Lasky assured her with a small chuckle. "Just the quarterly nutrition and wellness check reports for the Spartans."
"Good, you can bore me to death with numbers so I don't have to face what I just agreed to do." She brushed past him and toward the tram system, causing Tom to have to jog to keep up with her.
"You know I'm not going to do that," Lasky informed her, a wide smile on his face now. "I want to watch you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a team of legends, and prove that you are just as good as they are."
"I hate you," Palmer grumbled as she slowed herself to allow him to keep pace.
"Didn't realize it was opposite day," Tom countered, earning him an unamused look from Sarah. He ignored it, knowing she'd get over her fears once she got into combat like she always did. He was sure the Spartans would give a good show.