Ch.2 Shadows Chasing Fire

The Spartan stood up, and the girl shot to her feet and backed away, eyes searching for something. But for what? Her eyes locked onto the now open ramp behind him. Without hesitating, she darted forward and ended up tripping over the groaning body of Wyoming. There was a short cry of pain from her, but she stood up quickly, already moving forward. Chief's arms shot out, and wrapped the child up in a tight embrace. "Sorry kid, can't let you do that." The child struggled uselessly, fighting the Spartan's titanic strength.

"So, who's our new crewmember?"

Chief and the girl froze. "Captain Jones, I did not hear you coming."

"That's ok. Hey, quit scaring the poor kid. Set her down." Chief did so, but kept one hand on her shoulder. Captain Jones stepped forward, and knelt down, smiling. "So, what's your name kid?"

There was a short pause before Texas spoke up, "Sir, if she really is from the Forerunner's time, it is doubtful that she can speak en-"

"Black Rock Shooter."

There was another pause as they tried to figure what the soft voice said. "Sorry kid, didn't quite catch that."

"My name is Black Rock Shooter."

Captain Jones smiled, "Well Black Rock Shooter, hmm… that's quite the mouthful; I think we'll just call you Rock. Is that ok?" The girl nodded hesitantly. "Good! Well then, Rock, welcome to the UNSC Frigate Tomorrow's Destiny. We call her the Destiny for short." He stood back up. "Sorry to do this to you guys, but since you can't go back into Cryo yet, it looks like you five are going to be looking after her."

Wyoming choked, "Say what!? Umm… Sir, with all due respect, we're four Spartans and a Sangheili Arbiter. I don't think we are quite parenting material. Well maybe Tex is, but still." Jones just gave him a withering stare. "Right you are sir! So, how bout we take a vote? Those who think that the girl should stay in Chief's room, raise your hand." Instantly, four hands shot up.

Chief looked at the Arbiter, who shifted uncomfortably. "Fine, she can stay in my quarters, but that means she is going to be trained as a soldier. Combat, shooting, first aid, demolitions, and physical endurance will all be involved, so get ready, because we are all training together." Wyoming, whose helmet had fallen off during the blast, visibly went pale at this, but nodded in affirmation all the same. "Good, now I am going to take her to the ship's medic, since I doubt she has ever had a physical."

He walked out, not bothering to check to see if the new girl was following. Rock, who figured out quickly that she should be following him, had to jog to keep up. However, she did not complain, or ask for to Chief to slow down. A few minutes later, they arrived at sickbay. The ship's medic, a German Helljumper in his younger days, was surprised to see the Master Chief walk in with a young girl. "Ahhh… Master Chief! What can I do for you today?"

Chief just looked down at the girl, "She needs a physical."

The medic looked at Rock, who was peering curiously at the various medical instruments. Putting on his thickest German accent, he smiled cheerily, "Vell hallo zere little girl. Do zuo think zuo could come an' seet on ze table?"

Rock looked at him oddly, "Is something wrong with your voice?"

"Eh?" Dr. Wolfe looked at the child with some suspicion. Most young people loved it when he put on his accent. "Umm… No? I was just trying to amuse you. Could you sit on the table please?"

Rock nodded and jumped up on the table, legs dangling over the edge. The medic began checking her reflexes, "So where did you find her Chief?"

"The Forerunner outpost."

The medic nodded, "Strange isn't it? You find some poor girl on an outpost that self-destructs a few minutes later. Hold still dear," He put a thermo-patch on her forehead. Watching it, his bushy brows furrowed in concern, "Dear lord, she has a fever of 115!" He scurried over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Rock's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the needle, and before the medic could react, she was off the table and behind Chief. Wolfe blinked at her speed, "What? How did she?"

"I'm not sick."

Chief looked down at the young teen and chuckled, "I think she is just fine, Wolfe. Is there any other tests?"

Wolfe frowned, "Just have to draw some blood, and get her prints so she is in the system. Do you think you could hold her while I draw the blood Chief?"

The Spartan nodded and crouched down, turning Rock to face him, "Just look at my visor, ok?" The girl nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on the visor.

The medic quickly used one of the vacuum syringes to draw a small portion of Rock's blood. "Vaht ze hell? Her blood is blue!" Rock and Chief turned to see Wolfe running over to a microscope. The moment he squeezed some of her blood onto the viewing area, there was a small blue flash and the blood vanished, leaving a tiny scorch mark on the microscope. Looking at the vacuum-sealed tube in surprise, Wolfe squeezed a drop of blood out of it and was rewarded with another bright flash. He turned to Chief, "Vell zat's new!" He looked thoughtful for a second, before picking up a scalpel. "I have an idea, but I vill need ze girl's cooperation." He knelt down next to Rock, "Could you hold out your arm dear?" Rock complied, extending her arm out to him. The medic held the blade over her hand and looked at her. Rock nodded, knowing what he was trying to do. Wolfe made a quick incision on her palm and yelped in surprise as her blue blood shot out with considerable force, but burned away too fast for it to land on anything. As quickly as it shot out, the wound sealed itself, stopping the flow of superheated blood. Wolfe sucked in a quick breath at the sight, "Vell zat could be useful. It appears zat she has a hyperactive metabolism, allowing her to heal faster than even a Spartan like you Chief. Also, vahtever ze Forerunners did to her, her blood apparently combusts ze moment it leaves her body. Another thing, ze scanner I had installed on ze doorway showed something very interesting." He pulled out a holo-projector and activated it, showing a silhouette of Rock with strange multicolored lines crisscrossing her body.

"What are we looking at here Wolfe?"

"It's her nervous system, notice anything strange?" Chief shook his head. Wolfe rolled his eyes and pulled up a second image, "This is a regular human's nervous system. Now do you see something?"

Chief looked closely and nodded, "She has fewer pain receptors."

"Yah, and she has some sort of nerve clusters in her left eye and arm." The medic shook his head, "Vell, I suppose she is healthy enough to do some training. Come back if somezing goes wrong." With that, the medic bustled them out the sickbay. Once they left, he looked at a black phone with a single button. Call us if anything… unusual happens. Wolfe shuddered at the memory of that silky smooth voice. He didn't want to get the child in trouble, but unfortunately, orders were orders. He picked up the receiver and pressed the button. There was a moment of nothing, then, "Report." He took a deep breath, "Zere vas an incident today. A young teenage girl was found on a Forerunner outpost. She has an… unusual biological make-up. Should I send the file to you?"

Silence followed this request, making Wolfe sweat. "There will be no need, we have the file in our possession now. Thank you for the information." There was a click as the other side hung up and Wolfe released a breath he never realized he was holding. Shakily, he reached for the brandy. He hated ONI, the shadowy military agency only cared for their own agenda. He just hoped the girl didn't get hurt, otherwise it would be his head the Master Chief would be after.