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Chapter 18: The Problem Child

"Just where do you think you're taking that crate, Marines?"

Frost and his squad halted in the middle of the hangar. Slowly, they all turned around and faced the senior enlisted man on the I'm Alone. Command Master Chief Petty Officer Uwem was tall, broad in the chest, bald, clean-shaven, and rippling with muscle. Even in his gray service uniform, his sinewy frame was noticeable. Stomping over to them, he eyed the crate up and down. Frost was carrying it backwards while Grant held it from the opposite side. Carris stood at once side, keeping one hand under it for the sake of balance.

After making a cursory inspection, Uwem stepped aside and folded his hands behind his back. "Why isn't this with the other cargo designated for engineering? Marines shouldn't be handling this kind of equipment."

"Sir, one of the chief engineers below asked us to take it up. There was an issue with loading the cargo and it needed to come up straight away otherwise it would be a logistical nightmare to find it amidst all the other gear," Frost said.

"The Navy thanks you for your assistance, but I think we can handle it from here."

Uwem turned around, caught the attention of one of the crane operators, and waved him off. The crane itself was suspended from the top of the hangar, including the cab, and the operator waved back. Throwing a lever and holding a switch to the side, the crane rattled along its track and came towards them.

Frost exchanged a worried glance with his squad mates. Everyone was mouthing different instructions, lies, and ideas, complemented by a series of desperate gestures towards the crate and Uwem. He was unable to make any of it.

"Sir, he asked us personally to take it to engineering," he quickly said. Grant nodded and smiled while everyone else grew terrified or ran their hands down their faces. CMCPO Uwem looked over his shoulder, glaring menacingly, and then turned around entirely.

"And why would a crew member in engineering task a group of leathernecks to take highly advanced and might I add expensive equipment to engineering? Especially when all Marines are supposed to be on Zero Deck and Zero Deck only until given other orders? Surely, both the engineer and you are aware of that?"

"Is there a problem?" Commander Solak, the I'm Alone's executive officer asked in a smooth tone. His dark hair was neat and trim and his angular face was stern.

"Sir, got me a mess of Marines here trying to take some equipment to engineering. They're supposed to be heading their barracks until given further orders, per Captain Waters and Colonel Hayes' orders."

Solak turned his attention to the Marines. Everyone who could was standing smartly, hands raised in salute. With his hands behind his back, Solak walked around the entire squad, monitoring both them and the crate in the middle of them.

"If you're supposed to take this to engineering, why are you heading towards the barracks?"

"We wanted to drop our own equipment off in the armory first."

"You don't seem to be over-encumbered all that much. If this is all too much for you, then you should leave this equipment with the rest."

"Ah, well, it's not that much of an issue, sir."

Solak looked at them, unconvinced, and then exchanged a glance with Uwem. Just then, there was a clatter of machinery and a shower of sparks behind them. Everyone looked at the Pelican the squad disembarked from. Jasper, the pilot, Pajari, the copilot, and the crew chief, Isha, were standing on the deck by the stern of their Pelican. One of the landing struts had given way and the dropship was at a slant and lying on the titanium deck. Multiple deck crew members were rushing over. Soon, people were shouting and issuing orders. Arguments broke out.

Uwem and Solak looked at one another, then at the Marines.

"Whatever this is, take care of it and report to your barracks as soon as possible," Solak ordered, pointing threateningly at them. He then walked briskly towards the Pelican. Uwem hesitated, glaring at the Marines. After looking at one another, they all smiled at him. Annoyed, he growled, turned on his heel, and followed the executive officer.

The squad lingered and looked at the Pelican. After Solak and Uwem arrived and began speaking to some of the deck crew, Jasper, Pajari, and Isha took several steps back, as if they were about to start working on the Pelican. Instead, they all turned towards the squad, grinned devilishly, and gave a 'thumbs-up,' gesture. Isha gave two and then waved them on.

"Bless them, simply, bless them," Moser exclaimed.

"C'mon, c'mon, let's go," Frost hissed. Quickly, they hurried down the corridor, stampeded through the armory, and eventually returned to their barracks: B100. All the bunks were furnished with fresh olive drab blankets and white sheets. The lockers were open and empty.

"Oh, I thought we'd never see it again!" Grant exclaimed. "I've never been so happy to see a Navy bunk room in all my life."

Moser hit the door switch and it hissed shut. Carris removed the lid of the crate and Steele popped out. He clutched his side.

"Remind me to ask for qualified stretcher bearers if I'm ever wounded," he groaned. Carris carefully picked up and carried him bridal style over to his old bunk.

"Should we get you anything for the pain?"

"I think we should limit breaking into the pharmacy to one time," Knight suggested, staying by the door just in case somebody decided to come in unannounced.

"I can't take it," Steele said through his teeth. Frost watched as he reached up and patted Carris on the cheek. "Thanks, love."

Frost took off his helmet and ran his hand through his light brown hair. Averting his gaze, steadily growing angrier, he began to grit his teeth. As the others began to jovially speak to Steele, asking how he managed to get into the crate or how Carris managed to get him past the quartermasters, he began to fume. Unable to bear it, he stormed through the squad, pushed them aside, and stood over Steele's bunk.

"What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be planetside convalescing, not on the I'm Alone. Do you honestly think you're going to get away with this?"

"Relax, bruv, relax. By the time anyone notices I'm here, we'll be underway. What's Waters going to do then, slipspace jump all the way back here and drop me off?"

Grinning triumphantly, he laid back comfortably and slid his hands underneath his head. He opened one eye. Frost was still glaring down at him, his gray eyes alight.

"Did you just...magically forget how discipline works in the military? You're my second and your behavior doesn't just reflect on you, it reflects on me! Do you know how much heat I'm going to get for this?"

"Oh, your Hayes' star pupil, he won't get mad at you. The old man will probably laugh. Call it a successful insertion, wouldn't he?"

"He's not the only officer I have to deal with once thi gets out! Waters will be pissed with me, Solak and Uwem will be on our case for lying right to their faces, and then I have to explain to Jasmine, the chief medical officer and my girlfriend, that one of my Marines disobeyed a direct order and smuggled himself on board the ship!"

"Wow, you came right out and said she was your girl," Grant started, "I thought it was going to be a few more months before we heard—"

"Shut the fuck up I'm talking right now!" Frost hollered at him, wide-eyed and exasperated. Grant recoiled and held up both hands as if he was surrendering. He pointed down at Steele. "This is the last thing I need right now before one of the most dangerous operations we've ever pulled off. I don't need you fucking us up in the field, fucking up my career, or fucking up my life, Lou!"

He whirled, marched up to Carris, and pointed up at her. "You have no idea how disappointed I am in you. And I know—" he snapped, pointing a finger at Moser who was just raising his hand to talk, "—this isn't the first time we've broken the rules like this. Back then, we might as well have been kids, we didn't have the responsibilities like we do now. We're SOF operators now, we're not just grunts."

He resumed pointing at Carris. "You're a member of this squad. I always wanted that, so you could feel at home with us. But this kind of behavior is unacceptable. By ignoring Jasmine's orders you've put me in a tight spot and I'm not going to get out of this without repercussions." His arm fell to his side and he looked at his boots. "In more ways than one," he murmured.

Tense quiet fell over the squad. Nobody spoke, gestured, or even looked at one another. Steele maintained a shocked and agitated glare on Frost. Carris, at first, recoiled. But soon her own gaze fell.

"Nate—" Steele said, sitting up and taking his wrist. Frost angrily ripped his hand away from his. He turned around, teeth clenched, fists balled up.

"I don't want to hear it, Lou! You're the worst Marine in this entire squad, no, this entire unit! Ever since basic, I've been covering and carrying your ass! Every infraction you've committed I've fibbed, lied, and covered for you! You flunked out of nearly everything except Scout Sniper School! You messed up so much you fucked over Teo's career, and now you're fucking me over too! I've had it!"

Frost huffed and stood back up. Steele was looking at him, his deep blue eyes wide and hurt. "This isn't a game, anymore!" He looked around at the entire squad. "Think of how many times we've almost gotten killed. You think that's just going to stop? Get your fucking heads out of your asses and get ready, because we're getting into the shit this time."

"Nate, calm down, I'm pretty sure if we can take back a planet we can handle whatever the Covenant's got waiting for us," Grant said.

"We'll be supporting Operation: Exalt too, not participating in it. Raids, hit-and-run, diversionary tactics, stuff we can handle," Langley offered.

"That doesn't minimize our risk, that maximizes it!" Frost covered his eyes, then rubbed his temples. He took a deep breath and looked around. "You're all Marine Raiders now, we're the first Marines in centuries to bear that title, and our actions on and off the field are going to determine whether we revive the unit entirely. And this is the first thing you do? I can't believe it. Stop acting like a bunch of fucking kids and act like Marines."

Frost headed towards the door. "Stow whatever you need to here and then let's get to the armory to deposit our other gear. On the double."

He raised his hand to the door control.

"I'm surprised, Gunnery Sergeant Frost," Carris began, causing Frost's hand to freeze in front of the control pad. "You have the nerve to stand there and lecture us for defying orders. But haven't you done anything similarly recently, Gunny? Bucked orders? Violated the rules and regs? Surely, you haven't forgotten already."

His heart caught in his throat and he could hear it thumping in his ears. He became afraid to turn around. His eyes widened as the door slid away from him, the titanium bulkheads broke down, and he found himself standing in snow. As the winds whipped around, he saw the dark lumps lying in the fresh snow and frozen mud. Steam role from the bloody bullet holes covering their bodies. Singed flesh and gunpowder assaulted his nostrils. Such scents were familiar to him, even sweet to him, but as his teeth chattered and his eyes began to grow, he felt as though he would vomit.

"Nate, what is she talking about?" Grant's voice broke the vision. Frost blinked and found himself back on the I'm Alone. To see the gray titanium bulkheads again gave him great comfort. Taking a deep breath, he turned around. The entire squad was looking at him, confused. Eventually, all their gazes turned and fell on Carris. She was still standing by Steele's bunk, her shoulders set, hands balled into fists, her head slightly down as if she was about to charge into a squad of Covenant. Her black hair fell around her face but her bright blue eyes burned brightly. Both her hands were clenched so tightly they were shaking, even with her armor on. Her lips were drawn almost into a snarl, like a growling dog getting ready to lunge at a trespasser.

Concerned, the squad exchanged a series of glances. Langley stepped up to her.

"What do you mean?"

That's when Frost noticed a small, quick gesture. With great effort, Steele sat up. His face contorted in pain and it took everything he had not to make any sound. Gripping his ribs with one hand, he reached forward and took Carris's wrist with the other. He did not squeeze or pull, but he stared up at the back of her head. Both his eyes were wide, serious, and pleading.

Carris's hands opened and she stood up straighter. Her snarl disappeared and her eyes grew softer. Clearing his throat and taking her hand from Steele's, she looked down at Langley.

"He said it himself, Nora. He's carrying on a relationship with a commissioned officer on a Navy ship. Regulations dictate there are to be no such relationships between personnel regardless of rank or status, in any UNSC facility or ship. I think it's quite unfair that he should criticize Louis and myself for violating the rules and regs when he himself is doing the same thing, except the rules he's breaking are on a different page."

"Well, nobody takes that rule seriously. I mean, one way or another, we've all done it," Bishop offered. This earned him a scathing series of glares from Langley, Knight, Moser, and Maddox. The pointman held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright, some of us."

"It makes sense though," Moser said and faced Frost. "Carris does have a point, Nate. You're being a little unfair."

"Smuggling an injured Marine on a Navy ship, lying to superior officers, and violating orders seems to be a far cry from having a relationship with another service member," Frost growled.

"Still, it's an infraction, one way or another," Moser said, "I don't think you should be so quick to judge."

Frost pointed at him.

"I don't need to get lectured by a private, Moser."

"I'm not speaking as a private, I'm speaking as your friend," the rifleman said sternly. Frost groaned and ran his hand over his face.

"Stow your belongings and get your equipment to the armory. Let's go," Frost grumbled and headed for the door.

"Wait, are you going to tell the Doc?" Steele asked from his bunk. Frost, who already opened the door and was standing on the threshold, did not look back. Sighing heavily, he shook his head.

"Not yet. Let's go."

Frost did not wait for them to follow. Marching down the middle of the corridor, Marines dressed in their green fatigues, passed by him on either. It was like striding in the center of a river and the rapids were passing on either side of him. All of the Marines, known to him for so many years, suddenly seemed faceless. Then, he realized, it was not so much they were faceless as he couldn't make out their faces. Tears filled his eyes and he could hardly see. Sniffing, he wiped at them with the back of his hands. Try as he might to hold them back, he could not contain them. Of fear, guilt, or happiness, he could not tell but they came on and on, unabated. They didn't stop until he came to the armory and began stripping off his gear. A squad leader couldn't cry in front of his Marines.

Jasmine exited the elevator and made her way onto the bridge. To see the I'm Alone's cavernous command center was like walking into a memory. On either side were huge tactical screens suspended like tapestries. All the bulkheads were lined with terminals, monitors, and work stations for all the bridge staff. In the center was Vivian's control panel and to its immediate right was the executive officer's station. To the left was the senior enlisted man's station. By the center console, at the majority of stations, and Vivian's station were AI pedestals.

To the diagonal left and right of the commanding officer's station was the communications and operations terminals, respectively. Lieutenant Koroma was already at her console, monitoring the communications channels between the I'm Alone and the other ships in the task force. As she worked, she brushed some of her dreadlocks aside and her brown eyes ran back and forth across the readouts on her screen. At operations, Lieutenant Tsang was observing a series of data; the amount of personnel already on the I'm Alone and other ships, the percentage of cargo arriving at the hangars on Zero Deck, power stability from the reactors in engineering, and similar information. The wiry, angled man sat back in his seat, almost relaxed, but continued to work diligently.

In front of him was Lieutenant Sosa, scarred and serious as ever. Sitting at the navigation console, she projected potential vectors away from the orbital dockyard to prime slipspace jump points. Several were already selected and she sent the data to Vivian's terminal, which promptly pinged. To her left was the weapons station, manned by the fiery haired and broad chested Bassot. He too was running projections for the two MAC guns and seemed excited by the feedback the tests were giving him.

On the port side of the bridge, Lieutenant Delany from the ONI Section-One intelligence team was conferring with Vivian. The dark haired Lakota appeared to be in good spirits as he pooled over two data pads with the commanding officer. They shared a few words which were drowned out by the other voices on the bridge and the ship's intercom. After he sat back down at his station, Vivian began walking back towards her station. She caught Jasmine's eyes, smiled, and walked over.

"Lieutenant Commander," she greeted. Jasmine saluted.

"Captain." Vivian saluted back and the pair dropped their arms. Vivian stood beside her and looked out at the bridge. "Good to be back?" Jasmine asked.

"More than good. It's like being home," Vivian said. "The I'm Alone is running very well already. All systems are nominal, the reactors are in excellent condition, all of our weapons, electrical and cyberwarfare suites have been overhauled and upgraded, and the boarding process is ahead of schedule. We might be able to steam out of port early."

Suddenly, a blue light flashed at the AI pedestal at the commanding officer's station. The I'm Alone's artificial intelligence unit, Commodore Stephen Decatur, appeared. With much spectacle and fanfare, he doffed his cap, held it on his chest, and bowed nimbly. After holding the pose for a few moments, he stood back up and placed his hat upon his curly, holographic hairs.

"Welcome back to the I'm Alone, Dr. Ebrahimi!" he said in a jovial voice, holding the lapels of his 19th Century United States Navy jacket. "I am positively delighted to see you!"

Jasmine smiled, walked up to the pedestal, and bent over, resting her hands on her knees.

"And hello to you, Commodore," she greeted, "I'm happy to see you too. It's been too long."

"Much too long indeed, we'll have to catch up, won't we? I would just love to assist you in compiling your records, taking stock of our medical stores, and registering all the equipment throughout our wards."

Jasmine giggled.

"Yes, that sounds like a lot of fun. I can't think of a better way for us to reconnect."

Decatur beamed proudly. Resting his hand on the pommel of his sword, he turned to Vivian.

"Captain Waters, Commander Solak asked me to inform you that all of the I'm Alone's engineering staff are aboard and are at their stations. Lieutenant Commander Burgess has already selected a staff for the slipspace jump skeleton crew and has sent a copy to your station for review."

"Has he placed himself among the skeleton crew?" Vivian asked, quirking an eyebrow, smirking, and folding her arms across her chest.

"Indeed he has!"

"That man is going to die from old age before he ever gets discharged from the Navy," Vivian whispered to Jasmine, who laughed. "Thank you Decatur. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Nothing beyond a brief muck-up in the hangar."

"Is it bad?"

"A Pelican dropship's landing gear suffered a malfunction, but it only proved to be a superficial problem and there were no casualties. Our able mechanics were able to repair the damage to the Pelican and it's continuing to take part in the boarding process." Vivian and Jasmine exchanged a glance. Decatur cleared his throat, again, something Jasmine found utterly amusing on the part of a holographic projection of an artificial intelligence. "Fear not, ma'am, tis' hardly a bad omen for a voyage."

Vivian chuckled and approached her console.

"Don't worry Decatur, I've never been one for superstition."

"Neither have I!" he declared. "We shall shove off within the hour!" With that, he winked away. Vivian turned around, arms akimbo. A happy smile tugged at her lips.

"How're things in medical, Jas?"

"Running very smoothly. Most of my staff is already aboard, our stores are packed up tight, everything is battened down for the jump. I took a moment to swing by Cryo and checked in with the staff there. They're running ahead of schedule too and have nearly everything ready. I just have to do a few more administrative tasks, mainly filing my offices' reports on the staff and the last of our equipment. After that, we'll be ready for cryo."

"Excellent, absolutely excellent," Vivian said. The I'm Alone's master approached Jasmine and took her by the shoulders. "I've got a really good feeling about this. We've been on the beach for way too long and now we're back in our domain. We've got great ships and great crews; all the remedial training, all of the tests and simulations are paying off. You can feel it, can't you?"

In a tight, cohesive unit, morale was like a virus. When it was low, it was a tangible force that could be seen and felt from every individual of the crew. Just as well, when it was high, it was very visible. Throughout her walk through the long, bustling corridors of the I'm Alone, Jasmine saw everyone moving with a purpose. Their voices were loud, robust, full of life, and commanding. Nobody stopped moving when they spoke, nobody questioned an order, everybody was busy with some kind of task. Marines were hurrying to and fro, their noncommissioned officers barking at them to move quickly. There was no idle chatter and no admonishment between the enlisted ranks. Even the lowest private or able seaman felt the purpose of their mission and were doing their best to expedite the departure process.

To see the entire crew, from the Marines to the Navy crew, from the attached Air Force personnel and the Army liaisons, moving as one living, breathing, moving, being, made Jasmine's heart swell. It was not often she felt the pride the Navy and sister services of the UNSC instilled into their personnel through months and years of training. She was prideful of her work as a doctor, happy to do it, and felt it was a duty separated from her expectations as a Navy officer. Yet, to not only see but to feel the crew of the ship working together, to feel their motivation, made her feel that fleeting pride.

Instinctively, she inhaled, as if she could smell or taste that feeling. All she could was the clean detergent of Vivian's uniform, her own standard-issue soap, and the stark, sterile environment of the I'm Alone.

Vivian's emerald eyes sparkled. "You can feel it, can't you?" Jasmine, smiling tenderly, eagerly nodded. The captain squeezed the doctor's shoulders.

"I'm glad to go with you, Viv," Jasmine said resolutely. "I wouldn't want to be on any other ship under any other officer."

"I'm happy you're here, Jas," Vivian said, the twinkle in her eyes seeming to brighten. "Really, really happy."

She suddenly looked over her shoulder. None of the other bridge officers were looking their way, but Vivian grew bashful anyways. A slightly blush crossed her tanned, freckled face. Letting her hands drop, she stood up straight and saluted.

"Doctor," she said. Jasmine beamed and saluted back.

"Captain."

"To your post!" Vivian said loudly, as if she was a theatre performer. "Everyone, to their posts!" For added effect, she threw her hand in the air like a maestro. The entire bridge crew all shouted, 'Aye, Captain,' and carried on their work with greater vigor. With a final small, friendly wave to her friend, Jasmine went back to the corridor.

She passed through throngs of ensigns, able seamen, and officers making up the thousands of crew members already aboard the I'm Alone. After riding a packed elevator back down to Zero Deck, past the hangars amidships, she journeyed back to the infirmary. She strolled through the offices, the operating wards, the advanced facilities, and the medical bays. Everything was orderly, from the personnel swarming in and out of the chambers to the equipment beside every cot. Everything met her specifications and orders.

It was an extended, thorough inspection and she took time to speak to almost all her chief officers, surgeons, physicians, specialists, and technicians. By the time she finished, the last of her personnel arrived and became situated. As well, the final stores of equipment were on board and stowed away.

Concluding her inspection, she went to her office to check it over one more time. As she walked, the ship's intercom chimed.

"Now hear this, now hear this," came Vivian's commanding voice, "We will be departing in twenty minutes. All non-essential personnel proceed to Cryonics immediately. Skeleton crew, remain at your posts."

Jasmine arrived at her office. Beside it was the placard, 'Lieutenant Commander Ebrahimi, J. Medical Officer.' She opened the door and was surprised to see a Marine in light green, digital camouflage fatigues sitting at her desk. His head hung very low and his hands rested on the arms. For a moment, she thought he was sleeping. But upon hearing the door hiss shut behind her, he raised his head quickly.

"Nate!" she greeted happily. "What are you doing here? You should be on your way to Cryo."

Frost only smiled as he stood and walked in front of the desk. Jasmine took off her white lab, leaving her in her olive drab sweater, and tossed it onto the armchair to her immediate right. Then, she took a few quick steps across the office, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. When they parted, she giggled and rubbed her nose against his. Her glasses slid down her nose and bumped against his. Keeping one arm around his neck, she reclined somewhat and fixed them. When she did, she finally noticed the solemn expression in his misty gray eyes.

Jasmine's smile faded. "What's wrong?" she asked, immediately worried.

"I have some bad news," he said after a moment's hesitation. "You ordered Steele to recover at the hospital planetside. But, he's..."

Jasmine pursed her lips, let go of him, and took a step back. She inhaled sharply.

"He's on the ship."

Frost's head hung again and he wrung his hands together.

"I'm sorry," he said. Jasmine began rubbing her forehead with one hand, turned, and began pacing.

"I know what goes on here in medical might be very far from the minds of Marines and other members of this ship, but I have absolute authority in all medical matters, from who is in surgery to treatment for patients. I personally treated Corporal Steele, I gave very explicit instructions for his recovery, and yet they've been ignored. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, since it was Steele himself who broke you out of my infirmary over a year ago. I told you to police that kind of behavior."

She turned, folded her arms across her chest, and faced him. "Who helped him? I doubt he was able to sneak out himself with his ribs in that condition."

"It was me," Frost said quickly. Jasmine wrinkled her nose.

"Please don't lie to me, Nathaniel."

Frost blinked, looked down at his feet, and sighed.

"Carris. By the time we realized he was on the Pelican we were halfway up to the ship."

"Carris? Of all people?" Jasmine groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable. Your squad I could expect—"

"Hey..."

"—but her?"

"She is a member of the squad," Frost insisted. "I already cussed her and the others up and down. I'm upset about this too, Jas. We said our goodbyes and accepted what you had to say. We didn't plan any of this."

"Nate, you're an NCO, you're supposed to stop things like these from happening. This kind of behavior is really bad for discipline. Raiding my pharmacy and stealing one of my patients was bad enough. Smuggling another patient onboard a ship slated for special activities?"

"I know it's bad."

"Now, after this jump I'm going to have to be the one who marches up to Vivian and tell her a man was smuggled onto her ship. Because he's a patient, that makes him my responsibility, so do you know what kind of chewing out I'm going to get? From my best friend, no less?"

"I get it, believe me."

"More importantly, we're talking about a man's recovery. Think of the kind of damage he sustained on the way up. Was on any medication? Was he on a stretcher?"

Frost wrung his hands together again and his eyes darted from her's. He shrugged sheepishly.

"He came up...in a...crate."

"A what?" Jasmine asked, bending over slightly, cocking her head towards him, and placing her hands on her hips.

"A supply crate."

"A crate!?" Jasmine shrieked. "A crate!? What size?"

Frost held his hand up to his waist.

"The ones this tall, four by four, roughly."

Jasmine threw her arms into the air.

"Unbelievable! You crammed an injured, six foot three adult with fractured ribs into a box." She began pacing again. "I can admire from a tactical standpoint you were able to infiltrate a heavy tonnage, fully-manned UNSC super heavy cruiser by hiding a man in a box but as a doctor this is extremely detrimental to his health. That could impact the healing process for his ribs. Do you know what kind of problems he'll have if those don't mend correctly?"

"No...?" Frost tendered.

"They tend to be pretty bad!" Jasmine said, exasperated. "You could have sent him right back down to the Port on that Pelican and this wouldn't even be an issue. Instead, you just rolled with it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I did," Frost admitted, clearly ashamed. "I already reprimanded Carris, Steele and the entire squad." He swung his arms out in an exaggerated shrug and let them fall against his sides. "Look, I'm angry too, not just because of the tight spot they put me in but also because of his health. But Jas, he's my best friend. Even if he is a massive pain in my ass. Going without him would be like going without my hand. I trust him, I rely on him." He chuckled a little and shook his head slowly. "I don't really know why. He's not a very good Marine."

Jasmine sighed and pushed her glasses back up her nose.

"I understand. I wanted him to come too, for your sake. But I made a decision based on his health and what kind of demands we'll have in the fields. You completely circumvented my authority on this issue."

Jasmine walked over to Frost and took his hands in her's. "Nate," she started, smiling in exasperation. "I'm absolutely crazy about you."

Frost blinked, smiled, and squeezed her hands.

"Trust me, I'm head over heels for you too," he said sweetly.

"But that doesn't mean this—" she pointed to the golden oak leaf on her collar, "—is irrelevant. I still outrank you and you're not trained in medicine. You have to respect my authority in these matters."

Frost nodded.

"I totally agree with you. I'll do better from now on, I promise." Frost took his hands from her and hugged her. He buried his face into her neck. "I'm really sorry," he said, his voice somewhat muffled. "It won't happen again."

Jasmine hugged him back.

"Thank you," she said. When they parted, she held up a finger. "But, I'm going to have words with Steele and Carris once our jump is over."

"Please, please, have words with them. I don't know how much of what I said stuck. I got really angry with them."

"Well," Jasmine said in a threatening voice. "They haven't seen anger just yet. I'll straighten them out." Frost whistled, then chuckled.

"I'm scared for them, now."

"They should be."

The intercom chimed again.

"Now hear this, now hear this," came Commander Solak's voice. "All non-essential personnel who have not yet proceeded to Cryo proceed immediately. Slipspace jump will be commencing in ten minutes. Repeat, slipspace jump in ten minutes."

Jasmine sighed and looked back at Frost. She stood on the tips of her toes and planted a little kiss on his lips.

"Take me to Steele and let's get him to Cryo. We'll get a stretcher on the way and take him there ourselves. I don't want anyone trying to carry him or trying to support him. We'll get him into his pod and I'll send orders for a team to handle him the moment we've exited slispace. Then, he'll be taken to medical and he will stay there until he recovers, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Frost said without any hint of sarcasm.

"Now, c'mon, let's go get frozen."

"You think they make a Cryo pod for two?"

"Sounds cozy..."

Vivian sat in the captain's chair, hands resting on the console's dashboard. Looking out the forward bridge glass, she observed Travers' great fleet of silver warships twinkling in the darkness of space. Immediately in front of her were her own warships, Batavia, Lion's Den, Determined Guardian, and Best of the Best. All that was missing was River Styx, waiting for them at their destination.

"Captain Waters," Koroma said, turning in her seat, "Vice Admiral Travers is hailing us."

"Establish a video feed, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Captain."

Koroma's hands danced across her console and the large, suspended screen on the starboard side of the bridge turned black briefly. Vivian turned her chair to face it and stood up. A moment later, the bearded senior officer appeared, standing on the bridge of his own ship.

"Vice Admiral," Vivian greeted, and saluted.

"Captain," he said, raising his one arm. "Are you ready?"

"We're battening down the last hatches as we speak, sir. The I'm Alone and the rest of my forces are prepared to jump."

"We're ready, too," Travers said, tucking his hand into his trouser pocket. "We'll be doing great things together, Captain Waters, even if we aren't in the same system. This is the first major offensive of the year and we're going to make one hell of a splash. The UNSC will finally be able to deal a major blow to the Covenant through conventional means, not through clever tricks and pyrrhic victories. Today marks the beginning, when humanity took back the initiative, and saved itself from total annihilation. Are you with me, Captain Waters?"

"With you, Vice Admiral. We'll keep the Covenant off your back."

"I know you will. Smooth sailing, Captain." Travers saluted.

"Same to you, sir," Vivian saluted back and the feed ended. She sat back down and looked at the main fleet. The vast array of heavy warships began moving together. Then, a series of blue lights flashed in front of them. One by one, the ships winked away. When the blue lights left, the field of space in front of the I'm Alone and her fellow ships was empty.

"Captain, all personnel are aboard and our cargo is stored," Tsang sounded off.

"We're green across the board," Sosa added. "We've got confirmation from Anchor XX, we're cleared for departure. Plotting slipspace vector and sending coordinates for other ships."

Vivian breathed in slowly and deeply. She gazed out at space and her other ships. Then, she surveyed the entire bridge. One by one, all of the bridge officers turned to look at her. Even Decatur appeared on his pedestal, faced Vivian, and stood at attention.

"Lieutenant Koroma, establish a comm-link between the I'm Alone and the rest of the task force."

"Aye ma'am..." her fingers tapped a few keys. "...you're patched in."

"This is Captain Waters to all personnel of the First Combined Battle Group. Our operations have been brief but has been characterized by diligence, achievement, and the violence of action expected of the United Nation Space Command Navy. Despite it all, we have not won this war. But before us lies the enemy and if we fight together as we always have, we just might turn the tide." She paused, impressively. "We are not the writers of history: we are the history makers. Come with me, and we'll make a little more. For humanity, and for the UNSC. Forward."

She nodded at Koroma, who ended the link. "Lieutenant Sosa, take us out." Slowly, the navigation officer nodded.

"Aye, Captain," she said.

With a shudder, the I'm Alone began to glide past the other ships. Before long, the ship was at the head of the pack and was well away from the anchor.

"Jump on my mark," Vivian ordered, closing her eyes. "Three..." In front of the I'm Alone, space ruptured. Blue electricity crackled across and soon a white-blue vortex appeared. "...two..." She felt the tension of not just the crew but the I'm Alone itself. It was as if the ship was alive. "...three." Vivian opened her eyes. "Mark."

Words: 6,422

Pages (Google Docs): 16

Original Font: PT Serif

Original Font Size: 11

Original Line Spacing: 1.5

Author's Note: Hello folks, it's been a while since the last update. At the time, I was hoping to jump back into my work but I was slammed with my real job not long after that. Burnout has always been a big issue and I just needed an immediate disconnect from my long-running projects on this site. Really, I just needed a disconnect from the site in general, which is why I haven't been responding to messages or forum posts. I just needed to do smaller work on DeviantArt.

But I'm back and I'm more determined than I was before, even with more work ahead of me. I apologize for not being more vocal about it, but it's hard to communicate what I'm going through on this site and I'm not one to fill up my DeviantArt profile with journal posts anyways. After I post this I'll get back to any pending messages and posts.

What I do have, besides this fresh chapter, are some announcements.

New Story: Any of you who follow me on this site probably saw I posted the first chapter to a new Halo-fic entitled, To Be Brave. To Be Brave is set in the year 2523, two years before the start of the Human-Covenant War, and deals with the Insurrection on an Outer Colony planet. This story is going to have less levity than I'm Alone, which is saying something, and is heavily inspired by contemporary socio-political events. The story will have a tight cast, several POV characters, and will be focused on themes of protest, treason, loyalty, obedience, and morality. I'll have some more information about this story on my forum if anyone's interested. But I will say I'm very excited about it, I'll have the second chapter up next week, and that for the time being I'll be updating it on a biweekly basis until I have more control of my upload schedule.

I'm Alone: Re-Edited: I briefly mentioned in the last chapter that I've been re-editing and converting the original I'm Alone to PDF format and uploading it to DeviantArt. This has actually become a much bigger project; I've been cutting down a lot of excess prose, shortening chapters, changed certain scenes to be more lore-friendly, and improved the dialogue and overall quality. Granted, the main plot events won't be changed but the story is greatly improved mechanically. It's more mature, let's say that. If anyone's interested, you can go check it out on my profile: RadiationSoap. I haven't uploaded it here because people still read the original story and I don't want to touch that, and I don't really see the point in uploading an edited version to this site separately, but what do you guys think?

Fail4Fun: We all know who that is, that's the lovely artist who's made pictures and covers for this story! She's a damn good friend and very supportive. I just wanted to take the time here, seeing as she's supported me and my work for so long, to say that Fun's been making a Stardew Valley comic on DeviantArt. At present, there are four strips in total, but there's more to come and it's a very good read. You'll find a dry sense of humor, a socially inept protagonist, and the characters of the game that you know and love...if you play it that is. Fun's helped us a lot, so always be sure to head over to her profile on DA and support those projects.

New Humor Series: Also on DeviantArt, I've begun a humor series. Can you believe it? An unfunny person started a humor series! Basically, I select one or more obscure fairy tales and than retell it, except with a lot more swearing, dumb running jokes, literary criticism, and existential dread. If anyone's interested, you can find it by going to my profile (RadiationSoap) hitting the 'Gallery' tab, and use the arrows to to find and select the Humor Folder.

Shout-Out: Just a brief shout-out to TheShadeOps for making a couple stills from the story using ArmA assets. I really appreciate that! If anybody's interested, you can find them on DeviantArt at the profile 'shadeops21.' I don't know if TheShadeOps will make anymore, but if any of you out there like ArmA 3 and have the Operation: Trebuchet mod, why not send the fellow a message and connect?

DevianArt FanFiction Groups: I recently became an admin on an DeviantArt fanfic group called TheFanfictionFuture. It's a small group, still growing, and they didn't ask me to put the word out, but I thought I'd do them a solid since I've been posting in it for a while and talk about them here. If anybody's interested in writing some fanfiction and taking their work to other sites behind there, why not visit DA and see if that group, or some of the other fanfic groups there, are for you. With TheFanfictionFuture, you just need an account, ask to join the group, and then you can post as long as you follow the guidelines. If anybody wants some more info or some leads, please feel free to PM me on this and I'll give you some groups I personally post in. Just be sure in the title of your PM you put something like 'DA Groups,' or 'DA Fanfics,' something like that.

Alright, I've hemmed and hawed enough. Let's get to the comment responses! Who's first, gosh dang it!

TheCarlosInferno: Steele has become a much more dynamic, important character than I ever thought he would, and there was no way I was going to leave him and his development behind while the rest of the cast go on missions. He's too much fun! Not to mention he gives the story some needed levity and crass humor when things get rough. Don't worry, our boy isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Appreciate your patience, thanks man.

Edgeofdoom: Ha, I thought so too! I don't think it would have worked with any other character than Steele. I figured that would get a laugh or at least deliver a pleasant image. Glad it did; thanks for your patience, I appreciate that!

Ctrl-Dalt-Delete: That's very encouraging to hear, thank you so much, and I'm very grateful that you and others take the time out of your day to read the stories I write. Yes, in this story's effort to remain lore-friendly, we shall see that. I'd say more but then I'd get into spoiler territory! Thanks again, and you stay safe yourself.

Caver Floyd: Well, I think this chapter probably answered your question! Wish I could say more, but this little arc/development will be addressed in coming chapters as well. Thanks for your patience and for reading.

MightBeGone: Glad you did, I did too! I'm not so sure about my skills with comedy but I appreciate that nonetheless. Thanks again for sticking with me and for reading!

Dairene: Yep, we've got Steele's MO down pretty tight, haven't we? If anybody's going to buck rules and regs, it's going to be him. Thanks for reading and for your patience, I appreciate it.

Alright guys, that's it. Stay safe out there. Talk to you soon.