RECOMPOSE
by Ladywolvesbayne
Yey! This is getting hot! Remember, you can find in my profile a little music mix uploaded on 8tracks that I think accompanies this fanfic pretty well. Soon every song in it will make complete sense. Enjoy the episode!
5. ENEMY WITHIN
JUNE 22ND, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
9:55 PM standard time
Angry faces. Angry, suspicious faces everywhere, and they were all looking at her. Cortana appealed at her diplomatic skills and stood still, waiting for the events to unfold. Slow breaths, no fear. Remain calm. Still, she panicked, of course, because now she was human and her body fragile, she had extensive knowledge about hand-to-hand combat but her strength was no match for Palmer's SPARTANS. And Palmer wanted to break her neck with her own hands, it was painfully obvious.
The Elite guards deployed their energy swords without even thinking about it.
The Chief, however...
He wasn't looking at her. What would John do?
She hated not to know what he was thinking.
Did he believe that? Those images, the slaughter... please, he wouldn't believe she was responsible for all that pain, would he? She was absolutely sure it wasn't her, such psychopathic behavior was against every single protocol she ever assimilated within her matrix. She knew about vengeance and sometimes, she approved it, but cold blooded murder of humans or aliens was an entirely different matter. He knew that, right? Did he knew she'd never do something like that?
She descended into rampancy; she shattered in many, many pieces.
But she wasn't an AI anymore. And her memory was damaged, blurry.
THAT WAS NOT HER!
"That's not me." she said, before anyone could move a muscle.
The Commander made a quick signal to her teams and the SPARTANS readied their weapons, half of them dropped to one knee to protect the Captain, the Sangheili committee and the scientists behind their backs. Several barrels were pointing at the small woman now alone in the middle. Roland activated the emergency alarms, the lightning inside the hangar turned angry amber.
"A fucking month ago." Palmer snarled, stomping her way to Cortana, a menacing mountain of woman, strength and armor. "And where were you a month ago? You just popped up near New Phoenix as if fallen from the fucking sky, then you tried to break into this ship. Where did you come from, exactly?"
"I can't remember."
"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!"
"Commander!" that was John's voice, like a rolling thunder. "I don't recommend you to threaten her."
Palmer turned around to face him: "Shut up, soldier. Or I'll get your ass arrested."
The Master Chief stood still, his hands slightly separated from his armored body.
"Ma'am, consider the possibilities." he carried on, unyielding. "If she is who you think she is, it wouldn't be a good idea to engage right now. Inside a pressurized vessel full of people, that is."
He was right. Even if it was a pitiful move to save Cortana's life, he was right.
"SPARTANS, hold your fire, that's an order." Captain Lasky barked.
He and the Arbiter reached the frontline, separating themselves from the alarmed crowd. While the Captain stood in front of the Commander -not facing her, but almost kind of protecting her-, the alien passed by Palmer's side and stood just inches away from Cortana. She didn't flinch at his serpentine, enormous sight, but the dull reptilian scent of the creature made her purse her lips. The glossy eyes examined at the woman, carefully, as the prominent articulated mandibles on his face stirred in slow motion, almost like he was mumbling to himself.
Then, the Arbiter leaned in and sniffed the air for a few seconds.
"This one sure looks exactly like the one who attacked us at the Ark." he declared, contemplative. "Yet she doesn't smell the same. I can't smell the hate. I don't think she's the Rampant Spike."
Cortana let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, relieved.
At least someone believed her.
"That's good enough." said Lasky. "Master Chief, seize that woman and place her under arrest. Fireteam Bravo, escort them to the barracks. We're going to figure this out like civilized people."
JUNE 22ND, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
10:10 PM standard time
"You know what I used to do while you were sleeping in your armor?" she said, softly. "Mostly, I ran simulations just for fun. One day, however, I started counting your heartbeats. Each and every single one of them. When I was a prisoner of the Gravemind, I missed that sound so much it almost drove me crazy. It grew on me, you know? You grew on me. You made me crave for things I never thought about before. And I guess you taught me as much as I taught you."
John didn't respond.
He was so still he could have been a marble statue, coated in hyper-light alloys. It was hard to remain quiet when there were so many questions he wanted to ask.
John just wanted this Cortana to be the one he knew and trusted.
"It's kind of silly, but you made me want to be human, Chief."
He didn't know what to say.
He knew the pressurized gel was cooling down his body, but still felt the ache and the heat of an inner battle running up and down his skin. No need to move; things were already tearing themselves apart, words could only make it worse. He wasn't very good at social customs but now it would be a good time to have such skills.
Cortana's eyes were sad, yet defiant. "Please, say something."
He saw in her face the features of Dr. Halsey, youthful as the first time he met her. Was it in a playground? He didn't remember anymore. Cortana's expression, however, became more and more of the likes of her creator with every quiet minute: disappointed, weary. Indifferent.
"That's not me, John. That's not me."
She left a piece of paper over the table and turned his back to him.
The Chief hesitated, but then reached out for the paper and saw a long strand of numbers in it, written in elegant yet impatient calligraphy he could recognize anywhere: Dr. Halsey's handwriting. The numbers were slip-space coordinates, most likely the data she found embedded within the archives of the New Phoenix incident.
He crumpled the note in his fist as he left the cell.
JUNE 22ND, 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
10:15 PM standard time
He knew things were white hot at the bridge, but he made it there anyway.
Mostly because he wanted to have a word with the Arbiter. However, John wasn't expecting such a heated discussion between Captain Lasky and an enraged Commander Palmer. From John's perspective, much of her words were borderline insubordination, but it wasn't his place to point that out. The Sangheili leader was ignoring the humans, facing the holographic windows of the empty strategic command aisle, towards his own massive alien vessel and the myriad of brilliant stars out there.
When the Arbiter saw John, he approached.
"That human female is pretty iron-willed." he observed, interested. "This Thomas Lasky seems strong enough to match her wits. I am not educated about the customs of your people, but is he her mate?"
"I don't think she has one of those." the Chief trailed off. "Arbiter, I need support."
"Then speak, Demon."
"Yeah, it's a little loud in here."
The Sangheili warrior turned towards the arguing humans and after a few seconds of listening at their annoying nonsense about regulations, silly orders, what one another could and couldn't do, the alien clenched his reptilian fists and roared. The sound rolled across the entire bridge of the Infinity, it ricocheted in every wall and piece of tech. The Captain and the Commander froze in the middle of their quarrel, they both turned their heads towards the Arbiter.
"The Demon here is trying to tell me something." he growled, then looked at the Chief and nodded. "Please, continue."
"The Forerunner glyph marked in Cortana's skin, it's a number." explained John, hopeful. "If her human body was forged somewhere in this galaxy, how do we know she was the only copy created?"
Captain Lasky leaned in, paying attention.
"You mean there is another physical Cortana out there?" he said.
"Maybe."
"And she's killing people." Palmer added, nonchalantly.
"Last time I saw her aboard the Mantle's Approach, the rampancy was devouring her from inside out and she had to get rid of most of her sub-routines. This one might even be a flash-clone."
John hadn't realized until then how scary that perspective was.
Full-grown flash-clones never lived long, they were made for specific purposes. The possibility of losing her again made his stomach flip. If her entire self was a lie, she was the most comforting lie he told himself in over a year. Counseling or no counseling, it was a reality that he needed that lie.
He already let her down once. It wasn't happening again.
The Arbiter lowered his head, thinking about it.
"It makes sense." he noticed. "I do remind you had an artificial companion, is this whom we are talking about?"
"This is getting weirder by the minute." Lasky sighed, hesitant.
"You know what? I had enough of this." snapped Palmer, irritated. "Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117, you are discharged from this operation, effective immediately. Leave this deck now or you will be arrested."
"With all due respect, ma'am, on what grounds?" he asked.
"You're so fucking in love with her that you'll get all of us killed."
The Chief tilted his head straight up, his fingers tightly clutched. The words were like fists, brutally hitting him everywhere. He was a loyal and disciplined soldier, that kind of accusation could have offended him if he wasn't so shocked.
He wasn't in love with Cortana, that was absurd.
"Commander, let me remind you this is still my bridge." Captain Lasky stated. "And I'm standing right here. Calm down or I'll have you both arrested and suspended for a very long time."
She crossed her arms, upset. John just clasped his hands behind his back.
"I demand to know if the UNSC will answer for this aggression." said the Arbiter.
"We are, sir. It's not our direct responsibility, but both sides have casualties and be certain that we will support you." the Captain promised, then turned to Sarah Palmer. "Please, Commander. You know you can't discharge the Master Chief like this, we need all hands on deck at the moment."
"Fine. Master Chief, I apologize for the outburst. But you must understand my position here." said Sarah, relaxed now. John nodded, accepting her act of contrition. She carried on: "I admit you might have a point. Yet there are things this Cortana cannot explain. Even if she is not lying about her memories, she could still be a threat, a sleeper agent obliviously waiting for an activation signal."
John flinched slightly at the mere thought. It was painful to hear such things about his best friend. He couldn't refuse it, either.
"I know, ma'am." he agreed, coolly.
"Then you are aware of the risk. You understand my reservations."
"Yes, ma'am."
That seemed to put a leash on Palmer's demons, for a while.
Captain Lasky took in a relieved breath, for once.
"So, do you have any clues about where she might have been created?" he asked.
"Cortana extrapolated this coordinates. It's related to the New Phoenix incident and the Composer, which so far is our best explanation about her condition."
John laid the piece of paper on the holo-table. Roland immediately picked up the numbers and started running simulations and analysis. The air above their heads filled with vibrant lights, numbers and letters, stars and planetary systems, the AI checked the coordinates against every known database within the UNSC and his own reach, until the results were absolutely none.
The tiny yellow figure materialized after vanishing the search results.
"This coordinates are outside UNSC mapped space." informed Roland.
"So it doesn't exist." growled Lasky. "Why it doesn't surprise me?"
"No, sir; it exists." explained the AI. "It's just far beyond the Requiem facility, but it still could be much, much far away into Covenant Remnant territory. Opening a slip-space port with these coordinates could take the Infinity anywhere, maybe at the insides of an unknown planet. Sending a probe is the best course of action."
"I suggest we start with the Ark." the Arbiter said, impatient. "The Spike wants to meet with the Demon, after all."
"Then I'll give her a Demon." John growled, leaning in. "The best way to be sure about who attacked Installation 00 is if Cortana comes along with me and the Arbiter. I don't need backup. If it turns out I'm wrong, it will be just my mistake, nobody else's. And I'll end it right there."
Commander Palmer sighed, she didn't like the plan and she saw Tom wasn't much of a fan either, it was not only risky for the most consecrated soldier of the UNSC, but also a great threat for the entire fleet. Although the idea of getting rid of this suspicious Cortana was a one-in-a-million chance, neither she nor the Captain wanted to be part of a voluntary suicide mission.
The Arbiter seemed okay with it, however.
"What would you do if this Rampant Spike reveals, whoever she is?" said Sarah.
The Chief raised his head, with the pride of a seasoned warrior.
"I'll terminate her." he claimed.
His words were cold, definitive. Captain Lasky nodded slowly, thinking it over.
It was already late to repent and report it to Admiral Osman. So the Master Chief better be damn right about what he was planning, because if he failed or things went off the rail, heads were going to roll everywhere.
Good to know that "failure" wasn't a word in John's vocabulary.
JUNE 25TH to JULY 9TH, 2558
LOCATION: SANGHEILI CARRIER SHADOW OF INTENT
Two standard weeks travel through slip-space
John never actually spent much time in a Covenant ship -mostly enough to plant a nuke and get the hell out-, but the insides weren't different from any UNSC vessel, just much more... organic. Such as if the colossal warships were somewhat grown instead of built. And although they were announced as 'highly honored guests of the Arbiter', the aliens weren't exactly happy to see the Demon and his new human companion. He and Cortana had no access to almost ninety-five percent of the ship and if they needed anything, the request had to go through the Arbiter himself.
Well, it could be worse.
At least, the Elites were courteous with the Demon, saluting him with honor any time they crossed paths. It would be a two-week travel in slip-space until Installation 00, they better get along fast.
The Chief and Cortana spent most of the time inside a Pelican that Captain Lasky commissioned for the mission, parked along a long line of Phantoms. They both needed at least six hours of sleep since the time schedules of the alien fleet were quite different from human standards. The food, however, consisted in dehydrated UNSC rations and purified water. It was fine for John, not so much for her. Thanks to Cortana's knowledge of the growling Shangheili language, they weren't completely stranded whenever Thel 'Vadam wasn't around to translate.
But that was it. They weren't talking much besides that.
The silence was making John very uneasy. He understood how Cortana felt about the whole mission, that she feared the possibility of being wrong -both of them did- but he wasn't completely oblivious. She was sad and angry. With this new threat, with him. Because he somehow betrayed her and she kept betraying herself, she wasn't the same as before. She wanted to protect him, to help him.
How could John explain her that those things never changed?
She was more than the sum of her parts, and much more than just flesh and bone.
At the bridge of the Shadow of Intent, the Arbiter made a comment:
"Your mate seems troubled."
"This is no ordinary mission." John answered, flatly. "And she is not my mate."
"She isn't? After what your Commander said..."
"The Commander is mistaken. UNSC regulation doesn't encourage fraternization, neither I'm interested in it." he explained, swiftly. "Cortana is a very trustworthy comrade. She saved my life countless times, and now my duty is to protect her as she once protected me."
John wasn't sure, but he'd swear that it felt like he just told a lie. It was odd.
The Arbiter raised his serpentine head, a hint of amusement shone in his eyes.
"Of course. I meant no offense, Demon."
"Non taken."
"It's amusing, though, how something so specific could be so easily mistaken."
"What do you mean, Arbiter?"
The gold-coated alien leaned in against the rough surface of a wall, while his eyes kept looking outside through the oval-shaped windows. He seemed well recovered from his wounds, yet he was eager to go into battle again.
"I mean this deep bond of yours."
"What is in it to be mistaken?" John asked, curious.
"Did you ever go through the rituals of courtship and mating?"
"No. Did you?"
The Arbiter blinked a few times, unsure about how to continue the conversation.
"Once. Long ago." he said, at last. "Now I understand so much more."
"About what?"
"Never mind, Demon. But you should do something about your companion, she is keeping something and it might endanger this whole mission. I think it's your place to take care of that."
John nodded, he knew damn well what was it all about.
"She thinks I should've accepted the backup. She can't fight like I do and believes she'll be a liability."
"She is right, then." Thel 'Vadam pointed out, serious. "If she is not fit for combat, she'll only slow you down."
"That's why Cortana will learn from the best." decided John, confident.
It's true that two weeks wasn't much of a long window, but the Master Chief had trained greener recruits for way more complex assignments in shorter periods of time. Cortana was an expert in technique. She had the soul of a Marine, but she was afraid of pain. He explained her that she could always get hurt, and that there were also methods not only to ignore the pain but to reduce it. And plenty of ways to cause more pain than what she could receive, with minimum effort.
Instead of cryo-sleeping their two-weeks off inside the Pelican*, they trained.
The objective wasn't to make a fierce SPARTAN out of her, but to shape Cortana up into a decent trooper. John was absolutely positive it would work.
Well, they had enough time to find out if she was fit for the challenge.
JULY 10TH, 2558
LOCATION: INSTALLATION 00 - THE ARK
00:23 AM standard time (two weeks later)
The gigantic Forerunner station was dead silent.
Sigrid wasn't picking up life signals, at least, not as much as her accuracy range could reach. The HUD in John's helmet flickered as it swapped between different kind of scans, but nothing was ever in sight. No movement, no hot or cold spots, no life-forms, no magnetic activity, not even a single screw falling out of place. Installation 00 seemed pretty much dead to him.
Well, it was a neat set up for a trap, that for sure.
Cortana finished fastening up her gear, she'd wear a pressurized semi-armored suit if she wanted to tag along with the Master Chief and the Arbiter -and the Arbiter's Elite escort-. It wasn't much but it would be efficient, the undersuit was well fitted and she felt it warm up and then cool down to her body temperature. The armor was light, tinted in a shade of military green with hints of gray and silver, standard issue for troopers -which meant no energy shields whatsoever-. She could as well have a target pinned to her back, but at least she wasn't going to asphyxiate or freeze in the vacuum of space.
She sealed up the helmet and tried to breathe comfortably.
"Ready?" John asked, looking at her.
"Done."
"Fine, take this." he handed a small memory card. "We'll share Sigrid, that way we'll have a secure comm channel and ground support."
"Your not-so-smart Artificial Intelligence backup." she said, annoyed.
"... I know she's not even half the hot-shot you are, but she's been helpful."
"Thanks, Chief. You sure know what to say to boost a girl's confidence."
She shoved the small card in an empty socket behind her helmet and a basic HUD displayed before her eyes, in the light green glass. Since she had no neural implants of any kind, the exhibit was minimal and subjected to the technical limitations of that light armor's inner systems, which were awful. She felt pretty much naked despise the thirty extra kilos of light plates and undersuit.
Then, she realized she was seeing basically the same John could see.
"Remember your training." he said, one more time. "Follow me. Do not get in the line of fire. You have my back, so back me up. I you can't back me up, duck and cover. Let me get the shots if something goes wrong."
"You can't ask me to duck and cover while you take the shots. It's crazy."
"I have the shields. And you like crazy."
Yes, indeed. It was crazy and she scolded him, but she was also so eager to do something that her hands itched nervously. She grabbed her pistol and a small pad, then nodded. It was excruciatingly painful, Cortana tried to make the idea fit in her head: she was vulnerable, but she was going in with him to prove a point. He was in charge. The Chief trained her to loosen up and reconnect her body with her knowledge of combat, but she was no expert on the matter just yet. Live to fight another day.
But it wouldn't be in expense of John's life, that for sure.
The air crackled and Cortana heard the Arbiter's voice: "We are ready."
John responded: "On your mark."
"Move in. But be careful, Demon. Ghosts of past tragedies hide in this metal."
"Well, they better have enough ammo." the Chief replied.
"Feeling smug?" she snorted, not exactly amused.
"It won't hurt. Let's go."
The darkness of space just engulfed them as they rolled off the Shadow of Intent along with the Arbiter and his people, their noiseless steps thudding in their own ears. The entrance of the facility was wide open and deserted, Cortana used the small pad to give orders to the AI but still, Sigrid was unable to pick up anything. Cortana hooked the AI up with the Ark's dormant systems to get information; a moment later, the team strode in fast, went down a wide set of ramps, deeply into the darkness of the dead compound.
John hurried first, leading the squad. The Arbiter ordered to his man to back him up and he himself walked beside Cortana, as if he was guarding her. They reached a crossroad of dark corridors and suddenly...
A solid blast door slipped from its socket, separating John from the others.
"I didn't see that one coming." he heard Cortana's voice in his comm channel.
"Demon?"
"I'm fine." the Chief responded. He carefully looked at the information displayed by his HUD, Sigrid accessed the system again and quickly found a solution. "There's a way around this passage, turn back and take the entrance on the left, then keep going. Let's meet at the other side."
"Roger that. Follow me, Arbiter."
Silence, deep space silence.
John shook his head and ran up ahead, looking for a corner.
The HUD flared: SLIP-SPACE PORT DISRUPTION. SIX O'CLOCK.
It was in the blink of an eye, but he saw the bluish shine light up the corridor and stood still, it was already late. He ducked for cover behind a dormant generator shaped like a barrel; then paced back slowly, silently, until he reached the other hallway. John analyzed the map in his visor, the life-signal spots of the rest of his crew were close.
The enemy signal was alive too, a red triangle that moved onward.
The comm channel flickered again:"Chief? Are you there?"
"Cortana? What's your status?" he whispered.
"Sigrid found something. We've got company now." she was whispering too.
"I know, just stay where you are. I'll go get you."
"Wait, I'm just around the corner, well run into each other."
He saw it in his HUD too, she was right. The blue point that was Cortana moved closer, directly ahead. He could see the life-signals of the Arbiter and his Elite warriors, they were also nearby.
John heard the steps and shot his head back, paying attention.
"Chief?"
The voice wasn't coming from the comm speaker.
"Chief! Great, there you are."
He turned around. Cortana strode in, fast.
John lifted his rifle and powered it up, pointing straight at her.
His armored finger caressed the trigger, nervously. The woman froze in place, she held the pistol aiming to the floor, with caution. She just looked at him with surprised deep blue eyes and took a step back. "Chief, what are you doing? It's me."
"You're not wearing your helmet and your hair is two inches longer than fifteen minutes ago. You're not Cortana." he stated, coolly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't say anything.
Then, she slowly smiled. It was an amused, poisonous smirk.
"Well, hello there." the woman said, her voice quite huskier, darker. She tilted her head. "Seems like I underestimated how much you know me. But make no mistakes; I am Cortana. And I am a monument to all your sins, John."
TO BE CONTINUED
*I'm not sure if Pelicans can be conditioned to hold cryo-pods, but since I couldn't find any reference about it, let's just assume it is possible to accommodate a few of them in the back of a dropship :P go with me here, please. It will be amusingly worth it soon enough -evil laughter-
Don't you just LOVE the Arbiter? He's such a great guy.
Now you know how evil I really am. But fear not, I meant this story to have a bit of everything, and even when I said it would be short... this is just warming up. Things are about to get way more complicated, so brace yourselves and duck for cover -insert another evil laughter-. I want to thank Trance Sephiroth, keithallen, OkieNTanna-KOTA and SECUREZONEICON for your support! :)
Mk15; worry not, updates will be every Sunday from now on, so you won't have to worry this much. I realized I was making a mistake, now I'm correcting it. Thanks for all your kind words, yes, I'm a native Spanish speaker! Let's see how this develops, I hope I can keep you interested like this until the end ^^
Anon; you think so? I'm glad you like the introduction of Charley. Hope to see you around again :)
UPDATES WILL BE EVERY SUNDAY FROM NOW ON, THIS MEANS NEXT UPDATE WILL BE ON APRIL 12TH. I uploaded a new episode today because I promised I would, but a proper schedule would be for the best interest of all of us.
Don't forget to leave your comments, I'd like to read your thoughts!