The sun broke early, winter behind them, and the solar spring now nearing its zenith. Maddie blinked, yawning pleasantly at the back of George, who was pulling on a fresh uniform in the brilliance of the morning sun.
"Good morning" he said, his back still to her.
Maddie forced herself up, pushing strands of blonde hair aside as she rubbed her eyes. She glanced at the clock: 0500 local. Despite the lack of sleep, she felt refreshed, swinging her legs out from the bed and stretching. She made a strange guttural noise and George turned.
"What the hell was that?" he frowned, "sounded like a cat trying to push out a fart."
"Just stretching" she shrugged, flashing a wry smile as she coiled herself around him. The embrace was shorter than she had wanted but they were on the clock, she gave him a kiss then stepped over him, finding a spare set of ONI fatigues in the closet with a black baseball cap. She turned it in her hands and smiled at the logo, that ominous triangle was a thorn in her side at times but the truth was that her life was better for it. She thought of Drake and how he dedicated his entire life to the service. No wife, no kids, and a no home outside the Navy. Most of what the man did have, he seemed to carry as a weight on his conscience. It was a life that worked for Drake; Maddie dreamed a little bigger, though, she looked back at George, who wiggled into his trousers when he thought she wasn't looking and Maddie smiled, knowing that the life that Parangosky might have wanted for her just wasn't going to happen.
She pulled her ponytail through the back of the cap and led her bangs down the side of her face as she scowled brazenly at the mirror in front of her. At least I look the part, she thought, as a fresh wave of anxiety surged her thoughts. More decisions, more waiting. She wanted the covenant to attack already, at least then she could get this over with. That she had been forced to wait wasn't really the issue, it was the size of the task faced. The covenant was only half the problem. Her own allies had been more of an issue so far, from the moment they had arrived, Spartacus, or Stoots, had caused issues from day one. In typical revolutionary fashion, Stoots' militia had taken advantage of the situation and pressed for an expansion of rights for the workers of Francesca. From Ashfell, Francesca was due east, perched on the far side of the peninsular that the Covenant had made their home. Maddie didn't know much about it, but Duggan and George had given her a few quick lessons on the history of the place. It hadn't done much to improve her opinion of Ballast; context just made the insanity of the place more depressing, if anything.
The Francescans were pseudo-serfs, tied to the lands and mines that worked by their ancestors. It was barbaric, in Maddie's opinion, to so brazenly replicate ancient social structures to maintain one's wealth. History to Maddie was about stories and the nostalgia for an idealised version of the past. To look serfdom in the face made her balk, it tainted her passion with a bitterness that only human suffering could produce.
Finally, she turned from the mirror, eyeing George as he put the finishing touches on his hair and uniform. He said nothing, but nodded curtly, leading her to the door and out onto the base.
"First things first. Mess tent." She said, rubbing her head, "that was some strong wine."
George grinned all the way to the line. At this time, most of her men were up and busy, only the last group of sentries sat in the tent, chewing tiredly on eggs and toast. Maddie ordered her usual, poached eggs, toast, and two rashers of bacon. Her stomach approved, growling as she headed for the officers table where Drake sat, nursing a croissant.
"Very fancy." Maddie said, breaking him from an apparent trance.
"Morning, lass." He said, cheerily, "sleep well?"
Maddie wondered for a moment if that was a comment on their relationship. It wasn't something they'd ever hidden but HIGHCOM could be a little stiff when it came to relationships. Maddie, as the head of an ONI subdivision, had the luxury of skirting the rules. That being said, she had let Parangosky know. She'd held the olive branch, offered to put aside the incidents that had begun to deteriorate their relationship. Arc Dream is just too important, Maddie noted, squirting sauce on to her plate, sprinkling salt and cracking pepper over her eggs.
"I enjoyed myself." George replied, sounding a little too hungover to be making a joke. Maddie grinned, partly at George's discomfort but mostly at her eggs. She really liked eggs.
"Pitiful display, that." Drake continued, licking jam from his knife. "Where I'm from we wouldn't even call that drinking."
Maddie snorted, "That's because you come from a place where everyone is a functioning alcoholic" she said, taking a bite out of her meal.
"Well, you're certainly more chipper than you were last night," Drake noted, "seems like those reunions did you some good, eh?"
Maddie shrugged. "Glad it's done, to be honest."
Drake leaned forward, "you're going to have to work with Albert, you know that, right?"
Maddie held her hand up and finished swallowing a mouthful. "It wasn't as hard as I thought it should have been. Albert just made a mistake, last night I saw a man trying to make things right, in his own way." She forked another mouthful, "and at least I know what I'm dealing with. He's an idealist but there's always been a pragmatism about him."
"You sure? It's been almost five years, lass."
Maddie nodded, sure of herself. "I like dealing with him a damned sight more than I do those noblemen." She ate with an almost violent passion, polishing the last of her food with characteristic vigour and sighed in satisfaction. What about you, you seem pretty cheerful yourself."
Drake linked his fingers together and rested them in front of him, "well, it's the first integrated council today. Me, Reitker, and the nobility will be drafting minutes for the first peace summit in three days' time."
"And that's the one that will include Stoots and the Militia?"
"Yup. We will finally be ready to mount coordinated defences of the continent with this deal in place."
"Three days." Maddie said, nodding.
There was quiet for a moment, George was content to eat his breakfast in peace, Drake returned to scanning his data pad, and Maddie was content to take a moment to sit with her eyes closed, her belly full, and at least twenty minutes until her next appointment.
"Ma'am?"
Her eyes remained closed and Maddie sighed, mourning the loss of the brief moment of peace. She opened them and turned to the young Sergeant who stood before her. "Yes?" she asked, trying to sound as though she wasn't irritated.
"Your transport is ready but you hadn't assigned a pilot, I was wondering if that was an error or intentional."
Maddie stood and approached her, "nothing to worry about, I was just going to sort it myself. You may return to your post, I'll handle it."
"Yes, Ma'am" she replied, a little too enthusiastically. Maddie watched her leave, told her friends she'd meet them on the tarmac in five, then followed the Sergeant out into the morning sun.
The SPARTANs had carved out a space for themselves in the quietest corner of the base. It was an odd sight, seeing six hulking masses of humans crammed into a space designed to hold a single warthog. The garage was a musty place, it smelled of oil and faintly of munitions. Maddie raised a brow, wondering how the SPARTANs kept themselves clean. When she was spotted, Naomi snapped to attention and saluted, prompting the rest of them to follow suit.
"Spartans, at ease" she said, watching them all relax save for Naomi. Naomi was a second-generation SPARTAN and one of the ones raised from birth to be a war machine. Maddie resisted the urge to shake her head, Naomi looked less at ease when she wasn't saluting, a reminder of the dark reality that had made her generation of Spartan's. Maggie and her friends stood before her, waiting patiently.
"Bee will be in touch, he will need a little help with his recon op. Spartan Oh-one-oh, Spartan Harper, you will be joining me on a personal mission." she said, not wanting them to stew in anticipation for too long. "I know it's been hard and these conditions are less than ideal but with the political games finally coming good, I'll be able to deploy you soon." They looked happy about that. Maddie glanced around the space, which would have fit six people just fine had they not been seven-foot-tall super soldiers. "Get your gear and meet me on the tarmac in two minutes."
She watched them for a moment, each of them sprang into action but Naomi stood apart from them, quietly going about her business as the others chatted excitedly. It could have been a pre-op ritual, Maddie thought as she exited the garage and made for the runway built just in front of the base. She didn't believe it, of course, everyone one had their little prayers or idioms that they told themselves, their rituals for luck, but Naomi stood quietly apart not because she had some reason that made sense to any normal person. No, she stood apart because she couldn't stand with her comrades. Those old ONI technicians had bred socialisation out of the poor girl. That was an amusing thing, to call a woman who was almost thirty years her senior a girl but it seemed appropriate considering how aloof she could be.
"Maddie! Uh, Ma'am?"
Maddie stopped and turned on her heel. "Spartan Harper." she said, nodding.
"Permission to speak freely, Ma'am?"
"Granted."
"Can I stay?"
"No." Maddie replied, not stopping to ask why, "I need to show you something."
"Oh."
They approached Body Bag, a black ONI pelican waiting expectantly with several figures by the bay doors. Maddie's eyes narrowed, something was amiss, she saw Drake and George but there was a third person there. A woman, not unfamiliar to Maddie was talking to them animatedly, flanked by two government security guards. Ana. Maddie rolled her eyes, glad that she at least had an excuse to be rid of her. She turned to the SPARTANs.
"Get on the Pelican and don't say a word, Maggie? Helmet on, now." she said, seriously enough that Maggie frowned. Maddie hadn't needed to be so harsh, Maggie understood that her identity needed to be kept secret from most.
When they approached, Ana's eyes lit up. "Maddie!" she gasped; it's been so long!"
"It's Commander Harper, Miss Valtteri. You are aware that this is a military base, correct?"
Ana paused, her bright disposition fading, "you wouldn't speak with me in your free time so I'm making you talk."
"I wasn't aware that there was anything to talk about." Maddie replied, bluntly.
"Are you kidding? We were best friends for eleven years!"
Maddie didn't have time for this. "See this ship? And that Covenant army behind you? I need to get on this ship so that army doesn't kill everyone you love. Get off my base or I'll have my men sling you out."
"I have a right to be here." she replied, gesturing to her guards, "Captain Drake authorised it himself."
Maddie scowled at him, "It was a concession in the agreement" he shrugged, "but the Commander is right, she's on the clock. I'll schedule something for you to meet with her when she's free."
Maddie ascended the ramp of the Pelican and turned to Ana, who watched her SPARTAN escort curiously. Behind her, Naomi took the controls and began to prep Body Bag for take-off when Drake jogs up to her.
"I can make sure that meeting doesn't happen, if you want." he said, quietly.
Maddie put her hands on her hips and shook her head, "I need to deal with it eventually. Plus, I need the distraction from all these world-saving decisions I'm trying to make."
"Control and choice isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?"
"No, it is," Maddie replied firmly, "they're mine to make and I can make the best of it. It doesn't change the fact that they're hard to make but I'll never let anyone take this from me."
Drake smiled, searching her eyes for something faraway. "I think you'll make a better Spook than me, Afterall" he said, "see you soon, Lass"
"You too, Felix, time to get this show on the road." she said, ascending the ramp as it hissed and the Pelican lifted into the air.
The craft shuddered and took an easy line east over the farmland below, heading in the direction of Francesca. Naomi's skill was apparent as the Pelican danced through the sky, avoiding turbulence as though it weren't there. Maddie watched as Francesca began to sprawl below them. Unlike the shiny city of Constantium to the south west, Francesca was a plume of browns and blacks. It looked dirty, filled with factories and the more essential industries, the people here worked the factories and mines of the local area. The contrast was sickening, not least because this kind of inequality only really existed in places that were designed to be oppressive. Each house was smaller, less efficient in recycling energy and less liveable compared with the sweeping gardens and beauty of Constantium. Maddie bit her lip and turned, apparently Maggie had noticed something similar. A light blinked red, signifying that the air was getting too thin and Maddie hit the large button below it, sealing the dropship from the vacuum.
"What are you thinking about?" Maddie asked as Body Bag broke through the atmosphere.
"I've been thinking about Eliza" she paused, "and Mum."
"What about them?"
"The Admiral said it was okay to talk to them if I felt it was necessary," she said, twiddling her fingers, "I just don't know if it's a good idea. I don't want to rush it and cause problems. They've already mourned, too wouldn't it be unfair to open that wound? I have a duty to ONI as well, to keep their secrets."
Maddie considered all of this, "you want to talk to Mum?" she asked, hoping she was wrong.
Maggie nodded, "I mean, I don't know the full story, I only know what you've told me and you're kinda biased" she said, too sheepishly for a SPARTAN. "No offense."
"None taken" Maddie laughed, smiling up at her sister. It was still a weird sensation, looking up at Maggie, she wasn't sure she would ever get used to it. "I have a right to hate her, I was there to see it. It wouldn't be right to take your choices away from you. I did that once. Never again."
Maggie didn't say anything to that; she did follow Maddie through to the cock-pit, however. "So, what are you showing me?" she asked, seemingly as glad as Maddie was to put discussions of their mother behind them.
"First we have to drop Commander Sterling off at his ship, pick up Commander Volkovskaya, then we'll head over to Arc Dream." Maddie said, wistfully, "it's what I've spent the last four and a half years of my life looking for."
"And the Admiral is okay with this?"
"She gave me the project."
"Oh" Maggie said, relaxing almost instantly, "Good. I don't want to get into trouble."
"Only you could become a machine God of death and worry about the opinions of others. You don't see Gnomes worrying, do you?"
"I was trained not to disobey orders, Ma'am." Naomi said, undermining her.
Maddie groaned. "Right, I order you both to relax a little, alright? Honestly, when I found out about SPARTANs I thought you'd be cooler."
Something about that made Naomi, of all people, laugh. Maddie grinned at that, avoiding the scowl that Maggie was giving her from the seat next to her.
"Excellent work, Gnomes, that's more like it. I expect better from you, Spartan Harper. Alright, take us in Naomi, they should be expecting us."
Body Bag was eaves into the hangar bay of George's ship and he smiled at the flight deck like he was looking at an old friend. Keep your tongue in your mouth, George, she thought, humorously. Body Bag touched the deck with a delicate clunk and the ramp hissed, George stood excitedly and breathed in the recycled air as it flooded the cabin. At the base of the ramp stood Katya and another familiar face.
"Alex?" Maggie said before yelping and retreating. Alex looked confused for a moment, as though he was trying to work out why he'd heard someone say his name but saw no movement on Maddie's lips.
"Commander Sterling, Commander Harper" he said, standing tall. George shook his hand, "good to have you back."
"I'm only here to pick LTC Volkovskaya up" Maddie said, winking at Katya, "and I'm on a tight schedule, so if you don't mind?"
"By all means" he grinned, there was something about him and Katya, there was a look they shared that Maddie knew meant trouble.
"What?" she asked Katya as she chuckled and walked past her up the ramp.
"Nothing you need to worry about Commander."
"Oh, I doubt that very much, Sir."
"It's good to see you again" he said, "you sure you can't catch up?"
Maddie folded her arms, guiltily. "I am busy, genuinely. Everyone wants my attention these days."
"My little sister is all grown up. You finally managed to out-do me and Pres." he said, his eyes darting behind her for a second, "That SPARTAN looks new." Maddie turned and saw Maggie retreat again, she forced herself not to smile. She'd forgotten that Alex was touring the ship today and she made a mental note to herself to be more careful.
"Classified above your pay grade, big brother." Maddie replied, playing it down.
"Hmph, is she making sure I don't kill you or something? She looks a bit protective for a SPARTAN."
"That's why we call her Mother" Maddie said, hoping that was the last that needed to be said, "anyway, I'll see you aboard the Invictus after Drake's meeting. You're heading there now, right?"
Alex scratched his head, "Yeah, I'd rather be back on the Fate but as the only full time Captain in the fleet, SIC duty falls to me. Still, better than being Reitker, I suppose, those politicians are insufferable. Been harassing our patrols for months."
"They're causing problems?"
"Flexing their atrophied muscle" he said, dryly, "had to reprimand my Gunnery Chief for joking about blowing them out the sky. Not that I blame him, of course."
"Not long now" Maddie replied, Body Bag hissed back into life, calling Maddie back into the void. She wished her brother goodbye and they set off towards the sun where Maddie's hope for the human race lay. Body Bag's modifications kept it in one piece as the sun tried to melt it into slag but it made for uncomfortable flying nonetheless. Naomi and Katya sat up front, guiding the ship home while Maddie and her sister sat in the back. Maggie hadn't said a word and Maddie gave her a little space, pawing idly at her data pad. It was the first time she'd seen a family member who wasn't Maddie and she seemed to regret not pulling off that helmet and throwing her arms around her older brother. For her part, Maddie wasn't sure how best to proceed, there was a conflict in Maggie that she didn't want to influence. What right did she have to sway her one way or the other? If there was one member of the family that was best to reintroduce Maggie to, it would be Alex. Cool headed, mature, and brilliant. He was a Captain for a reason, he'd have known what she needed. At least that was the hope, maybe leadership like this was just an endless stream of self-doubt and the best leaders simply found a way to push that voice out of their head.
Body Bag slowed again and the hissing and sliding of metal could be heard from outside the bulkhead as the Human ship opened itself to the dropship, tendrils of nanotech were sliding over the back of the dropship, creating a bridge to the airlock. The ramp lowered and Maddie stepped forward, leading her entourage out onto the deck of the ancient ship. Like always, Maggie had a nervous curiosity about her and it made Maddie smirk to herself, watching how human her sister seemed to remain. She wasn't like Naomi, who was acting now as she had when she first arrived, her stoic posture and the indifference as she cast a look over the ship was annoying to Maddie, who thought this place was like El Dorado.
Unlike the first time however, the ship had wiring and cables running through it. They were almost like raised plumbing, sitting on the floor running masses of data through the ship towards the bridge. They had to step over it a few times as it bunched up around nodes that seemed to reach into the ship like a Web, the cables stuck out against the untouched parts of the ship where the bulkhead was elegantly crafted to look smooth and graceful. Light pulsed in them, a subtle reminder that the ship was powered up and that Tuk was watching them. Maddie liked the nascent constructs affinity for theatre, it was a humanising quirk that really sold the idea that the construct was human to her.
As they reached the bridge, she wondered what Maggie would think. Jade looked up and beamed.
"Commander!" She said, coming to attention as best she could. After their brief tryst Maddie had thought it best to try and re-establish a more formal relationship.
"At ease, Miss Roberts."
The girl relaxed and winked. It hadn't worked.
"You've brought company, this time." She grinned, looking hungrily at Maggie. "Oh, Katya, I didn't see you there, still with the Texan?"
Katya rolled her eyes and gave Maddie a look that seemed to suggest this was her fault. "That's… not even close." She said, almost laughing.
"I've never been to Earth" she said, thoughtfully.
Maddie could feel the disapproval from Maggie even though her faceplate was polarised. Maggie was never a prude but she was a stickler for military protocol. That was sort of to be expected, Maddie supposed, but she never would have guessed she'd find out had someone asked her before Skopje was attacked.
"Neither have I" Tukmen'tukhan said, his voice reverberating and making Maggie jump.
"Really?" Katya and Maddie said, almost in unison. They looked at each other, knowingly.
"It was a backwater when I was alive." He said, his avatar shrugging.
"Is it even our birthplace? You know, where we began?" Maddie asked. Maggie seemed frozen.
"It was debated bit yes; it almost definitely was. For all intents and purposes, it is for you. Humanity had a vast interstellar Empire and Erde Tyrene, as we knew it, had passed from relevance long before I was even born."
"You're human?" A voice creaked. Everyone turned to Maggie, save for Naomi, who was simply standing around as always, ready for anything. "Maddie, what's going on, what is this?"
The avatar smiled. "You possess your sisters' wit, I see."
Now everyone turned to Maddie. She closed her eyes gently and sighed.
"Did I do something wrong?" Tuk asked, glancing at the faces around him, "my BioScan's indicate a degree of genetic similarity found most commonly in siblings, despite her genetic… Oh. I see. My apologies, Commander, I did not realise that you wished this to remain a secret."
Maddie's throat had dried up during his speech, she shook her head. "Yes, she's, my sister. No, I cannot talk about it." She paused, then looked at Tuk, "the fault is mine, I should have considered that you would pick that up on your scanners."
"Another secret?" Katya asked.
Maddie winced; Kat still didn't fully trust her. "No, well yes, sort of. She was injured after Skopje, Parangosky thought that the SPARTAN process would save her life. Only I could make the call. Hardest thing I ever did." Maddie said, trying not to get emotional. Maggie, sensing as she always did, that Maddie needed support, clicked the latch on her helmet and removed her helmet, smiling with glistening eyes as she looked at Maddie and only Maddie.
"Older?" Jade asked herself.
"Nah, younger." Katya said, sure of herself.
"Make it a bet?" Jade asked, grinning, "five creds"
"Done." Katya said.
Maggie looked at Maddie, who shrugged.
"I'm two years younger" She laughed as Katya erupted into a whoop. Jade shook her head and paid up. Tukmen'tukhan simply watched. Maddie waited for everything to die down, watching Naomi pick awkwardly at a chip in her wrist plating.
"Alright, alright, settle down." Maddie said, firmly reasserting her authority. "Jade, Tuk, where are we with ARC DREAM?"
Jade stepped forward to the war table and tapped a button. "We are focusing on drawing as much tech as we can from the ships minor systems. There's some combat harnesses and weapons in the armoury that I'm itching to get my hands on but we're still, ultimately, where we were when we got here."
"No power." Maddie muttered.
Jade nodded, "we would need every fusion drive in the fleet to get this thing running at 100% or…"
Katya raised a brow, "or what?"
"Or we grab ourselves a Covenant drive" Jade snorted. "Need to be at least a Corvette engine"
"You're serious?" Katya asked, her brow shooting up her face.
Jade nodded.
"I suspect that the Covenant are here looking for a ship." Tukmen'tukhan said, his avatar stepping forward in place. The war table replaced the energy levels of the ship with the recording of the Covenant's arrival in the system. It had been picked up by a satellite pointed at Ballast, which meant the feed was skewed but Tuk and Jade had been studying it for months. Maddie hoped that they had more than last time.
"These signatures are slip drivers, excess portal gas and plasma. See how this one appears ahead of the others, then disappears?" Jade continued. Maddie nodded and Jade carried on. "Well, we originally thought this was blue shift or some kind of light anomaly picked up by the satellite but we believe it was a covenant ship. It killed its engines and tried to sneak away as the Ballastian Defence Force engaged them. This explains the odd behaviour of the fleet during the engagement and why the BDF were able to throw them off."
"With our help." Katya fumed; she was more irritated by the Ballastians than even Maddie was. She shot her friend a sympathetic look.
"Somewhere in this system there's an entire covenant ship?" Maddie asked, how have we not found it?
"It's probably in the asteroid belt." Katya said. She was studying the map on the navigation station.
"Must be powered down then, it probably took a beating. Might even be a dead wreck." Maddie said, slowly, "Do we have the resources to find it?"
Katya shifted her attention back to Maddie, "no, the Ides could do it but it's a risk if the Covenant return. The Enigma could, too but the belt is far out, if we're needed back with the fleet, we might not be on station in time."
Maddie considered this for a moment, "what about a smaller ship? We could send the Enigma out to the belt with Aegis Fate, they could cover at least a sector in about a week."
"That would work but we should keep the Fate out of the loop if we can. We tell them we're searching the belt for potential flanking manoeuvres and salvage." Katya agreed. There was a brief silence, no one was saying the obvious and Maddie's brow furrowed. If the drive is destroyed, there's no hope of powering up the Fenrir or Hel. Not until the Covenant glassed the colony and moved on, anyway.
Maggie began to grill Tukmen'tukhan on everything she possibly could, her eyes wide and full of excitement as Jade joined her, equally as excited. Katya stepped away to make the necessary preparations for her mission to the belt. Naomi touched the computer on her forearm and approached Maddie.
"What can I do you for, Spartan?" Maddie asked, cheerfully.
"Message from Drake, Ma'am."
Maddie nodded and motioned for her to follow just beyond the bridge and into the adjacent corridor, which lit up seamlessly as they entered. Naomi hit a few buttons and Drake appeared on her data pad.
"Just checking in, Lass. First round of talks hasn't gone anywhere, everyone's on edge but that's to be expected. The Valterri's haven't shown up and the King won't make any decisions without them here, I forwarded this to "Bee" as well and he seems to think that the Val-"
The feed cut out and Maddie groaned. "Feeds timed out." She said, shaking her head.
Naomi's neck tilted like a dog's, curiously she leaned forward, "that shouldn't be possible," she said, touching the tablet.
"Solar flare, maybe?"
"Unlikely."
"Let's just patch the feed through Tukmen'tukhan." Maddie replied, opening the bridge, which opened to the tune of laughter. Maggie and Jade were laughing at Katya, who scowled as she hid a smirk of her own.
"Tukmen'tukhan, can you patch us through to Drake, our connection timed out."
"No, Ma'am" he replied.
"Why not?"
He paused, which was odd for a computer, which thought at the speed of light. "The issue isn't at our end" the avatar said, its eyes darting away. "Drake… the Palace"
Maddie swallowed.
"It's gone."