"No." he said, walking away. "Absolutely not."
Maddie rolled her eyes but followed.
"Fine. Not my whole platoon, just two men."
"I told you, Lt. Harper, my men are under my control until I have actionable evidence that they are needed by you and yours."
"And I told you, Captain, that I have reason enough to believe that it is related to my mission."
"Lt. Braeburn is your friend, not your mission." he said, almost leering at her.
"You don't know the first thing about my mission," she hissed, "if you keep me from it, you'll have Parangosky herself to answer to."
This at least made Denning pause. Since they'd taken the jammer, they'd all seemed a little more wary of her, Denning in particular seemed to struggle to say no to her but his stubbornness was keeping him in check.
"I'm a Naval lieutenant. You haven't forgotten that I'm your equivalent in rank have you, Denning?"
He sighed, "Fine. Fine. Take two men and relieve Braeburn if you can, but get them to the front ASAP. We need all hands-on deck to secure that artillery battery."
Maddie relaxed, "Thanks, I'm not trying to cause trouble, you know."
"And yet, here you are." Denning snapped, turning abruptly to face her.
Her eyes flashed icily and he backed down, shaking his head and mumbling to himself as he shrunk away, glibly moaning about ONI to himself as Davenport rounded on him and the two walked towards the rest of the company. They were busy establishing the grove as a command centre, erecting large tents and defences. Maddie radioed Duggan and Grayson and told them to report to the ammunition tent in five minutes. They readily agreed, which she was thankful for as several ODST glanced warily at her.
What's their problem all of a sudden?
She picked out the gear, a Sniper Rifle for Duggan, a grenade launcher for Grayson and for herself; a target designator. It looked like a handheld data recorder the police had used back on Skopje to catch speeding drivers. The device was as heavy as it looked and crude in its design, its weight was all on the rear, and its panel glowed brightly. Maddie was glad that there wasn't much planned in the way of stealth, because this thing would stick out like a sore thumb.
"Ma'am?" Grayson said, stood straight up like a statue.
Maddie turned. Grayson and Duggan were stood at attention, their helmets under their arms. For the first time she saw their faces properly. Grayson was an ageing trooper with thick black hair, accented by grey streaks. He was average height and mostly torso but he gave off a sense of cool authority as he waited patiently for orders. Duggan on the other hand was taller, and had blonde untameable hair that, while cut back to suit military regs, dipped and curved at the tips, betraying the pretence of tidiness, looking as though it was waiting for the military to blink before breaking their rules. The Australian noticed her gaze and grinned.
"We've found first platoon." She said cautiously.
"That's good to hear, Ma'am. Lt. Braeburn is a good soldier." Grayson replied. "Where is he?"
"We will know the specifics soon enough. What we do know is that he is somewhere near his drop site, defending the position from covenant attack."
The pair of them looked at each other, "our drop zones were meant to be clear, Ma'am. Are you sure he's in the right place?" Duggan asked with a raised brow.
"Lt. Volkovskaya got word from a runner. They uncovered something there that the Covvies want." She watched their faces, searching for disapproval. "Denning has orders to relieve the rest of the battalion and take the main objective, so all we have is us three."
Still nothing. The two men remained calm and statue-like as she told them her plan.
"It's a long shot with the three of us, Ma'am." Grayson noted, running a hand through his hair.
"Four." Duggan said, grinning at the designator strapped to her thigh.
Grayson eyed the device suspiciously.
"I'm working on securing priority tasking but we will proceed as though we are on our own for now, understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" They said in unison; and with that, they were off.
}{=}{
The skies darkened a little bit as they walked east, towards the location of Lt. Braeburn and his platoon. Maddie's mind wandered as they trudged through the ditch that ran along the side of the road, it provided them just enough cover as they made their way back out into the plains of Meridian. She thought mainly of the strange shift in the atmosphere in the men around her. She had seen fear in some of the men's eyes before but mostly she had seen contempt and irritation. Now? Even Duggan was mostly silent. Now there was curiosity, fear, and was unsettling, not just because she wasn't used to it from the rank and file, but also because of the speed at which the mood seemed to change. A naive part of her thought it was to do with her prowess against the Elites in the grove. Taking on two giant aliens with nothing but a hatchet was no small task but the part of her brain that adhered to logic and reason screamed at her.
There's more to it than that. They changed when they spotted the tattoo.
It was that realisation, coupled with the glance that Duggan kept making at her shoulder that made the young Lieutenant finally call them out.
"Is there something on my back, Private?" she asked, plainly.
Duggan seemed to jump a little and Grayson, who led the way out in front, tensed up.
"N-no ma'am." he stammered.
"You don't sound very confident about that."
"I uh..."
"What's everyone's problem all of a sudden?" she pressed, slowing to walk beside him.
Grayson should his head. "Damn it, Nuggs." he sighed, looking up at the sky. Clouds were building now, rolling into the distance like hills made from dirty pillows and dust.
"What is it, Sergeant?" she replied, tersely.
Grayson paused, "It's just a rumour, Ma'am, but there were stories of a child who survived hell on Skopje."
Maddie raised a brow.
Stories about me?
"Survivors of the 314 said they saw a child in ODST armour fighting alongside a SPARTAN and an ODST." he said, shrugging.
"It's a bit more than that, Sergeant" Duggan interjected, suddenly finding his voice. "So, the story goes that after a city fell, the UNSC tried to liberate it, throwing themselves against the enemy over and over. Eventually, after almost two months of trying, and no word from inside the city, a child called out over the radio, announcing the death of the Covenant prophet."
Grayson snorted.
"Grayson never believed it but anyone who used to be a part of the 314 swears by it. Sergeant Davenport even claims to have been a part of the group."
"Which is why I don't believe an ounce of it." Grayson grunted, surveying the horizon.
"And I come into this, how?" Maddie asked, enthralled as to how this story could have leaked to the public.
"Well, after the transmission, the child was never heard from for a month, captured, if you can believe it. A SPARTAN and an ODST survivor in the city, all of them women, rescued the child when the covenant mutiny broke out, creating havoc behind the enemy lines until they broke through to the 314."
"Hmph" Maddie smiled, stifling a laugh. "I don't see the connection."
"Well, that's where it gets interesting." Duggan said excitedly.
"Absurd, more like" Grayson grumbled
"People said she fought a zealot with an axe, that she had a covenant brand on her shoulder and that she sought revenge for the death of the ODST who had fought alongside her behind enemy lines."
"So?" Maddie replied, coyly.
"So, don't you see what I'm getting at?" Duggan asked, excitedly, looking at the axe strapped to her thigh. "You match the age, you know Davenport, you have an axe."
"All very circumstantial." Maddie noted, "and I didn't have a clue that these rumours were even making the rounds."
"ONI doesn't tell everyone everything, do they?" Duggan replied, clearly very pleased with himself, "plus you said you were raised by Sangheili."
Maddie laughed out loud, "that was a joke, Duggan." she said, watching Grayson cringe a little. Duggan could never know quite how right he was, but Maddie was impressed with him regardless.
"All jokes have some element of truth to them, Ma'am. You learned their language when they captured you, didn't you? That's how you know Braeburn too, isn't it?"
"Private..."
"And the tattoo!" he said excitedly, "it's a good cover up but the base of the snake… you can't convince me that was anything other than some kind of covenant mark… at least originally."
"Private!" she snapped, sighing as he seemed to retreat in on himself.
"Sorry ma'am." he said, trying to cover for himself "it's just a story obviously"
So, there had been some kind of story released to the men about her. Thoughts ran through her head like honey from a spoon, oozing and dripping with slow and deliberate purpose. It had all the hallmarks of an ONI propaganda job. Serin had mentioned that ONI often released rumours based on actual events into the military ranks and civilian population. It made black ops all the more dismissible. After all, it could just be played off as another incarnation of a strange or outlandish rumour. Once again, Parangosky and her reach were as widespread as her reputation. Maddie smiled.
"Sounds like ONI propaganda to me." she said laughing, "the Viper hides a birthmark, that's all."
Duggan remained quiet, seemingly embarrassed that he had acted like some rabid fanboy to an intelligence officer. Grayson seemed less awkward now, with Duggan quiet and licking his wounds. Maddie was sure that Duggan wasn't satisfied with her answer but his self-awareness had caught up with him and he resigned himself to cringing to himself in private. The private worried Maddie. He was observant, sharp, and deceptive. He might have seemed like a bit of a dullard to everyone else but Maddie saw through it. Everything he did was designed to make her lower her guard. The Lieutenant wondered if he was some kind of plant for Parangosky but if the young man was a spy, he had shown nothing to suggest it was the case. The idea that he might have his own motive for delving into her past worried Maddie even more. Davenport had shown what personal vendettas could do to a man.
"I knew that Davenport was full of it." Grayson growled. "Slimy, opportunistic coward that he is. Permission to speak freely, Ma'am?"
Maddie smiled, "It sounds as though you already are, Sergeant." she said, reminding him of protocol.
"Sorry, Ma'am, I just thought that after what he did at the AA battery, we could get Seer to side-line him."
"I haven't had the chance to talk to him about it but you know what he will say." Maddie sighed, understanding the Sergeant instantly. Davenport was a wreck and a menace; he'd already gotten a portion of his squad killed because he couldn't trust his CO.
"FUBAR." he replied, shaking his head.
"Hoo-ah" Duggan murmured as the three of them came up a small valley. It was only a slight elevation change but it was almost welcomed after all the flat and repetitive terrain.
"I'm going to speak with him but let's get back on task, on the other side of that ridge is where Braeburn and First Platoon are supposed to be."
The others nodded, remaining quiet as she got in touch with Al-Shiran and Drake to coordinate strikes against the covenant. Maddie's heart sank as they reached the bottom of the valley. It was quiet. There were no sounds of men under siege or of anything in particular as they got closer to the base of the small hill. Grayson and Duggan had realised it too, and the pair of them checked a series of pods, scattered about the valley, for signs of life. Each of them was empty, apart from one, which was a grave.
The only hope that kept Maddie going, were the plumes of smoke cresting the hill and climbing into the sky. The trio dropped low as they climbed up the embankment and towards the apex, growing slowly more tense as they got closer and closer. Maddie swallowed, listening to her breathing as she finally reached it. The rise gave way and she saw a scene of pure chaos below. The grass had burned away, pods were strewn everywhere, blown to pieces or pulled into a central location as a makeshift barricade. In the centre, a pod had clearly landed, exploding on impact with a device now exposed above the ground.
It was certainly alien, and reminiscent of the technology of the orb found in the vault on Skopje. Maddie watched as several men ran about, reinforcing what they could as they panted and heaved.
These men are flaking.
They were battered, bruised, injured, and fatigued. It only took a cursory glance to know that the situation was bad. Maddie put a finger to her helmet and radioed the Lt. who was ordering the men about.
"Lt. Braeburn. This is Lt. Harper, we're on the ridge to your six."
It was then that Duggan pointed out beyond the site to the distant horde of covenant marching towards them.
"Maddie?! Oh, thank god!" he said in a very relieved drawl. "We're in deep with no cover, the covies, they want this thing destroyed real bad."
"Destroyed?" Maddie asked, curiously.
"No time to explain, Kid, they're sending a whole damn division this way!"
"I can see that; I've got three men and air support waiting for you."
"Three?! Did you say three?!"
"And air support."
"Lt. Harper I hope you have something special planned because all the CAS in the world ain't gonna stop that hoard"
"Just hold the line… and Jack?" she smiled.
"Yeah?"
"Trust me. Right now, we have Prowler overwatch and a broadsword on standby. Link your HUDs to this." she said, sending them a link to the UNSC Enigma's targeting computer. "I'll see if I can rustle up some more. Have you got any heavy ordnance?"
"Yeah, I'll send someone up, we have a rocket launcher with spare rockets, a handful of AT rounds and a few covenant guns that might help us out."
Maddie nodded, her eyes widening as the mass of aliens approached from the distance. Telling Grayson and Duggan to help prepare the defences, Maddie tried desperately to get a hold of Captain Drake. It took a painfully long time. A whole minute, crawled by before Drake's voice broke through to her ear.
"I can see it, lass. Jesus, there must be a thousand Covenant heading your way."
Her HUD lit up like a Christmas tree. Red lights flashed like an ocean of blood in the distance.
"Can we do it?" Maddie asked, "because Al-Shiran can only do so much, and that many covenant will destroy the relic the moment they're in range."
"Destroy it?" Drake replied, thoughtfully, "but that doesn't make any sense."
"I know but that's what Braeburn said they want, Sir."
Drake was quiet, "None of this makes sense, why such a large force? Why do they need to destroy it so badly?"
Maddie drummed her foot. "Sir, we should hold them off before we ask questions."
"Oh, of course." he replied quickly, all of a sudden there was an urgency to him. "I'll talk to Commander Sterling; the Ides should be able to reposition and provide support. Can you paint the targets from there?"
Maddie stood and drew the target designator, pulling the trigger whilst zoomed in to try and get a range on the target.
"It won't be very accurate but it's good enough for what we need."
"Okay, I'll triangulate with the Ides and get you a fire mission. Prepare for MAC round."
Maddie grinned.
"Yes sir!" she said, switching to the general orders channel. "All Callsigns, this is Viper. Cleared hot for fire mission in" she checked the coordinates Walsingham had produced, "grid, 2-5-5-8-7-1, MAC rounds authorized. I repeat. MAC rounds authorised."
Braeburn was screaming at his men to get down as they gawked at the sky. Maddie shuddered as Sterling's voice echoed in her ear.
"UNSC Ides of March on standby, Lieutenant, waiting on your paint."
"Aye Sir, painting..." she gripped the designator tightly, and with the help of Walsingham lined up the shot and squeezed, feeling like a God as the designator blinked, confirming the target. "Target locked."
"Received, Viper, standby." he said coolly as Maddie dove for cover, watching the sky expectantly.
"Shot's away." he added, a moment later.
Three seconds. It took three seconds for the three streaks of beaming white death to fall to the dirt and explode with a force and shock that was beyond description. Mud, rock, earth and vegetation flew upwards in a violent torrent of debris. The Covenant, once a massive force, was lost in the murk of raining mud and dust and grass. Obliterated by the force of a weapon designed to kill capital ships, the mire took almost ten minutes to disappear. The men below her squad watched nervously for movement, searching for the silhouettes of the enemy to emerge from the shadow.
Maddie stood watching, with Al-Shiran on standby, waiting. Then, as the dust receded, grunts and Elites staggered forward, and the men opened fire. Maddie ducked, throwing herself to the floor and stopping herself from slipping back down the embankment as shouts erupted from the small valley and rifle fire rattled into the greying afternoon winds. Information rang in her ear, 200 hundred left, disorganised, charging. Maddie scrambled to aim the target designator, aiming for Elites and Wraiths clustered together. Anything that looked important was fair game and she squeezed the trigger at a shiny Elite clustered near a wraith.
"Roger that!" Al-Shiran replied, before a hawking scream shot through the sky. A streak of explosions a mile long clattered into the assaulting forces as they were cut down in the open. Maddie ducked a stray bolt of light that came close to her leg as she crouched ready to aim another round. The covenant, now close, began to encircle them but Maddie aimed again, directing Al-Shiran to the flanks.
"Dagger 1, inbound!" He seemed to relish the opportunity, swooping low in the distance and spooling his cannon. It tore through their ranks, destroying the last of their vehicular support with an almighty crash. The following series of detonations ravaged the flank, and Maddie found herself smiling as row upon row of alien marauders were blown limb from limb.
"Good guns, Dagger, good guns" she said, "what's the ETA on reinforcements?"
"A column of scorpions to your six." Al-Shiran stated, flying from that direction. He twisted and turned, dodging fire from a squadron of banshee's that appeared out of nowhere.
"Banshee's! Dagger, get out of there!" Maddie shouted.
"Already gone, Viper. I'll draw them off for as long as I can." he said swooping low to the ground, making one final unassisted pass as banshees trailed behind him, sputtering their guns at the craft as they battled in the sky. Looking behind her, Maddie could see the columns of tanks moving slowly towards them.
"Air support is bugging out but we have friendlies to our rear. Hold fast!" she said firmly. A bolt shot from Duggan's sniper rifle streaked across the field and nipped an elite in the neck as it tried to shoot at the strange pod Braeburn was defending. The men prioritised, anyone with heavy weapons were shot down with ruthless efficiency, then long range snipers trying to pick at the object from afar.
It's taking a lot of damage.
Maddie glanced behind her again and saw the tank column and its marine escort at the base of the valley behind them. They spread out, rising slowly up the hill. She focused on the last of the covenant. A wave of grunts attempted a suicide charge but were met with the heavy guns of the tanks as they crested the hill and opened fire.
A round of cheers went up from below as the Marines did their thing, mopping up the last of the resistance as it tried to flee into the massive craters behind them.
"Are you in charge?" asked a stout looking marine to her right.
"I am, who are you?" Maddie replied over the sounds of gunfire
"Captain Thomas" he replied putting his hand out in front of him, "7th armoured"
"7th?" Maddie replied, shaking his hand, "you broke through?"
"We did, the rest of the 42nd took too long to save us, so we decided to save ourselves."
"I'm rather glad you did, Captain." Maddie chuckled at the proud gathering of men and marines that had paused to allow the rest of the unit to finish up, "it's been one hell of a day."
Maddie took leave of the man, telling him to set up a perimeter and help clear the area for pelicans. He obliged, diligently clearing the field of debris as Maddie wandered down to her friend. He was down on one knee, saying a prayer for one of the many men who had lost their lives defending the artifact.
"Seven men." he muttered, "a platoon of thirty cut to less than a third in a morning."
"Rough day?" Maddie asked, offering her friend a hand.
"Ain't it just." Jack spat, rising to his feet. "Private Dodds crashed into it. Poor kid was right in front of me, fresh out of basic he was." Jack shook his head again, "barely into his twenties."
Maddie swallowed. She'd lost men too but… there was a separation between her and the men. There had to be a separation. She felt guilty for that but she understood why it had to be there, ONI couldn't be chummy with the men. Still, she felt sad for the young Dodds, who she never knew, and whose body she would never see.
"There was a small team of split jaws here when we hit. They weren't expecting us so they couldn't destroy this." He said, holding out a familiar data-pad. "It's some kind of report about the terrain from what we could tell. I'm not sure if its related to the artifact, though." he said turning to look at it. "I just hope I was right because… because damn it, I lost too many men defending it."
"It's alright, Jack." Maddie said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'll get Drake down here and he can take a look. Did you manage to find anything out about it? Any signs of life?"
"It's some kind of transmitter. Has a load of micro-valves that we think releases some kind of bio-chemical?"
"Like a weapon, not a transmitter?"
"Not sure, but my tech guy seemed to think it wasn't designed to kill. I'd have him tell you more but… he's not here anymore."
Maddie pulled off her helmet, feeling the need to breathe all of a sudden. She pulled the commlink from the helmet and called Drake for back-up, watching Braeburn mourn for his men as she waited. Drake was intrigued by it all, just as Maddie was. She spent the wait pouring over the document, letting Walsingham scan it as she inspected the device itself. It looked like a chest. There was a control panel, which seemed to have life in it, and a series of metallic bolts and locking mechanisms. Half buried in the dirt, it seemed like it should have been much deeper, especially if it was a forerunner relic.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose and tried to slap herself awake. Pacing around the object like a panther seeking her prey, she was left undisturbed by the men around her. Most of them gawked quietly at the tall blonde as she stood, deep in thought. Her golden hair seemed bright, despite the quickly greying weather, and her black armour silhouetted her figure against the dark clouds, hiding her from the prying eyes of the rank and file.
It was then that Maddie felt her stomach growl. She dipped into her pocket and produced a high calorie chocolate bar to keep her going. She chewed delicately, nibbling on it as she stared at the strange box. She spent the next forty minutes wondering what it could be for. The late technician was right, it just wasn't designed for combat. It didn't follow any sort of obvious design philosophy for that and besides, the covenant appropriated Forerunner weapons. The fact the covenant wanted it destroyed was the sticking point. They revered the forerunners, destroying their relics was heresy.
Maddie ran through a list of all the relics she knew ONI had access to, eliminating them from the potential uses this relic might provide. It was probably a transmitter, that did match the design philosophy at least. Although, Maddie figured that it wasn't transmitting signals. It didn't seem right to her somehow. The valves were likely used to emit something.
Like Gas?
Maddie frowned. Placing her helmet back on her head she stepped back, her heart in her mouth.
"Before you ask, no, it's not toxic. I came to the same conclusion you did, it's not a biochemical weapon. I could only detect water, dirt and oxygen." Walsingham said, curiously. "A credit to your reasoning, Ma'am, but I think this is something we cannot solve here."
Maddie agreed, and removed her helmet again, needing the fresh air and a moment to think before Drake arrived. She could see three pelicans racing towards them and waited as they swooped low, escorted by a lone broadsword. Braeburn, who had been speaking with the Captain, filled her in with the status of the wider assault. That meant good news, as the 4th armoured had already broken through the defences and begun to encircle the city.
It lifted her spirits, but Maddie was too intrigued by the artefact to notice much else. Even as Drake descended the ramp with a scruffy looking technician, Maddie remained transfixed on the device.
"Lieutenant." noted Drake as he stopped beside her.
Maddie shook her head, breaking out of the trance she had begun to fall into. "Oh. Hello, Sir." she said, chewing on her lip.
"Well, isn't this something?" said the technician. Her voice was youthful and vibrant, like birdsong stretching out across the valley. It made Maddie turn. The technician wasn't really a technician at all. At least, not in the traditional sense. She wore overalls, sure, but they were black. There was also a thin layer of oil and grease over her face, too. It hid a button nose and full cheeks, a pair of deep brown eyes peered back at her.
"Lt. Harper, this is Jade Roberts, a civilian contractor working with ONI. She's… familiar with the forerunners." Drake said, a little warily. The man seemed tense, as though he were expecting a bomb to go off at any moment. Of course, a bomb could go off; they were standing at what had been the frontline only minutes earlier.
"Nice to meet you, Roberts." Maddie said nodding.
Roberts smiled, revealing a brilliant white set of teeth that looked almost wolf-like to Maddie. "Please, Jade is fine, babe." she said, shrugging. "I'm often reminded of the fact I'm not technically military so I like to waver formalities."
Drake pretended to look at the artefact but Maddie could tell that he was worried about something. They might have spent the last four years apart but the bond they'd formed hadn't gone anywhere, he was rubbing the stubble growing around his face and looking straight ahead.
"Sounds nice" Maddie smiled, "I wished you'd told me I could have been a civilian contractor, Captain. Could dodge most of the regs."
Jade smiled again, "Well if you ever go freelance, I'd be happy to show you the ropes."
Maddie blinked, unsure if Jade was being serious. Her laugh made it seem like a joke but Maddie wasn't entirely sure.
Weird.
Drake interrupted, which Maddie was thankful for. "So, what do you think?" he asked Jade.
She put her hand on her hips and tilted her head. "It's not standard forerunner tech, that's for sure. It doesn't match their usual design language." she frowned, the dirt on her face creased along the lines of her skin in a way that made her seem almost rough.
"What is it?" Maddie asked, her focus returned to the mysterious device.
"Well, logically, for something to follow a different design language, mean's a drastic change in age, or in culture, or importance." she replied, circling the device.
"The Forerunner empire was massive, wasn't it? You'd expect design variation, surely?" Maddie replied, watching the technician as she took a knee beside the exposed panel.
"Sure, but we've already found other forerunner tech on Meridian." Her brows furrowed, her mind deep in thought. "All other relics matched standard forerunner designs in the Orion arm. It's possible it's older but this is sophisticated tech, even by forerunner standards. I'll be able to run tests to determine its age on the Enigma so we can rule that out at least." she noted.
"You don't seem convinced that will help." Drake stated, glancing around at the Marines who pretended to busy themselves as the three Spooks talked quietly to each other.
Jade stood up and stepped back, "It just seems too cheap to be important."
"Cheap?" Maddie frowned. It didn't look cheap to her at all, it was intricately designed, and a marvel of engineering. Though, she supposed that 'cheap' was a relative concept when it came to highly advanced alien artefacts.
"Cheap might be the wrong word." Jade agreed, "Practical is a better way of putting it. It's functional, you don't gild a spade just to shovel muck."
Maddie supposed Jade had a point and Maddie lacked the engineering skills necessary to make her own conclusions.
"You know what it does?" Drake asked, his silvery eyes cast upon her like waves against rock.
"I could make an educated guess" she smiled, "it's some kind of emitter. Those valves likely emitted gas or liquid." she said, pointing to the micro-sized holes dotted all over the device in hexagonal clusters.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it here, let's get it prepped for transport. I want to know what scares the covenant enough to want to destroy it." Drake said, turning on his heels. He ordered a squad of Marines to help dig it out of the mud and load it onto his pelican as Maddie sighed, stepping away from the hustle and bustle to lean back against the wheel of a transport warthog.
Jack tended to the wounded, his men were tired and ragged. Maddie's heart wept for him; Jack had lost over two thirds of his men in seven hours of combat. Maddie removed her helmet as the sky continued to darken. The wind brewed and Maddie shuddered, drawing into herself a little as she took advantage of the little bit of peace that she'd carved out for herself. It would have been warmer to keep the recon helmet on but Maddie liked to feel. Sensation reminded her that she was alive and that was important in the last warzone she'd been to. Jack had lost everything in that warzone, he and James were the sole survivors of their entire company and even though both had survived, neither of them remained close after what happened in the shadow of the ash tree. In a way, both she and Jack had lost everything on Skopje. He hadn't mentioned family to her, which made her think he didn't really have any. That thought just made her sad. Jack sat chewing on a ration bar, his face almost blank.
What did you expect, Maddie? This is war.
She yawned and scowled at the horizon. Solar Fields dominated the view, it's towering spires could be seen for miles. They reached up into the sky like burning beacon fires. Maddie knew the answers she wanted were there and God would need to help the Nazari's if they kept her from the truth. Maddie's face was taught and hardened. She cast a serious look across the field and the Marines kept their distance, not wanting to poke the angry bear. She knew they could be difficult; she'd dealt with the husband before. They were shrewd little snakes but they were clearly useful so long as they were alive.
The one person not avoiding her gaze, was Jade, who sat in the crater left behind by the device peering at her from behind a data pad. Maddie pretended not to notice her but groaned internally as the girl pulled herself to her feet and strode towards her. Resigned to human interaction, Maddie watched her move with purpose and confidence through the Marines and ODST. She was shorter than Maddie, probably about 5'6 but her legs were long and carried her well.
As she neared, Maddie felt tense, she didn't know anything about this woman other than that she was a civilian that ONI trusted to work on forerunner relics. There were a million red flags in that, and something had been unnerving Drake, as well. Maddie wondered for a moment if it was her.
"You alright?" she asked, sweetly, "you look like you just put your pet down."
"Hmph," Maddie grunted in a half-chuckle, "that bad is it?"
Jade shrugged, "it suits you ONI types. Mind if I sit next to you?"
Now it was Maddie's turn to shrug. Jade took it as an invitation and sat close to her. A little too close for Maddie's sensibilities. Jade pulled out the pad and continued to run tests and queries, which Maddie followed in her head. It was basic stuff, mineral composition of the soil, precise location, and dimensions for the artefact itself. Maddie knew that Jade clearly knew her stuff and wasn't afraid to show it.
"Is it anything in particular?" she said, not looking up from the screen.
"What?"
"That has you down?" she replied, nonchalantly.
"Oh, no, not really. I just know the guy who found this, we're close." Maddie said, looking at Jack, who was resting on his back as a medic checked him over.
"How close?" she asked, looking up at her.
Maddie watched her brown eyes flash mischievously. "Not that kind of close. I just know that he's lost a lot, this is just another unit he's outlived."
"Ah." Jade nodded, searching Maddie's face, "yeah, I've seen that before, but I think you probably know better than me."
Maddie frowned, wondering how Jade might have guessed that. It wasn't a bold guess, however. These days, most people were like Maddie. They'd all seen their share of the war and what it did to people's lives.
"No more than anyone else." Maddie said, evasively.
Jade smiled as though she doubted her.
"Well, I'm about done here." she said firmly, shutting the data pad down just as Drake finished loading the artefact onto the transport. She stretched and offered a slender hand to Maddie, who looked up at her.
Jade's hair blew in the breeze, cropped to her shoulders, it cast a wavy brown shadow over the sky. Stubborn as ever, Maddie placed her helmet upon her head and ignored the technician's hand and stood on her own. She glared down at the woman, who refused to be intimidated. Instead, she lowered her hand and nodded as her eyes scanned the length of Maddie's body. It was a strange encounter, and Maddie couldn't tell exactly what Jade's deal was. This unnerved Maddie as she made her way towards the Pelican, she'd always been good at measuring people but something about Ms. Roberts seemed off and Maddie couldn't work out what it was.
The transport ignited its engine and Jade waved as she took a seat near the bay's entrance. Drake made sure everything was secured before walking down the ramp to Maddie. "This was a good find, lass. Make sure the Lieutenant knows it, alright?"
"Will do, Sir." she replied.
There was a protracted moment of silence.
"Sir?" Maddie asked, "is everything alright?"
Drake took a while to reply. He searched for the right words but he clearly didn't quite know what was wrong himself.
"I don't know, not yet."
"That doesn't sound good." Maddie replied in a low whisper, "is it big?"
"Might be nothing." he said cryptically, "but if it is something, you'll be the first to know."
"Is it related to her?" Maddie asked as she avoided moving her head, her eyes glued to Jade as she laughed with a Marine.
Drake shifted uncomfortably, "she's dangerous, lass, but I think there's a lot more going on than some shady contractor."
"Best to stay clear of her then." Maddie stated it, there was no question that something was off about the technician.
"That will be difficult, she's working aboard the Enigma as our in-house forerunner expert."
"Sir, how does a civilian get a job as a Forerunner engineering specialist?" Maddie asked, pointedly.
"It's classified. I've asked myself but I'm not even allowed to know. I would ask her myself but I don't think I'm as brave as I used to be, Lass. I'm getting old."
That made Maddie laugh, "you're just too used to being up on the Enigma. Come down and get stuck in, Sir."
Drake laughed, "Maybe I am getting a bit of cabin fever. Nothing is gonna change until we get a real lead on Bornstellar though. Until then I'm stuck in orbit coordinating the rest of the search."
"I better hurry up and pick up the trail, then."
"That you should, lass." he said, giving a casual salute as he turned to climb the ramp. Maddie stepped back as the hatch sealed, hiding the artefact, the technician, and Drake from view before growling deeply and rising into the sky with a confident purr.
The thrusters boosted, cracking like boiling water and pushing the Pelican away and up into the sky. As it melded with the clouds and disappeared out of sight, Maddie found herself yearning to be with them. She wasn't interested in the blood, guts and glory. She wanted answers. Yet even as a major discovery might have been made, and the threads of fate tugged upon, she felt no closer to understanding the truth that seemed just out of reach.
Rain began to fall. At first, she enjoyed the sensation of each droplet cascading down her visor. Soon however, she found that yearning was not enough to get the answers she needed. Her fist clenched as she resolved to push harder, to work harder, and take what is hers. She spun on her heel and looked to the convoy that had begun to form on the road. Several LAAVs had been procured for the troopers of the 42nd and Maddie pulled herself into the seat of one. Duggan and Grayson followed suit, taking seats behind her as Jack hauled his tired frame into the driver's seat.
"So..." he said, looking at her as she rested her head, "was it worth it?"
Maddie struggled to answer. "Too early to call, just yet."
Jack didn't reply. There was no need, he was a good man and a better soldier. His duty came first and nothing got in his way. As the convoy set off, Jack pulled away and they headed towards the horizon where the UNSC viciously assaulted the city. Rain tried to mask the scene form her view but Maddie could not only see the carnage; she could also hear it. Roaring in the distance was her next port of call and she hoped desperately for answers there.
The ride to the rest of Fox Company was slow and boring, Jack, trying to come up with something to pass the time, nudged Maddie in the arm and leaned close.
"That girl with the Captain, who was she?"
That's a good question.
Maddie wondered to herself for a moment but fatigue was rapidly catching up with her as light faded and the rain drummed her into a drowsy stupor.
"Just more trouble." She replied, shaking her head.
"Sounds like just another day in the office" Jack chuckled.
Maddie yawned, "God, I hope not."
Maddie wasn't naive.
Something was up.
Right now, though, she was too tired to care.