"They're Just Missing in Action"

By Kpmh2001

UNSC Dominion, Mess Hall

The Mess Hall was one of the two places on a Charon Class Light Frigate that had windows, the other being the Bridge. Unlike the Bridge's viewports however, the Mess Hall windows were not obstructed by any kind of armor plating or radioactive shielding that was embedded into the transparent polymers. So in practicality, if you wanted a clean, natural view outside of the ship, you really only had one option.

Out of the Mess Hall window, Richard could see Remnant's cloud layer, although he couldn't tell how high the ship was at a glance. He'd instructed Ensign Williams to keep them at a high altitude, and left it to the helmsman to figure it out from there. Around him, the Mess was very quiet, none of the Dominion's shifts were eating at the moment, so there were only a handful of people milling about.

Technically, he was supposed to be taking a break, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he had said to Captain Clark in Sickbay. "I know we'll find a way back, but I don't know if we'll still be around by the time that happens."

Richard hadn't really realized the true meaning of the words until he'd spoken them aloud, which was ironic, given that he had been talking to a man who was probably too high on painkillers to process exactly what Richard was saying, so in practicality, he had just been talking to himself.

Haven't done that since New Amsterdam… Richard realized. In spite of the painful memories, he shook his head clear, and banished the thought from his mind.

He had been telling the truth, even if Clark probably hadn't entirely heard him. A week ago, Curie had placed her rough guess as to how long it would take to begin manufacturing modern slipspace drives, and she'd placed the delay at anywhere from eighty to a hundred and forty years. Given that the average lifespan of deployed UNSC servicemen was frequently measured in months, Richard was fairly certain he and the vast majority of his crew would never see UNSC space again.

Nobody back home would've had any way of knowing where the Dominion was, or even that it was still operational, with its crew largely alive and well. The last thing the rest of the UNSC would've been able to see from the Dominion was the distress signal that it had broadcast for nineteen seconds before it had entered the Shunspace portal. HIGHCOM would write it off as a Slipspace Drive malfunction, issue a reminder to perform routine maintenance to all surviving UNSC vessels, and stamp him and his entire crew as Missing In Action.

Prior to the war with the Covenant breaking out, Missing In Action had actually meant something, that there was a very real possibility of the people involved being alive. But ever since the war had really started taking a turn for the worst, especially after Admiral Cole died, people tended to just assume that anyone missing was dead. Sure, sometimes those who were lost would find their way home, but those cases were little more than anomalies anymore. Odds were, if you were marked as Missing In Action, the UNSC hadn't had time to retrieve your corpse before they were forced to run.

Richard knew all too well what happened next. A UEG representative would be sent to the home of the Missing person's next of kin, tell them everything that wasn't classified about the situation, and more often than not, hand them a folded flag. Traditionally, UNSC Officers and NCOs were responsible for the duty of notifying the missing person's next of kin of their disappearance, but with the casualties of the war climbing well into the tens of billions, that responsibility fell upon the shoulders of the temporarily-deposed civilian government, as to free up more servicepersons for active duty.

That was Richard now, he was Missing In Action, and so was everyone else who had been dragged along with him aboard the Dominion.

Contrary to what he had expected, his first realization had been positive. Since Ben was now Missing In Action, some other Spartan-III from Gamma Company would probably be shifted to a Category-II and sent off to help the Marine Corps, saving them from whatever suicide mission Colonel Ackerson would've otherwise sent them on.

That's good, they'll do better with a suit of Mjolnir and a frontline position. Richard thought.

"Mind if I join you?"

Richard turned to see Lieutenant Oswald behind him, looking quite terrible, all things considered. There were bags under his eyes, and a distant look in his eyes.

"Not at all." Richard replied. "I was just… thinking about what everyone back home must think."

Thomas shook his head as he walked up next to Richard. "Slipspace drive malfunctions don't leave survivors, at least, most of the time."

Richard nodded. "Same thing I was thinking."

There was an awkward moment of silence as the two of them stared out at Remnant, before Thomas spoke once more.

"Do you have any family?"

"I think so." Richard said. Truth be told, his line of work meant that he hadn't checked in with his Sister or her son in a good few years. "My sister Rhonda, and her son, Jared. I think he was going to join the Marines… he always did want to be a Spartan when he grew up."

Thomas looked at him with a faint look of surprise. "Did he know about…"

"No." Richard immediately answered. "All they knew is that I served in the Navy… I suppose it's going to stay that way."

"I see." Thomas said, before letting out a grim chuckle. "You know, I told my mother that I was going to get a degree in Marketing… She'll be a little surprised when they hand her all my records…"

"I'm sorry." Richard simply stated. He didn't need to elaborate any further, Thomas already knew what he was going to say. "On the bright side, our pensions will keep them fed."

"I suppose so…" Thomas softly said, but Richard got the feeling that he wasn't entirely listening.

Probably best to leave him be for a bit. Richard thought. He knew all too well that sometimes it was best to just be left alone. "I should probably get back to work, I'll leave you with the view."

"Much obliged, Commander Miller." Thomas replied.

Author's Notes: I recognize that it's not the most substantial levity-based of Omakes, but I just had an inkling to write this. I was also reminded of a piece of long-forgotten Men From Onyx lore (yes, sometimes I forget my own lore, this is why I have a document written out with everything) that I've alluded to in this omake. For anyone hunting for the hint, here's my hint; play Spartan Ops in Halo 4. Good hunting.