Author's Note: Thought I'd push this out before Destiny 2 releases next week. I may go missing for a while...with my Titan. :D

Chapter Fifteen: Early Bird

Undetermined Shipboard Time, July 3, 2561. Onboard UNSC Transport Ship Face the Stars, En Route to Sanghelios. Day One of the Enemy of My Enemy

We'd stayed on Mars just long enough to enjoy a few happy milestones for our family, which ever so slightly made the pain of leaving again ease a bit. Logan's second birthday had been in late May, Gabriel turned eleven in June, and though we were still living apart at the time, Willis and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary in the same month. It had been special, since it almost hadn't happened, and we both felt very lucky to have made it this far.

It was soon after the festivities were over that the 52nd Regiment - along with my husband's air wing - received official orders to ship. We were indeed going to Sanghelios, with help from the Swords once we arrived. Though I'd miss having my XO with us, I'd been fortunate enough to secure Major Delaney as a replacement, and we'd already started working together before we departed Mars.

Our kids took the news hard, as expected, but we dealt with the reality as a family, and at least they could find some comfort in the fact that they had Chief now. Gabriel we spoke to alone, and made sure he gave us and his grandparents his word that he would behave better at school. He seemed a little more relaxed since learning Willis and I were back together, but I knew another deployment this soon - when we were all still trying to figure out the new family dynamic and how things might work out post-breakup and post-reconciliation - wasn't the greatest news. But we had no choice but to go.

So reluctantly, we left our children and the dog with Will's parents, as always. Soon after, we were on our way.

We'd been shipboard now for a little over two weeks, and we were approaching our rendezvous point with our Elite allies' vessel. I wasn't exactly sure how the exchange was going to work, but we had a few more days until that happened. In the meantime, I spent my days conferring with Delaney, Lloyd, and my battalion commanders, and using the ship's gym and firing range to train.

My downtime, on the other hand, passed much more quickly, as Willis and I spent a lot of it getting...reacquainted with each other. We'd kept our billet to two separate quarters for the voyage, though by now, we rarely spent our nights apart.

Last night had been no exception, and I awoke beside him now in my T-shirt and underwear to the sound of beeping. It was coming from my datapad. I quickly reached over to the nightstand to turn it off, then snuggled back in beside my husband.

"Your shift or mine?" he asked me, his voice muffled by his pillow and sleep. He was also wearing only a T-shirt and boxers beneath the covers. I slipped my hand under the shirt and hugged him tighter.

"Mine," I answered, equally groggy. "I'll get up in a minute."

That was my intention, at least, but my eyes were already fluttering shut again against my will.

"Cooper."

"Mm?"

"You're going to fall back asleep."

"I know." I released a heavy sigh and rolled over, pressing a palm to my forehead as I yawned. "This is bad. We went right to sleep last night, but I'm still tired."

Willis snorted. "Just wait till we're planetside in a few days. With everything that's going on, I can't imagine sleep'll be easy to come by."

"No," I agreed. Then I smirked at him. "Maybe we should do more of that, then, and less...you know."

He chuckled. "Yeah. Now that we're finally back together? Not a chance."

I leaned over to kiss him, and he kissed me back.

We pulled apart and I stood from the bed, making my way over to the chair in the corner, where the rest of my clothes were. I bundled them up in my arms and said, "I'm off to the showers real quick. Be right back."

Willis grunted in response, and I left his quarters and went down the hall to the female head. I showered fast, as a lifetime in the Corps had instilled in me to do, dressed, and then went to the mess for some coffee. I grabbed two, along with two energy bars, and brought them back to his room.

"Special delivery." I set the coffee on his nightstand. The bar I tossed onto his side of the bed.

He frowned, eyes still closed. "I thought you said it was your shift."

"Actually, I just remembered the briefing. We're both on today, so you should get up now, too."

"Shit," he mumbled, but eventually sat up with some coaxing. He frowned again at the bar. "Is this all they had?"

"It's all we have time for if you want to get a shower in."

"Yeah, I do."

We ate and drank in silence, mostly because we were both still trying to perk up. Despite the exhaustion, it was times like these I'd missed the most when we'd been apart - just sharing our lives with each other. Getting through the tough early morning wake-ups together. Being partners and lovers and friends.

He finished his coffee and bar and smiled at me from the bed, and I smiled back. We were getting closer now, I thought. Closer to how things had been, before Ethan.

My first order of business this morning was meeting with my senior staff ahead of our rendezvous with the Swords. We'd had a general briefing before leaving Mars, but with the time soon approaching, more details had been revealed to me, and I felt it relevant to go over it again, as a quick refresher if nothing else.

In the passageway I ran into my XO, heading in the same direction. He saluted when he saw me.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper, ma'am."

"Major Delaney," I replied, saluting in return. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Great. Excited. Not many days to go now before the big meet-up."

I gave him a sideways look. "You're excited for this?"

"Oh, yes, ma'am. Free trip to Sanghelios? A ride in a Sangheili ship?" He ran an unconscious hand through his mop of curly brown hair and grinned. "I'm stoked."

I chuckled. "I'll admit, it'll be interesting for sure. But I'm more worried about how peaceful this'll be." I shook my head. "A lot of the fuckers tried to kill me during the War. A lot afterward, too."

"Yeah, but they also saved our asses there at the end. And these Swords guys are pro-human. I can get behind that."

I stopped once we'd arrived, standing just outside the door. "I keep meaning to ask, by the way - how's your family?"

His hazel eyes, a lot like Willis's, lit up. "Doing fine. The girls are growing up fast. Did you know they're three now? And raising hell. My wife complains all the time."

I smirked. "I believe it. My youngest just turned two before we left. He's our last, and it's mind-boggling how big he's gotten so quickly."

Delaney's grin faded a bit. "I...don't want to sound too intrusive, Colonel, but didn't you and your husband split up?" He shifted his stance. "I heard about the court-martial, too. Conduct unbecoming? It just doesn't sound like you. What happened?"

"Some things that shouldn't have," I said. "I busted my ass making full colonel and pretty much pissed it away on a dumb decision. Personal one, not professional, but I guess the distinction doesn't matter." I heaved a sigh. "And yes, technically we're separated now. Although things have gotten better as of late. We'll see where that goes. I'm not getting into it any more than that."

He nodded. "I understand. I just remember you being pretty sharp in War College, and when you led us on Requiem. It was surprising to hear that happened, is all."

"Yeah, well. Things change."

I left it at that and went inside. Delaney followed. We were the first ones in the briefing room, but that was as it should be. The two of us were in charge of the ground forces, after all. I checked my watch. "Battalion commanders should be here in five."

"Yes, ma'am."

The others, Major Murphy and Major Mullen, didn't disappoint. They came in soon after, followed shortly by Lieutenant Commander Lloyd and Willis. Once everyone was there and the usual customs performed, I started in on the meeting.

"Welcome, everyone. I think we all heard the gist of the plan back on Mars, but the time is now approaching, very soon. In four days, we'll be escorted onto the Sangheili ship Glory in War. We'll be transferring all personnel, equipment, and supplies onto the friendly vessel, so be sure your company commanders and platoon leaders are ready to get their boys and girls to work. We're going to try our best to stay docked for as little time as possible, to reduce the risk of being interrupted or observed." I glanced at each of my officers in turn, folding my arms across my chest. "Make no mistake now that our enemies are numerous, and not always easily identified. There's a real possibility we could encounter pirates, human rebels, or Covenant forces at any time once we hit Sangheili-controlled space. Hell, maybe even Prometheans. The landscape's changed quite a bit post-War."

I looked to Willis. "Major Hawk, you know your perimeters. Your pilots will be disembarking on Broadswords first and making sure the space around us is clear, along with the Swords' Seraph fighters."

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Lloyd, you'll be with me and Captain Dakhati as part of the transfer committee, doing the meet and greet with Glory's shipmaster."

"Understood, Colonel," the spook said simply.

I nodded in return. "As for the rest of you, any questions?"

"I have one," Murphy said, shifting his stance on the opposite side of the holotable we were clustered around. "When do I get to snap a Sangheili's neck on its own turf?"

"Not while we're still in transit," I responded, as seriously as I could. "Some of them are still our allies. We'll have to learn to distinguish the good ones from the bad, just like in our own colonies at the far edges."

The former Helljumper snorted, and I once again realized that he'd left out the honorific in his question to me. I knew he still doubted me - probably both my abilities and my now not-so-unblemished reputation. Maybe he felt that because of my poor judgment in personal matters, I'd have poor judgment in the field.

It was fair I felt, in some ways. I'd done something wrong. I'd been demoted - and, in a way, rightly shamed. In others, though, I knew it was complete bullshit, and not something I could allow to continue if I were to maintain proper discipline within the ranks. Having issues with your top officers was just asking for the whole damn chain to fall apart. And right now, with everything that had happened, I couldn't afford to have one malcontent in the senior leadership when I was sure many others beneath him likely felt the same.

So I looked at him, purposely in front of the others to leave no question as to what I would and wouldn't tolerate upon my return, and said, "Major Murphy?"

"Yes?"

"Are you and I going to have a problem on this mission?"

He seemed a little thrown by the inquiry, and quickly crossed his arms. "No."

"No what?"

"No, ma'am. We are not." The words were nearly ground out.

"Glad to hear it." I put my hands on my hips and glanced down at my boots before meeting his gaze again. "I'm your CO, Jack, but I'm also human. I make mistakes. But I can assure you, I very rarely make them in the field. And until I show you otherwise, I am entitled to your respect. That includes using the honorific when you speak to me, and saluting everywhere it's appropriate.

"Trust can come later. But respect that's owed to my rank, I get now. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Colonel." That part, he definitely bit out.

"Excellent. I think you'll come to find us regulars are not as lenient when it comes to discipline as you've been told. We do have our standards." I turned to the rest of the officers present. "In any case, if there's nothing else, you're - "

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper to bridge," a male voice over the shipboard COM said. "I repeat, Lieutenant Colonel Cooper to bridge. Report immediately."

I glanced up at the compartment's overhead out of reflex as I listened. Then I faced the room again. "Well, that's my cue. As I was saying, you're dismissed."

I all but ran for the closest elevator when I heard the call. My heart rate spiked and a million different possibilities went through my mind at once - not helpful for someone who was already plenty fearful and filled with anxiety about being aboard a ship in the first place.

I hated them. I was a grunt for a reason. I was all about fighting land battles with my boots on the ground - not getting blasted out of existence in the blink of an eye in a giant flying death trap.

And yes, it was funny because I'd married a pilot despite my own aversion to all things that lifted off the dirt.

But I had to wonder what purpose I could serve if the ship were truly under attack from an outside threat, without a chance of boarding. That made me calm down slightly, at least, but not nearly enough for me to get over the heart-dropping feeling.

When I finally made it to the bridge, I was immediately saluted by the ship's Chilean XO, Commander Martina Aròn, and a Navy lieutenant, both standing beside their CO.

He glanced up, and I saluted him.

"Captain Dakhati, Lieutenant Colonel Natalie Cooper reporting as ordered, sir."

As a Naval captain, had I still been a full colonel, we would have been the same rank; I'd only called Captain Prim "sir" during the trial because he was the presiding judge, not because he'd outranked me. And while Dakhati's word was law on the ship regardless, I wouldn't have had to use the honorific if I'd stayed an O-6.

But I wasn't. Not anymore.

Captain Zayn Dakhati gave me a barely perceptible nod as the lieutenant beside us made herself scarce. There were other junior officers on the bridge as well, but all were engrossed in their consoles and focused on their jobs. None were near enough to eavesdrop.

"At ease, Colonel," Dakhati said, and I relaxed my posture. "There's been a development I wanted to discuss with you. Martina?"

"Yes, sir." She looked at me then. "One of our comms officers picked up a message from our Sangheili envoy. The date has changed."

"To what?" I asked, a little confused. "I mean, when are they due now?"

"The rendezvous with the Glory will take place in just a few hours, Cooper," Captain Dakhati answered. "They're four days ahead of schedule. I suggest you prepare your Marines. You've got a lot of work to do to get everything ready by then."