Chapter Twenty-Three: Discoveries

It took a while for my breathing to even out after my "talk" with Major Murphy. I didn't regret my action and I felt more than justified; however, a part of me was of the mind that I didn't want to complicate an already very complex mission. Still, I'd known a handful of Marines like the ex-Helljumper in my career - so I knew that some people only responded to overt aggression. My time on Heath came to mind, and "speaking" to Lieutenant Smythe, a fellow platoon leader in Bravo Company when I'd first joined. I remembered a fistfight with him once that had been broken up by our company commander, and then an encore in a bar on Sigma Octanus IV. That had ended with me on the floor seeing stars, and I would've had my ass beat even further if it hadn't been for Willis stepping in to save me. After that, the bastard had disappeared. Unit transfer, supposedly.

Now that I thought back on it, I'd had a pretty eventful early twenties.

"Colonel? What was that about?" my XO asked, coming up beside me as I walked. "If you don't mind me asking."

I took in a deep breath before answering. "The major had an...attitude problem that needed adjusting."

Delaney furrowed his brow. "Think that'll do it?"

"I don't know. We'll see."

For now, there were other pressing matters to attend to, and I more or less tucked away my disagreement with Murphy in my mind. Holding my rifle diagonally across my middle, barrel pointed down with my trigger finger just outside the guard, I went through our lines as we entered the keep.

"Delaney, your batt will take first watch," I said to him, and he nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Everyone else," I said louder over the COM, "get inside the keep's walls and sit tight. I'm going to check in with our hosts, and I'll have orders for you shortly."

Acknowledgment lights winked green across my HUD, and I finally felt secure enough to pull off my helmet. I placed a small COM bud in my ear, in case anyone needed to get a hold of me, and ran a tired hand over my put-up hair. Our landing just now had been a lot hairier than I'd imagined. Thankfully, Willis had come through for us, as I'd known he would.

I got my first real look around then, and I had to admit, I was impressed. The Sangheili keep resembled a castle - or at least, what I'd read about them in my history classes in school. No human ones were still standing, on Earth or elsewhere, so it was interesting to see one that wasn't in hologram form. The masonry was more alien, as was the architecture - but the idea remained surprisingly similar. Old stone walls surrounded a large courtyard, with several segmented structures inside that I guessed were living quarters. At the heart, beyond the open space, was a grand-looking building I assumed had some loftier purpose.

"It's their assembly chamber, Colonel," Cal supplied, clearly in awe. "The seat of power for the whole keep. God, I'd love to see it from the inside."

I turned to find him standing next to me with his arms crossed over his chest, also no longer wearing his helmet.

"That's what our contact told me, anyway," he added a little sheepishly.

My heart caught in my throat for a moment as the thought hit me again: I still didn't know who was actually here on the planet, and what that might mean for Willis and I. "Will we be meeting him soon?"

"Yes, ma'am," Caleb replied. "Right after we speak to the kaidon's wife."

"The what?"

The spook just grinned as he stared at the building, all excitement. "Shipmaster 'Vettel's spouse. She runs the keep while he's gone." He shook his head and brought his arms back down to his sides. "I still can't believe we're really here. Dani's going to be so jealous."

Caleb's delight was infectious, and it made me smile that my buddy was so into all this. I was intrigued as well, but beyond my interactions with one or two Elites during the last year of the War, I knew little about their culture, other than the fact that they were big on honor, tradition, and might. I'd been trained my whole life to despise them - and professionally, to kill them. I had a feeling this was going to be a much more in-depth learning experience for me than when we'd allied briefly back in '52.

As soon as we began to make our way across the courtyard, my security detail in tow, we were approached by a Sangheili guard - six total, more than 'Vettel had had for our meeting aboard the Stars. They all wore black armor and bore weapons, which they held in a non-threatening stance, but were clearly prepared to use at any moment if need be. And between them was something I'd never seen before.

A Sangheili out of armor. A female.

She wore a long, dark tunic instead, and she was slightly shorter and less bulky than her male counterparts - but I had a feeling she was no less dangerous. It was jarring for me, considering I'd only ever seen the males of their species. And only ever fully equipped for battle.

"I didn't even realize they had civilian clothes," I whispered quickly to Lloyd, and he shot me a look.

"Of course they do. Not all of them just fight."

That was all we got to say to each other before the leader of the keep stopped in front of us.

She gave a slight bow in greeting, and I did so in return.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper. Welcome to Vettel Keep."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"I am Sennu. Tal informed me our human guests would be arriving tonight. I heard you had some troubles on your journey."

I shifted my stance, careful not to make any movements that might be deemed hostile by her guards, who were standing uncomfortably close and towered over Caleb and I. I still had my weapon in my hands, though the business end was pointed down. "Things could have gone better," I admitted. "But we're here now, so I won't complain."

She nodded. "Let us show you where your Marines will stay. As their commander, we are giving you, Colonel Cooper, your own private chamber nearby."

"I'm honored."

"And you are, of course, welcome to bring your mate with you, should you have one."

"My...what?"

Suddenly my mind flooded with old conversations I'd had with Atalom 'Kuatee, the Elite I'd spent most of my last year of the War fighting alongside. I remembered him referencing Willis once as my "mate", as well. I scratched the back of my head. "Oh. Well, I'm going to have to get back to you on that. My husband may or may not want me around that much." Bunking together again seemed like a big step for us, given the circumstances. But I kept that to myself.

We went through the courtyard then to a large structure on the west side of the keep. There, three stone buildings contained what looked like dozens of rooms each; enough to house my entire regiment comfortably. A fourth, smaller building stood further down, this one made of an elegantly carved wood - it was indicated that that was to be my quarters.

"Does this satisfy your requirements, Colonel?"

"Yes, ma'am," I responded, finally slinging my rifle behind my back as we walked. "Everything looks good."

She bowed her head again. "Then I will leave you to settle in for tonight. We will meet again in the morning."

As she turned to leave, her guards moving with her, I suddenly stepped forward.

"Wait. We encountered human rebels at our landing zone. You're not worried about an attack?"

Sennu faced me slowly, cocking her head to the side a second time. "We have many guards throughout the keep, and your men are here now. We will be ready if they come."

After making sure we had our own roving patrol outside the keep - as well as guards surrounding our quarters for any internal threats - I ordered my battalion commanders to oversee their Marines' billets, then decided to call it a night. I hefted my weapon and helmet in one hand and headed to my room first, where I dumped my pack and most of my gear, save for my sidearm. Then I stepped back out again. I wondered where the hell our ONI contact was, and why I hadn't seen him yet. It worried me a lot that it might be Ethan, as I wasn't sure how Willis - or I - would handle that. And I wasn't at all sure my marriage could survive it.

"He's on his way back now, ma'am," Cal said as he approached again, seemingly reading my mind. "He went out on a scouting mission when I told him what happened at the LZ."

I nodded and came to a halt before him, folding my arms across my chest. "This contact. He's...not who I think it is, is it?"

"I'm not at liberty to say, Colonel. You'll just have to wait."

It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I supposed I had no choice.

While we waited, we walked past a pair of Sangheili guards in the dark as we made our way across the courtyard again, stopping in the center by a curved wooden bench that surrounded what looked like a fire pit. We were deep enough inside the lines that lighting one wouldn't alert the enemy, and through some trial and error, we were able to ask the guards if it was okay to do so. One nodded and helpfully lit it for us before we could do it ourselves.

Since the bench was too tall for human legs, Lloyd and I ended up sitting in the dirt with our backs propped up against the side instead. The night air wasn't nearly as cold as our last post in Cordonnes had been - not by a longshot. But it was chilly nonetheless, and I soaked in the warmth as the flames roared. My eyes may or may not have closed briefly.

I smiled to myself then, folding my hands behind my neck and leaning my head back on the seat. "This is nice. All that's missing are some hot dogs to roast and a big cooler of beer."

Cal chuckled beside me. "Roger that, ma'am."

I suddenly opened my eyes again and turned to face him. "Think anyone snuck some aboard the - "

"There she is! My favorite sister."

We both glanced up then to see a figure clad in black fatigues heading for us. He didn't have a helmet on, or his usual Navy dress whites that I'd nearly always seen him in, but I did recognize the rich brown hair and the green eyes - even in the dark. They were a mirror of my own features - our father's - only on my older brother.

To say my jaw dropped was an understatement.

"Mark?"

"Natalie! Come here."

I could barely contain the small giggle that escaped me as I leapt to my feet and grabbed onto my brother, hard. I hadn't seen him since we'd come home from Puget, briefly, and that had been a bittersweet occasion. My time in captivity, coupled with the loss of my command and my breakup with Willis, hadn't made for a happy reunion at the time - although I'd been grateful for his help in getting me released from the rebels' clutches. And above all, I'd been very grateful to be home.

"I'm so glad to see you," I said, finally letting him go. Then I looked over at my friend. "You couldn't tell me?"

Caleb grinned a bit. "No, ma'am. Commander Cooper here made me promise not to say a word. As my superior, I had to oblige." He stood and glanced over at my brother, giving him a slight nod. "Sir."

"Thanks, Lloyd. I'll come meet with you soon. I'd like a minute with my sister for now. We've got a lot to catch up on."

"Of course, sir."

Mark and I waited until Cal was out of earshot, watching him go off in the direction of my regiment's quarters. I figured he'd likely be calling his wife now, telling her all about our arrival on-planet. It made me miss my XO.

"So," Mark said, turning to face me again. "I guess I should start by asking you about your clothes."

I frowned. "What about them?"

"Well...you're bleeding."

Glancing down at myself, I finally noticed what he did. Several splotches of dark red on my battledress jacket, already starting to congeal. "Oh, this? Not mine. Some rebel fucker that tried to take one of my Marines and me down with him."

My brother laughed. "Why does that not surprise me? You never change, little sis."

"Yeah, well..."

I was just thinking about sitting down again and basking in the warmth of the fire when my big brother suddenly rapped me on the back of my head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Well, since I know you're actually fine now...That was for what you conveniently forgot to mention when I saw you back on Mars. Ethan? Really? That's why you and Willis split up?" He shook his head at me, his expression suddenly serious. "Come on. You know better."

"I...I know."

"Willis loves you, Natalie. Very much. Always has."

"I-I know."

"So why do that to him? To yourself, even? I heard you got demoted over this."

I took in a deep breath. "I did. I was. As for why - " I thought about explaining it, yet again, but found that confronting Murphy about it earlier had taken all the fight out of me. So I shrugged. "Does it matter? It happened, and unfortunately, that fact isn't going away."

My brother shook his head again. "I thought that pretty boy might get you into trouble. So what now?"

"I try - I've been trying - to make amends." I put my hands in my pockets, still longing for the heat of the fire. "Willis and I are separated, but we agreed not to divorce yet, and to try to make things work. And, so far, so good." I met his gaze then a little sheepishly. "It's also good that our ONI contact out here is you. I think I would've been in big trouble if it wasn't."

"Yep. I can imagine why."

We stood there for a moment without saying anything else. Finally, my brother released a long sigh.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

He frowned. "I don't know if this question's allowed, but...do you miss him?"

I knew without him saying so that he meant Ethan, and I immediately brought a hand up to my face. I wasn't sure what I felt in that regard. I hadn't really allowed myself to.

Or maybe, a part of me hadn't yet really processed that I'd never see him again.

"I don't know," I finally answered, moving my hand away. "In a way, yes. He was a good friend to me, like he never was back when we were kids. When we were dating." Before the abuse had started, but that I'd never breathed a word to Mark about, and never would. He would have obliterated Ethan for that. "But...he wanted more. He wanted my heart, and that wasn't mine to give."

"You didn't have feelings for him. You love Willis."

I nodded, emotion suddenly welling up in my throat at the thought. "He'll always be the one for me, Mark. I fucked up, once, when I felt in over my head. But that's never changed."

All I could hope now was that we continued on the path we'd started, towards reconciliation, and that we'd eventually return home to our children, together and whole.

But first, we had to survive Sanghelios.