Chapter Two

"I don't know what it is about the ship, I just don't like it."

"I think you'll have to get used to it."

I sighed, resting my head back against the wall. I was just outside my room, sandwiching Davidson between myself and my door.

He still wouldn't sit with me. I didn't know how long he'd been watching me. He was there when I fell asleep last night and he was there when I woke up this morning.

A crisp British voice sounded from the speaker system. "Ms. Clark, you've been requested in Dr. Halsey's office."

"What was that?"

Davidson looked down at me. "That was Serina, the ship's AI. Come on, you're needed."

He walked ahead of me, leading me into the upper levels of the ship.

He halted at a doorway labelled "C. Halsey". When I looked back at him he nodded towards the door. I pressed the intercom button.

"Who is it?" a rigid female voice asked.

"I-it's me. Tawny Clark."

"Come in."

I stepped forward and the door opened.

I walked in to see what looked to be a regular medical room, with an office in the back. A woman with brown hair was leaning against a counter. Next to her, starkly contrasting with her soft clothes and casual body language, was the impossibly tall soldier I'd seen yesterday.

He was still emotionally void.

When I walked in the soldier brushed past me, walking out the door just before it closed. I turned to face the woman.

She beckoned me. "Come on, I won't bite. Dr. Catherine Halsey."

I shook her outstretched hand. "Tawny."

"I know. Come, I want to speak with you for a bit."

I followed her into the office, sitting in one of the metal chairs in front of the desk at her insistence.

She picked up a mug of coffee, staring at me from above the lip. "How are you adjusting to the Spirit of Fire?"

I twisted the garnet ring on the middle finger of my right hand. "I'm not sure I am yet. Everything happened so fast and I-I still can't tell if this is an elaborate nightmare or not."

"You'd call it a nightmare?"

"Well...well, yeah. I wasn't even with my parents when they took me; I was babysitting the neighbor's kid. I never got to say goodbye to my parents," my voice broke.

I didn't speak for a minute, trying to quell the lump in my throat. I had to distract myself.

"I, um, I was told my telepathy could help us against the Covenant."

"Very focused. A good trait to have." Dr. Halsey set her coffee down. "Yes, we believe we can isolate the cause of your telepathy and copy it. At the very least we could create a device that functions similarly to your mind."

"You don't even know what I can do; how could you copy it?" I asked.

"Well that's why you're here, isn't it? We need to know what you can do. We can start with what you know you can do, then we can conduct tests to see how you do it."

There were a few beats of silence.

She gazed at me with intense eyes. "What can you do?"

I took a breath. I'd never had to say it out loud before.

Not even my parents knew about my abilities. I'd hinted to Zeke, my best friend, that I was able to do abnormal things. But I'd never told him specifics; this was the first time I'd spoken openly about my abilities.

"I can hear people's thoughts," I said. "E-experience, really, they're just usually audible. But I can see pictures someone's thinking of, and I can smell it if they're thinking of a smell. Most of the time I have to reach out to do it, but i-if someone's thinking about something really hard I can experience it without trying."

I didn't want to tell her about my empathy. That was involuntary, and I didn't like the vibes I was getting from her. I didn't trust her.

"Is that all? You can't manipulate anyone else's mind?"

"I-I've never tried." Would I have to do something so invasive here? "I don't know if I can. But I can gain abilities from people."

Dr. Halsey leaned forward. "Could you elaborate on that?"

I nodded. "I can speak Spanish fluently because I found someone who was fluent and I - I don't know how to describe it - d-downloaded the language? I can't think of any other way to say it."

"Very fascinating." She stood up. "That's all I need for now. I'll be seeing you."

I was ushered out the door. Before I could respond it was shut and locked. I could feel her giddiness from inside, and for some reason it made me nauseous.

"You look pale."

I started, turning to face Davidson. "Yeah...no, I'm okay. I am hungry, though."

"Yeah, you missed breakfast."

"It ends too early! I'm not having this argument again." I ignored his smirk. "Let's go get lunch."

It was noon, so lunch was in full swing. I took a plate, grabbing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and plodding over to a relatively empty table. I could hear the soldiers at the end of the table talking about me. I didn't blame them; a civilian on the ship that wasn't a doctor was incredibly abnormal.

I felt the void again.

That was what I'd decided to call the mysterious soldier I'd seen in Dr. Halsey's office. He felt like a walking black hole, utterly empty.

My head shot up and I saw a pale man with light-brown hair walking towards an empty table in the corner. He looked like a vampire, if vampires were 6'10" and jacked. His skin lacked any pigment, so he probably spent most of his time either on board ships with artificial light, or in his armor.

"Who is that?" I'd meant to ask Davidson before, but it had slipped my mind.

He followed my gaze. "Hell if I know. By the looks of him, probably an ODST. Why? You think he's cute?"

I admit, his strong, youthful facial features and sharp physique caught my eye. But I shook my head. "Just curious."

Davidson had been staring at him ever since I directed his attention that way. "Yeah...Me too. I haven't seen him on board before. Must be a new guy."

"Do you get many new guys here?"

He laughed. "No. Yesterday, when they said we were making two stops, I couldn't believe it. We're on our way across the galaxy. Been in slipspace for...three months now."

I winced. "That sounds unpleasant."

We fell into thick, contemplative silence.

I finished my plate and stood, dropping it in the recycler. "I'm not moving until you get something to eat. You- I haven't seen you sit down once today."

Davidson shot me a look. I crossed my arms, looking up at him.

With a defeated sigh he ran a hand through his hair. "You're not letting this go, are you?"

I shook my head.

"I don't see why not. You stick to me, got it?"

"Like glue," I agreed.

He snorted, walking off towards the line. I hurried after him, feeling vaguely like a child following a parent. His frame dwarfed mine, well above 6' to my 5'4" self. He was one of the taller soldiers, I reasoned, so he made me look shorter than I was.

He sat back down at the table with a tray of soup and a grilled cheese.

I scooted in next to him. "Lieutenant Davidson?"

He glanced towards me, making a noise through his mouthful.

"I just- I wanted to say I'm sorry. Standing around guarding me sounds incredibly boring."

He swallowed his food and shook his head. "I admit it was an...unusual assignment. Still, though, there are worse people to guard."

I looked down, twisting my ring. "A-are you sure? Standing around all day would make me go crazy."

"I signed up for anything the military could throw at me. Trust me, this assignment is a walk in the park." He reached up absently to scratch the thick scar on his cheek.

I looked down. "If you say so."

"I do say so." He clapped my shoulder. "Lighten up. If you were a burden I'd let you know."

"Still, what do you normally do all day?" I looked up at him.

"Normally I'd go to the gym after eating. Then the bar, if things are dry."

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't drink."

"I'd hope not. There's no way you're twenty one."

"I'm almost twenty one!"

"Oh yeah?" He smirked. "How old are you?"

I blushed, hiding behind a few locks of blonde hair. "Eighteen."

"Really?"

I nodded, my eyes wide. Had I said something wrong?

Davidson's emotions were wild. I could feel how much he hated seeing young men and women in this war. He always felt responsible when they got hurt. They were barely adults; they shouldn't have to face the horrors of combat.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" His Spanish accent was exaggerated in his shock. "You're practically a baby!"

"I am not! Besides, it's not like I had any choice in the matter!" Cold regret flashed through me. I gasped, bringing my hands to my lips. "Pretend you didn't hear that."

He shot me a look. "Why would I?"

"B-because I signed a paper that says I can't talk about it."

He sighed. "Do you really think they'd let someone guard you without having the clearance to know about you? Why do you think you're being watched by an officer?"

I shrugged timidly. "I-I hadn't thought about it."

"They already told me everything about your abilities. I just didn't know you were an...unwilling participant in this war. Or that you were so young."

I shook my head. "If I can help us win, I-I...I want to."

"Well then, good for you. That still doesn't mean you should be forced into this."

He was right; I'd been forced into this. Forced away from my entire life.

They hadn't even left me my comm. I had no way to tell my family, my friends, that I was gone.

No, they wouldn't even know I was gone. I'd been replaced. Replaced by a doomed-to-die flash clone with no powers.

I pushed myself to my feet.

I didn't want to start crying again. Not in the crowded mess hall.

But Davidson was right; what they'd done to me was wrong.

"I'm going back to the room," I murmured.

"Wait." Davidson pushed himself to his feet and looked down at me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head, biting down on my lip to keep the tears at bay, and walked out of the mess hall. My arms were wrapped around myself and my pace quick.

Davidson watched me leave. He would have followed me, but I was literally radiating my emotions to the people around me. He could feel how much I wanted to be left alone.

The emotions were so compelling that he didn't rush to follow me until I was well out of the mess hall.

My heart thundered inside my chest. I slid down the door, burying my face in my arms as I drew my knees up to my chest.

Davidson pressed the intercom on my door, a jarring buzz, but I ignored it.

I wanted, more than I'd ever wanted anything, to go home.

oOOOo

I stayed there for hours, trying to push down the pain in my chest. I felt Davidson outside my room, probably having retaken his post.

Guilt flashed through me. I shouldn't have let my emotions take over me like that. Let them take over other people like that. It was wrong of me; I needed to control myself.

Still, being taken from my home was a fresh wound.

I unlocked the door and padded out into the hallway.

I looked up at Davidson, who regarded me with a glance.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I shouldn't ha-have run off."

"You're upset, bicha. You've been taken from your family. You're on a strange ship full of soldiers." He looked down at me. "You've never even left Eridanus II, have you?"

I shook my head.

"That's what I thought. Yeah, I'd be upset too."

The intercom crackled to life and Serina said, "All officers report to the tactical room."

Davidson was up immediately. "Come on, bicha. Tac room means there's a battle coming."

My stomach flipped. "B-battle?"

I struggled to keep up with him as he speed walked through the halls.

"Come on, we've got to hurry!" He was all but sprinting.

We ran into a large room with a hologram table in the center. Serina was standing on the table as a hologram, her black hair trailing down her back. "Everyone's here, sir."

"Right." The ship's Captain, James Cutter, stepped forward. "We've just received word that Eridanus II is under attack by Covenant forces."

My hands clamped over my mouth, stifling a gasp. My entire family lived on that colony. My parents, Uncle Ry and Aunt Billie and Zeke, Laure.

The Captain continued. "And a Covenant battle cruiser has followed us into slipspace."

The room suddenly became too tense. It was tangible, pushing against my head like a vice.

I pressed against Davidson and closed my eyes against the flood of emotions.

He looked down at me in confusion. I didn't care; the tension pounded my head like a drum.

"To avoid leading them further into UEG territory," Cutter continued, "we will be exiting slip space and engaging them in open combat. Prep your men for battle positions. I want fighters out there. Lieutenant Davidson, you'll be watching Ms. Clark with Petty Officer Kirk."

Petty Officer Kirk was standing in the corner. I idly wondered why he was there, since he wasn't an officer.

Both men snapped a salute.

When the Captain dismissed them Davidson grabbed my arm. "We've got to move. Petty Officer, get over here."

Kirk quickly saluted Davidson as we walked.

"We've got to keep her in her room," Davidson said. "She's in the Senior NCO quarters."

"That's across the ship, sir. Wouldn't it be easier to hide her somewhere closer?" Kirk asked.

"Negative, Petty Officer. None of these rooms are secure. Hers is coded to her DNA, it'll be much safer."

We turned a corner as the ship exited slip space. The jolt sent a stab of pain through my right knee, which had been acting up.

Davidson shot me a concerned look.

I waved him away. "I'm fine."

"One more slip up and you're getting help. Being strong won't save you, but getting to your room will."

I pointedly ignored the pain in my knee. "Got it."

An alarm blared, and red lights flashed for a moment.

"What is that?!" I cried.

Kirk swore. "That's the unauthorized docking alarm."

"They're on board the Spirit of Fire." Davidson grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

My heart beat out of my chest as the sounds of combat filtered through the halls. I'd never heard so much gunfire. I flinched every time I heard an anguished scream.

Were we going to die?

Just as we ran towards a four-way intersection I felt something alien and malicious to our right.

My heart jolted in terror. "Wait-"

Kirk was thrown towards us by the towering alien. He hit Davidson, sending us all sprawling across the floor.

I looked up in terror as the gargantuan beast stared down at me. He was intrigued by me; I wasn't like the others.

I was weak.

Davidson was in front of me, a pistol in his hand. Before he could fire it the alien picked him up by his arm and tossed him back down the hallway. I screamed, backing away from the giant.

I hit Kirk, who was unconscious on the floor, and fell hard on my tailbone.

The beast picked me up by my throat. I gagged as he slammed me against the wall.

On instinct I needled into his mind, absorbing his language. Desperately looking for something that would at least slow his attack on me.

The alien words sounded awkward from out of my lips. "Only cowards attack civilians."

His eyes focused and refocused on me, like some malformed bird of prey. But my challenge to his honor hadn't yielded the results I'd prayed for.

"How dare you attempt our tongue, worm?" The grip on my throat tightened.

My air supply cut off completely. I clawed desperately at his hand as tears spilled down my cheeks. I could feel the strength leaking out of my body.

The vice was ripped away from my throat. I was falling. The ground hurt when my head hit it.

My eyes didn't want to focus, all they could see were colored blurs. The green blur was one I hadn't seen yet.

But that feel...it was the void. He had come just in time.

In one swift move the void shot through the alien's head.

He turned to me, kneeling beside my limp body. I felt my eyelids growing heavier and heavier. I reached up towards the reflective visor looking down at me. My hands couldn't reach it.

I blinked in an attempt to see better. "It's...it's the void."

Then it wasn't. I felt something...surprise or shock, maybe. But something blossomed from within that depleted heart.

My eyes closed.

oOOOo

It was comfortingly dim when I opened my eyes. I looked around, still laying on my back, and found I was in my room. My head was pounding.

I stood, though I instantly regretted it when dizziness and pain thundered in my head. A moan echoed from my lips and I shut my eyes.

Steadying myself on the wall I walked towards the door.

Why were my feet bare? I'd just been wearing shoes.

The memories hit me; Eridanus II under attack. Us under attack. I was attacked by a giant alien, a Sangheili. The void saved me.

I had to find out what happened to my home.

The door swished open as I picked up my pace. Instead of Davidson next to my door I was met with a solid wall of green armor.

I looked up at the void with a shocked expression.

He looked down at me and I felt so much smaller than I was. He must have been as tall as the beast that attacked me. I didn't even reach his shoulders.

"You're concussed. You should lay back down." His voice, like his emotional presence, was blank. Void of any emotion.

"What happened to Eridanus II?" I wouldn't rest until I found out what had happened to them. "A-and where's Davidson?"

"Second Lieutenant Davidson has been retired from guarding you. I will be taking that assignment."

Did they not trust Davidson to watch me?

Unimportant; what had happened to my home?

"Okay." I took a breath. "I-is Eridanus II okay?"

"I've called a medical officer to attend to you."

He was dodging the question.

I reached out to grab his hand, once again feeling something stir in his mind. Unease.

I ignored it, gripping his massive armored hand in both of mine. "What happened to Eridanus II?"

"You will be briefed on the attacks after you have been seen by a medical officer."

oOOOOo

Author's Note: Just a reminder that I'll be taking the original Chipped down on April 18th!