Chapter Forty-Three: Playing Catch-up

1857 Hours, August 4, 2561. Vettel Keep, Qivro, Planet Sanghelios. Day Thirty-Three of the Enemy of My Enemy

It wasn't light out anymore when I woke up. I didn't even know where I was at first - there were only indistinguishable sounds. And pain. A lot of it.

"Nat?"

I groaned in response. On some level I knew someone had just said my name. On another, I felt disassociated, detached - like it didn't really belong to me. Only the pain did.

Then a warm hand gripped my shoulder.

"There you go, sis. Just like that. You're back."

I took a deep breath as my vision cleared. I was in a small room. Blank walls on either side, and a thick drawn curtain made of olive green canvas in front of my bed. Not much else was beside me - some tubes and wires. A steadily beeping machine. I wasn't wearing my jacket anymore, or my helmet or gloves. I could see my boots were tucked away next to a small crate in the corner; on top of it were my other, heavier belongings. All I had left on me was my T-shirt, dogtags, and uniform pants.

I shut my eyes and took in another breath. Big mistake. As the air filled my lungs a second time, my face and jaw screamed. I made a fist with the thin sheet beneath me, wincing. There was some commotion in the background, a needle pricking my skin, and then a few moments later I felt light again.

When I opened my eyes this time, the image was clear, but my mind wasn't. I gave a lazy smile. "Mark. Big bro. You're here."

My brother smiled back. "Yup. And you're very, very high right now."

"'S jus' for the...pain."

"Mmhmm."

"Where's..." I paused and groaned as I tried to roll over to face him better. Not a good idea. Even with my clouded mind, I decided to stay put. "Where's..."

"Your regiment?" Mark's face went a little more serious. "Still fighting. Battle's died down some now, but it's not over yet. More like lost its steam around here."

"The keep?"

"Still intact, and the walls haven't been breached."

"W-willis?"

Some of the warmth in his expression returned. "Just came down to see you, actually. He had to leave again before you could wake up, but he's been here, and I promised to stay in touch." Mark leaned forward a bit. "Don't worry. He still loves you, Nat. You two will make it this time."

I nodded, but only just enough for him to know it was a nod. Any more than that and the vertigo would've had me retching onto the floor. I didn't want to do that twice this campaign. "How did I - "

"End up back in the medtent? Easy. You took a damn freight train to the face."

I racked my brain for a moment, but still couldn't remember. "Elite?"

"Mmhmm. His fist."

"My helmet?"

He tossed his head from side to side, glancing upward as he pretended to think. "Probably cooked."

"Then what..." I felt like I was missing something.

Then it hit me. Why I'd gone after the Elites in the first place - or at least one in particular. "Holy shit. Torran. He got surrounded and I - is he okay?"

"He's good. A little scratched up like you, but fine."

The rest came back to me in a flash. The rush of adrenaline as I ran at the enemy Elite, the jump, the stab, another, getting forcibly thrown off...and then the bright glow of a plasma blade going through a second enemy's body right before the bastard tried to crush mine. "That sword at the end. That was Torran?"

"Yep. I owe him big time now. He saved my little sister."

My brother smiled wider as he took my hand and squeezed. I squeezed back, unable to keep the huge grin off my face.

"You're the best, big bro."

Mark snorted. "Now I know that's the drugs talking."

"I love you."

"Love you too, kid. Always."

When I woke next it all hit me in a rush. Delaney was dead. I hadn't seen Cal since we'd bumped into each other before the big rush to the second altar. Torran, being overwhelmed. I still didn't even know what had happened to them, or where they were. Or Sennu. Or my other Marines.

But I did know that my XO was gone.

For a moment it was like the air had left my lungs. Justin Delaney, my former classmate, my brother in arms, my second-in-command, was gone. It didn't make sense. He wasn't supposed to lose his life here. He wasn't even supposed to be here. Brewer was.

Delaney was supposed to return home with us when all this over, back to his wife and his twin daughters. Not die here, slaughtered, shot through the head. In a flash I remembered him shouting orders above me, and then his face going blank all of a sudden. In the split second before I realized what had happened, I'd found it strange. I hadn't understood his sudden clarity. In reality what I'd seen was his light going out.

I tried to move my arm to brush away the tears forming behind my eyes, but found I couldn't. Whatever I'd been given for the pain earlier was wearing off now. I felt flooded with pain. Drowning, until a familiar face walked in.

Dressed in a dusty flight suit, he pulled off his helmet and held it in one hand as he came up to me. His hazel eyes went wide as soon as he saw I was awake. "Natalie?"

"Will."

A faint smile appeared on his face and he leaned down to press his lips against mine. The touch was soft but welcome.

"Good to see you're alert," he said. "Last time I was here, you weren't among the conscious yet."

Any other time, that would've made me crack a smile. Now, I just gave him something like a half grimace. My husband stepped back to study me.

"How are you feeling?"

"Definitely been worse," I answered. "But been better, too."

"Your brother mentioned Reynolds got you pretty loopy earlier."

"Probably not my finest moment." I shifted a little, and the movement made me wince. "Where is Mark, anyway?"

"Back in the fight. It was my turn to take over down here and come see you."

Willis sat down beside me then and took my hand. It was very different than when I'd been in the medtent before, when I'd been sick. This time, Willis wasn't here just to physically help me. He was here to comfort and support.

I'd missed that. So much.

"So…I know you're dying to know what's happening out there," Willis said, breaking the sudden silence.

"Yeah," I responded, maybe a little too eager. I tried to sit up more but my body wasn't having it. With an oof and another wince, I went back down again. Willis stuck out his other hand towards me.

"Easy, Coop. You're not ready to jump back in just yet."

"I…I know."

"Things are fine right now. Nothing's won or lost yet. And honestly, there hasn't been much movement on either side for a few hours. You haven't missed much."

I frowned. "That's...I don't know, Will. Good and bad."

"Yeah," he replied, and shifted in his seat. "But maybe Cal might be able to better explain."

My husband glanced back at the entrance where my best friend now stood, looking a little battle-torn and weary himself. All of us were at this point, as the fighting had been going on since early this morning.

"Ma'am," Cal said to me in acknowledgment. "Hawk." He gestured slightly to Willis, then turned back to me. "Let me get you up to speed."

"Please," I responded. "Otherwise I'm just laying here for another few hours with no entertainment."

At that my husband shot me a look. "Cooper, I don't think you'll be good to go in hours."

"Duty calls, honey."

Caleb cleared his throat. "Well, there's good news and bad news, ma'am. What do you – "

"Give me the bad first," I said. "Let's get to it, Commander."

"Yes, ma'am." He folded his arms across his chest. "Some of it is what your brother relayed to me, and some of it's what I found out on my recon the last couple nights." He ran a hand over his dark brown hair, presently caked in sweat, dirt, and patches of blood here and there. Alien, not human. Not his.

"Go ahead."

He gave a slight nod. "First off, we know the cause of the attack now."

Willis glanced over at Cal and frowned. "Mark?"

"Not directly, Major, but yes. Some of the surrounding villages discovered the Sangheili here were hosting humans. Harboring the enemy, they said. As you can imagine, that didn't go over well, and Elites that were already inclined to join the opposition in the civil war, well…joined it."

"And they came after us," I finished.

"Yes, Colonel."

Willis was quiet a moment, staring at our hands together, deep in thought. Then he lifted his chin to Lloyd. "What about your recon? What's going on with the human rebels?"

"Quiet. They're staying off the beaten path…which is probably not a good thing, either."

"Means they're gearing up for something," I said.

"Yes, ma'am."

Willis and I exchanged a look. This fight for Sanghelios was far from over yet. And I didn't like the sound of the rebels laying low at a time like this. With their reduced numbers, this would've been a prime time for them to strike. They weren't out and defeated yet. At least, I didn't believe it.

"Will, we're going to have our hands full here on the ground," I finally said. "I'm going to need you and your pilots to keep a close eye up above, and let us know exactly what's coming and when."

"Of course."

"Cal?"

"Colonel?"

"You and my brother are going to need to coordinate more. You've got the rebel angle, and he's got a better pulse on the locals. See if you two can find a common strategy to keep them apart."

Cal nodded. "Will do, ma'am."

"Then it's settled," I said. "When I get back out there – " Willis shot me that look again and I caught myself. "When I'm feeling much better, and I take back command, we'll see where things are with the Elites. We'll find a way to get things flowing in our direction again." I looked at both of them in turn. "This stalemate is better than losing, but it isn't getting us anywhere. We're not safe yet; we're still in harm's way. And it's going to stay that way until we beat the enemy Sangheili back."