RECOMPOSE
by Ladywolvesbayne
Wow, so... since you seem to like the story so far, I think it's time to get dirty with the plot xD I said this was going to be "short" -by my standards, 50.000 words is kind of short- and from now on, this is the main reason why I wanted to write something about Halo including a human Cortana. I don't know if someone already tried it in another fanfic in this site, but I want to do it anyway. Also, I've updated the cover image into something a bit more appealing and uploaded a little music mix at 8tracks, you can find it in my profile. I hope you enjoy it ^^
4. SIMPLE LIFE
JUNE 12TH, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
8:06 PM standard time (same night)
John did not leave the intensive care deck until the vets told him that Charley was going to make it just fine, and proved it to him. She was badly hurt and would be out of commission for ten days, but according to the medic everything looked worse than it actually was. The acid burns and lacerations on her skin were already treated, her leg was fixed. She lost a lot of blood but she was a though girl, the medic reassured; enhanced dogs were made to match the SPARTANS resistance and it would take much more than that to disable or kill one of them.
Now it was his turn.
"I can't believe you were wounded and you didn't say a thing." muttered Cortana. "That your AI didn't say a thing either! What kind of AI this Sigrid is? She doesn't look after you at all."
"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."
"Don't be an ass right now, Chief. I'm worried."
"It's not a big deal."
He looked down at the not-so-small patch over the left side of his stomach, right above the hipbone. The biofoam held just right until they reached the Infinity and the pain was now gone, after a shower, some injections and proper care he was as good as new. She just couldn't shake off the apprehension.
He pulled on his white off-duty short-sleeved shirt and stood up.
"Because a giant centipede-thing stabbing you from side to side is not a big deal."
"At least it wasn't poisonous."
"Of course, it just had acid saliva. Such a relief."
She didn't mention how lucky he was to get out of that planet with only a stabbed stomach since it would be redundant -and ridiculous-. John smirked a little and placed a hand over her right shoulder, serenely. She seemed to loosen up a bit, it was said that physical contact had comforting properties.
"Come on, let's go grab something to eat. I'm starving." he said, trying to make things up. "Captain Lasky wants to debrief me personally at 2100."
"Lead the way."
He didn't miss the fact that her hands were clutched over her belly.
JUNE 12TH, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
9:13 PM standard time (same night)
"... indicates that the planet had been in self-destruct mode for many years. I made it out with a rack of storage units for Dr. Glassman to analyze, I was informed he found evidence of core malfunction within the terraforming units, the automated maintenance systems crashed and the entire ecosystem deteriorated. It was left alone, probably it was an experiment." John recounted, his eyes fixed in a blank screen behind Captain Lasky and Commander Palmer's heads. "The countdown sequence was so spaced when the UNSC first landed, that nobody noticed until it narrowed down enough to actually mean something. Seems like the magnetic winds that constantly jammed our probes, comms and vehicles during lapses were produced by the malfunctioning units as well."
"We've got a ton of information out of it." Captain Lasky said. "The samples of insectoid life-forms your crew brought back will also be very helpful."
John nodded. Lasky meant the severed head of the gigantic centipede-thing that managed to pierce him through while he was trying to get Charley out of the creature's clutches. Probably those monsters ate all the population of the test facility and caused its demise as well. Who knew what the Forerunners were thinking, if they were the kind of great builders who fought the Flood but also kept living samples of such plague.
Maybe it was all the same for them.
"And thanks to Cortana's assistance, all your injured men are going to make it too, Commander Palmer." John added, carefully side-glancing at her. "I believe this proves something."
"I'm pleased to hear that, Chief. But I don't allow myself to be dazzled over some smoke and mirrors, so you'll have to excuse me while I keep my opinions about her for the time being."
Sarah Palmer's voice was cold but polite.
The Master Chief nodded once, his face as inexpressive as before.
Captain Lasky cleared his throat: "Keep going, Chief."
"We rescued ten scientists out of the infested facility and fireteam Crimson found another eighteen survivors hidden below surface, the rest of Red Tusk station personnel was missing, presumed killed or eaten by the native creatures. No casualties on our side. Crimson recovered some storage units from the station but they were ruined by acid and magnetism."
"How about your injuries?"
"Minor. Seventy-two-hours of discharge, to recover."
"All right, Chief, thank you. Enough for today, go get some rest."
Lasky stood up and saluted, John saluted back. "Sir, ma'am. Good night."
The Commander greeted her fellow SPARTAN with the same honors, although she wasn't pleased with the current course of events. John left the aisle only seconds later and the automated recording routines stopped.
Tom fell on his chair and threw his head back, tired.
Sarah sat down again, her hands clasped in strong fists over her thighs.
She wasn't happy about releasing Cortana from custody, even if it was to set out a trap, and Lasky knew why. Things were still a bit sore between them since Dr. Halsey's escape, almost nine months ago, but Sarah was a professional and she knew better than holding a grudge against the ship's Captain. Tom was grateful to her for that, it made things easier for everyone else. They even got each other's backs when Admiral Osman declared the manhunt official and several other ships and crews joined forces with the Infinity to aid in the case. Osman wanted Halsey dead, not just locked away.
So, if Captain Lasky trusted anyone aboard that ship as much as he trusted the Master Chief's skills and almost unbelievable luck, that person was Sarah Palmer. She would be mad at him for two or three days and then...
Tom sighed. She was clearly still mad at him. He didn't like that.
"What are you looking at, Tom? Do I have something on my face?"
"Eye bags, but we all have them, don't we?" he smiled, wryly.
"Charming." Sarah rolled her eyes, upset.
"Tell me what are you thinking. Speak freely, there's nobody else around."
"Don't you think it's weird? I mean, I've been debriefing Majestic these last days and most of their reports suggest the Master Chief is clearly emotionally compromised with her." she started. Lasky opened his mouth to say something, but she carried on: "I know Halsey gave him that AI to aid him, and not only in the battlefield. And I know Cortana wasn't exactly your regular smart AI either, but this is reaching levels that I can barely understand."
"I don't follow you."
"He acts like a nervous teenager." she said. There was a hint of compassion in her voice, although still angry. Tom nodded, he could see the point now. "I get it. He's not like us IV's, he's a rare specimen of a dying breed. But I don't like how this is going and his impressive military record won't make me go soft on him."
"I wasn't expecting you to."
"Good." she puffed, weary. That'd been a long day.
"I think he's going through something he wasn't supposed to experience." the Captain laced his fingers, relaxed. "He always cared about Cortana, but now that she's human it's a whole new level of responsibility, I guess. Besides, she's not like his fellow soldiers. I've seen him around women before, he doesn't make any difference between them and his men, but with Cortana there was always something else. You are right, he acts different."
Commander Palmer's eyes went wide as her mouth.
"You think he's..." she started.
"I don't know, but I've seen way weirder than that, Sarah."
"They've been repressed, Tom. I don't know if what you're implying is possible."
"Nature finds a way to perfect itself, even without the Forerunners' assistance. AIs can outlive their own programming if they're smart enough. If you ask me, I don't think it's impossible." the Captain said, calmly. "Dr. Halsey and her team might have changed him, but so did the Librarian, didn't she? She made the Chief immune to the Composer's effects, who knows what else she improved about him?"
Sarah frowned, thinking it over.
"Tom, if this affects his reliability as a soldier..."
"I know. And I'll do the right thing." Lasky promised, serious.
She nodded and got on her feet. Sarah walked behind Tom's chair and grabbed his shoulder while passing on; she gave him a squeeze soft enough to mean she was okay with his decision, and left the aisle.
The end of her shift was close, she thought about that shower she wanted so much and turned around the corner, walking into the white corridor. The last round of meals was getting served, it was get-together time for technicians and maintenance personnel, mostly. Whistling low some old melody, she made her way to the mess hall and grabbed a plastic tray with encased food, then left off towards her quarters. She was about to press her finger over the door lock's sensor when Roland's hologram appeared at the pad, suddenly.
"Commander Palmer, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need you at the infirmary." said the AI, his hands clasped behind his back.
She frowned, worried. "What is it, Roland?"
The tiny figure hesitated. "It's delicate. I thought you might be the appropriate person to handle it."
"To the point."
"It's a feminine medical emergency. The Master Chief is on his way too."
The Chief? Sarah shook her head. "What is it now?"
"Please follow me, ma'am."
JUNE 12TH, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
10:03 PM standard time (same night)
Now it was John the one left outside, waiting. When Roland contacted him in his quarters and told him Cortana was under medical care, his stomach flipped and he had to get there as fast as he could. He didn't understand, she was perfectly fine when they were eating at the mess hall and when they separated at the elevator. Or wasn't she? No, she'd been a bit pale and not that chatty at all, not like the day before.
He noticed that, but he never thought it could be something like this.
Then Commander Palmer came in, but she didn't say a word besides giving him a look, and entered the room. He had no clearance to go any further.
John didn't pace nervously up and down the corridor, he just stood there, his eyes locked at the translucent door, checking at the blurred figures that moved inside. His fists clenched tightly, his mouth compressed in a hard line. He tried to pay attention to the voices but couldn't make anything clear out of the mumbling sounds, the room was sealed. Well then, the best way of being noticed was to hold position and demand intel to the first person who made it out of there.
That person was Commander Palmer, actually.
She was almost smiling, for some reason. John narrowed his eyes.
"Ma'am, what is going on?" he asked, directly.
"Have a walk with me, Chief."
They didn't even go that far, since she stopped a few meters away at the corner of the corridor. It was quiet there. Palmer rested her hands on her hips and she took a deep breath, probably thinking about the best approach.
It wasn't doing him any good: "Commander..."
"It's nothing, just cramps. Dr. Quinn already gave her some soft painkillers and she would be sleeping for the rest of the night."
"Cramps?" he repeated, almost oblivious.
"She's biologically a human female. Cortana will be fine. It's her period."
"But she's in pain..."
"Yes, sometimes that happens." Palmer smiled a bit.
He was well aware about what the Commander was talking about, yet it seemed so strange to think of that word -'period'- related to Cortana, out of all people. It just made more evident how much things have changed. John stood there in silence for a full minute, processing it. She'd be fine. He inhaled deeply and nodded, then looked back at Sarah Palmer's face.
"Are we OK, Chief?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."
"Don't mention it."
John nodded again, relieved.
Now, why bother in being helpful? Well, maybe because she couldn't help but feel a bit of compassion for the woman she saw lying on a bed, suffering cramps for the first time in her now human life. It wasn't funny at all. Her eyes studied the Master Chief's quiet expression, he was still clearly worried. Sarah noticed the small wrinkles around his light blue eyes, the grayish shade of his short brown hair. How old was that man -that legend-? Forty, forty-five? He didn't seemed that old either. He was in great shape, that for sure; but then again, SPARTANS were all about shape and ability.
Sarah frowned. Did he knew? That she shot that treacherous bitch Halsey, that she meant to kill her? What would he do if he found out? What was Halsey to him, anyway? A small shiver ran down the Commander's back, she wasn't afraid of the highly praised Master Chief but she sure wouldn't like to be on his way. They were supposed to be in the same side.
She cleared her throat: "You should get back to your quarters, Chief, no visitors allowed overnight."
"Understood. Good night, Commander."
He saluted again, although none of them was on duty. She responded.
Then, they parted ways.
JUNE 22ND, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
8:45 PM standard time (10 days later)
Cortana laid down the practice gun as the schematic target in the screen showed them real-time results. There were some holes registered, none in the right places. She sighed and pressed her palm against the console, rebooting the test. The training range was bursting with soldiers but thankfully nobody was paying attention to them, since a handful of people had ever seen him outside his armor and she was a new and unknown face as well. Besides, it was John's idea to try the ranges.
Her hand-eye coordination needed adjustments, obviously.
"Are you snorting at me, Chief?" she complained, a bit offended. "I think it could be worse since technically I've never shot a real gun before... wait! I have. And bigger than yours."
"MACs don't count." John stated, amused.
"They totally do, you're just jealous."
Sitting beside her master, Charley whined and lowered her ears.
"It's okay, girl." said Cortana, smiling. "We'll beat his smart ass someday, there's a thing called karma."
"I'd like to see that."
"Beware what you wish for."
John reached the dog's head and patted it softly. Charley was fully recovered -except for the pink patches of burnt flesh all over her body, the fur will take a few more weeks to grow back- yet not commissioned in service. And since she was officially in the personnel log of the Infinity, Captain Lasky demanded Cortana to pick something to do, since idle hands were not allowed aboard the ship. She chose the labs, of course, as far as Dr. Glassman tolerated her to help. The man could be infuriating sometimes but together with the other scientists they were making some progress in deciphering the data John brought back from the Forerunner testing planet.
The UNSC Infinity returned to the site of the planetary explosion a few days after the event, just to find a dangerous singularity open in space that devoured every piece of debris it could reach. They didn't stay for long, the hunt for Dr. Halsey was still one of their top priorities.
According to the data, there were another twenty abandoned testing stations of the like, scattered across the galaxy and subject to different environmental conditions. As John suspected and Cortana confirmed, the planetary facilities were older than the Halo rings themselves and probably early Forerunner technology, quite obsolete compared with the array and Requiem but still worth checking. There might be pieces of tech that they could understand and adapt.
And since Cortana was occupied and safe, John was more determined on keeping her that way: protected and close to him, that is. Commander Palmer would say his field performance not only improved, but exceeded the charts, as much as his mood became a bit more sociable. Whatever was going on inside his head, it was a good thing. Neither Palmer nor Lasky talked about it, but they both knew the reason.
Another different matter was the Master Chief's attitude regarding Dr. Halsey and the current manhunt. If asked, John would say that he wasn't commissioned for that mission and that would be all, but... his face said that it would never be that simple.
Cortana fired again at the target and she missed most of the shots. She wasn't used to suck at simple things like this.
"I need a shower." she said, laying down the practice weapon at last.
"Tomorrow I'll be running some real-time simulations with the rookies, if you want to check out how it's done."
"Don't push your luck, Master Chief." she growled, sarcastically. She poked his chest with her index finger. "Meet me at the mess hall, in twenty. And take care of your poor dog, first."
"Aye-aye, ma'am."
Outside the training ranges, John made his way to the K-9 accommodation deck with Charley and Cortana went in the opposite direction, looking for the elevators. Her quarters had been moved to another deck closer to the labs with the rest of the scientific personnel but it was still her own solitary space. Which was something she was very grateful for, she wasn't sure about sharing a room with someone else despite she thought about trying to blend in with the rest of the people aboard the Infinity.
Well, that wasn't so simple either.
Now that she had a physical body, all kinds of futile fears became important. Like what she was wearing, who she talked to and the things she said, if her hair was OK, if she was eating too much or too little, if she was sleeping enough or not, and so on. The worst part was the waste of time, the main limitation of her physical entity. Back when she was a digital construct all of those things were absurd: her most important feature was her intelligence, hence she could look like whoever -or whatever- she wanted.
She never imagined she'd actually could be shy.
In this body, some experiences were pleasant and others were not.
Although it could be a nuisance, being human had its perks. And there was John, of course. She always liked to draw his attention, but now...
Cortana undressed quickly in front of the small mirror in her even smaller private bathroom, and observed carefully at her reflection. She leaned in to have a closer look; she touched her cheeks and her lips, her nose, her chin. Her fingers slid down her neck and reached her collarbone, the valley between her breasts... and at last, her belly. The feel of her own warm palm against the skin was nice.
She thought about that confusing incident, the pain and the disorientation she felt.
She frowned, worried.
A woman whose menstrual cycle was in check could conceive life, right?
She discarded those thoughts and got inside the shower, immediately. Five long minutes of hot water washed her worries away. Oh, yes; showers and soap were other great perks of being human.
JUNE 22ND, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
9:23 PM standard time
A gigantic blue cloud opened in the dark space and a curved-shaped ship emerged from the void, without other escorts.
"Captain, slip-space disruption at twelve o'clock." said the navigator. "A Sangheili carrier. Reading ID signal... UNSC friendly, it's the Arbiter, sir. Opening comm channel now."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Lasky greeted. "This is UNSC Infinity, Captain Thomas Lasky speaking. Come in."
"This is the Shadow of Intent." said the familiar yet ominous voice. "The Arbiter speaking."
"Welcome, Arbiter. What brings you to this little corner of space?"
"I am in dire need of meeting with the Demon." the Sangheili warrior said, polite. "I've been informed that he's aboard your vessel and we have a matter to discuss. It concerns you as well, Thomas Lasky."
The addressed Captain stood still, a bit surprised.
"Of course. You may approach, Arbiter. We'll meet you in the cargo bay in thirty minutes. Infinity out."
JUNE 22ND, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
9:53 PM standard time
Captain Lasky, Commander Palmer, two of the fireteams on duty at the time, plus the Master Chief and several other civilian scientists -Dr. Glassman and Cortana among them- observed while the Phantom accessed the hangar and landed. The Arbiter, dressed in his sumptuous golden articulated armor, made his way towards the human committee flanked by two Elite guards.
The Sangheili leader wasn't walking straight, he was injured. John took a glance at the scars in the alien's leathery skin, the HUD of his helmet displayed information about angles, possible objects that could have caused such wounds and an approximate date. Something bad happened, but not very recently.
After the proper respects, the Arbiter stood before the Master Chief and saluted. His yellow eyes seemed weary.
"Greetings, Demon."
"Arbiter."
"I think I have something that belongs to you."
John tilted his armored head. "What can it be?"
The alien reached a gap underneath a piece of his armor and retrieved a small red capsule, then handed it to the Chief. It was a pocket storage device.
"This was provided by Dr. Laura Stone, your senior technician officer." he meant the group of scientists and technicians who were working with his people in the remains of Installation 00 to retrieve and analyze Forerunner technology. "She managed to get a recording of the incident. You should look at this footage."
Without hesitation, John plugged the device in the nearest terminal and Roland accessed the data within it. A blurry video reproduced in a holographic screen.
"We've been attacked, in your time it would be something like a month ago. A portable slip-space port opened out of nowhere in one of the deep levels of the Ark." the Arbiter explained.
The sound of explosions, growls of pain and screams suddenly filled the hangar, bouncing like an echo in the empty space. The images cleared up a bit, it seemed like a city under attack but John realized it was an underground installation: a rather small, armored and lean creature dressed in black and flanked with light blue moved across the floor, slashing people and aliens as well. Trails of blood streaked everywhere.
"A strange being emerged from the port, and without hesitation or remorse killed most of your crew and mine. Only a handful of technicians, Sangheili good warriors and myself made it out alive." continued the Arbiter, his clawed hands now clenched with rage. "This being was incredibly fast and seemed to know every corner of the Ark better than the Forerunners themselves. We couldn't do much but to escape and protect the remaining of your people."
All eyes on deck were fixed in the disturbing images, frame after frame of horror. Suddenly, an instant flash of bright blue drew John's attention, and he barked: "Freeze it, Roland. Extract and enhance the upper left quarter."
The AI responded immediately, the blurry recording stopped and a quarter of the image filled the big screen. Line after line of fast rendering processes later, the resulting image showed what clearly was a human face. A female human face, in fact.
Cortana swallowed a gasp.
The face in the screen was hers.
Her own fiery blue eyes, her own full lips, her softly arched eyebrows, her straight nose. Even her raven-dark hair. She took a shaky step back, then another. Dr. Glassman turned around to look at her, horrified. So did the other technicians, and at last Captain Lasky.
Commander Palmer, however... her eyes were on fire. She was furious.
"She identified herself as Rampant Spike." informed the Arbiter, serious." And she demands you to confront her, Demon."
TO BE CONTINUED
Aha! I bet this makes you curious -evil grin- well, let's meet here again in the next update for more details about what the hell is going on here, maybe some surprises. Let's see if I can hook you up with my little evil plot :P
Users Trance Sephiroth, keithallen and OkieNTanna-KOTA, I already checked with you via PM. Thanks for being there!
Mk15, it's amazing for me that you think so well of this little project. You are most welcome to follow. Thanks a lot :)
Sniper650m, I was crying my eyes out, and it was my first approach to the franchise. Now I don't know what to do with all these feelings xD
Thanks so much for the support!
Don't forget to share your thoughts! Let me know what you think of this turn of events xD See you next week.