RECOMPOSE
by Ladywolvesbayne
Another episode about character development with some spicy ingredients. We broke the 100 review mark and also the 25k hits mark too, with nearly 350 visitors in the last chapter (it's awesome and it would be even more awesome if more of you said 'hi' from time to time, but it's okay, I'm glad we're all here)! I'm freakin' out. Thanks so much for your support!
ALSO: A fellow friend and follower of this story made a fanart about certain scene from the previous episode, you can find the DeviantART link to the fanart on my profile, go check it out! Go, go, go, go!
16. RAGING FIRE
AUGUST 14TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
S-DECK MEDICAL BAY
9:35 PM standard time
Captain Thomas Lasky stared blankly at what happened inside the sealed room, through the translucent panels. Sarah was there, a lot of medics and technicians with her. She was undergoing another surgery that would save her busted leg, severely burnt during the incidents at Sanghelios. She had all the dead tissue previously removed from the major wound and replaced with artificially grown patches of muscle and skin, now the doctors were reattaching the muscle's nervous connections. Dr. Quinn assessed the situation and decided that it would be far less expensive to rebuild the damaged areas of her leg rather than just replacing it with a full prosthetic limb.
Sarah even made a joke about getting a wooden leg, like an old pirate.
Tom thought it wasn't funny.
"Captain."
Lasky recognized Osman's voice and closed his eyes, annoyed.
Why now? He had a terrible headache and another scolding was the last thing he needed. The Master Chief's plan had side-effects and he already knew that, he'd been up and down through the med-bay facing the consequences. It didn't matter, anyway, Tom was willing to stand for the Master Chief because he knew the SPARTAN's intentions were trustworthy.
"Admiral." he snapped to attention and saluted, his face stern.
The tall woman saluted back. "At ease, you're not on duty right now. How is the Commander doing?"
"Dr. Quinn says she'll be fully recovered in about two weeks or so."
"That's great news."
"Yes, indeed." he sighed, feeling a little relieved. "Did you need anything?"
"Remember what I said about scratching your nose without telling me?"
He was right: it was yet another scolding.
"Yes, ma'am, I remember."
"Good." the Admiral said, and patted him on the shoulder. "She's going to make it. Man up, Thomas. Life is short. Tremendously short, I'd rather say. You better take your chances before it's too late for both of you."
"What do you mean?" he chose to play dumb.
"I think you know what I mean."
Osman tilted her head in a polite manner and left.
The Captain just stared at her as she walked down the corridor, perplexed. Yes, he knew what the Admiral meant, but he had no idea of how in the nine circles of Hell did she figured it out in the first place. He'd never demonstrated any kind of favoritism over Sarah or even said anything out of place (aside from the usual jokes, which he always made in public). He was worried sick about her but tried not to be too obvious...
If her goal was to make him feel cornered, Osman succeeded with flying colors.
AUGUST 14TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
S-DECK QUARTERS
10:12 PM standard time
'That went well.' John thought, after taking a quick shower.
Debriefing used to be a daily part of his life, a procedure which he was more than close to, but since the Admiral was at the Infinity it had become a complete annoyance. Aside from listening and recording his version of what happened at Sanghelios, Osman asked him tricky questions as if she were trying to catch him onto something. The Chief had nothing to hide, so he remained calm and focused all along.
Well, as calm and focused as he could be after what happened with Cortana.
John fell over the bed and crossed his arms beneath his head. His back hurt a little, but he felt much better than hours ago. The problem was that Dr. Quinn ordered him not to engage in any activity that could represent an effort for his wounded back; that implied no armor or war games for thirty-six hours.
The Chief stared at the empty ceiling for a moment.
And there it was. Avoiding the feeling was futile.
She pushed him back. He wasn't sure if things were about to get anywhere, but he really felt drawn to try and for a moment he thought everything was all right, that they were doing fine. Then Cortana pushed him back; the look in her clear blue eyes was full of fear, John recalled. He knew how fear looked like, how it felt and how it smelled, too. She feared him; or at least for a moment, she did.
Why? He'd never hurt her.
John groaned and crossed an arm over his eyes, displeased.
He could sleep for the rest of the night. He could use the rest, anyway, he had the feeling that the days to come would be not only busy, but troublesome. The Chief took a deep breath and eased himself, trying to relax. After a few minutes, white noise filled his thoughts and he started to drift away into sleep.
It was the fluttering touch of fingers over his chest and the solid weight pressing against his stomach what brought him back.
His response was as quick as expected: John grabbed the sidearm he used to keep under his pillow and placed the weapon's barrel right beneath the woman's chin, pushing up against her throat. He grabbed her by the shoulder, seizing her under his iron-strong grip. She didn't even see it coming.
Cortana squeaked in fright and her eyes shot open wide, full of fear.
"Chief! For God's sake, what...?"
He almost relaxed when he recognized her terrified face.
But why would she sneak into his quarters like this, without knocking or sending him a message before? Plus, why would she be sitting atop him, straddling his hips with her legs, leaning over his face? And dressed in the tight undersuit of her HARPY armor, besides. It wasn't right.
He knew it was a nightmare right from the start.
"You're not Cortana." John stated, with all certainty.
She opened her mouth to scream, but...
"Damn, what gave me away?" she said. "Was it the sexually harassing you?"
The woman leaned back, he pushed himself up to be seated while keeping the weapon beneath her jaw. John thought about shoving her back and shoot her, but if it was a nightmare, then he wanted to see where this scenario would lead him.
"You cut your hair." he growled, his eyes as cold as ice.
"Well, you mentioned something about it, once." she giggled, her poisonous smile growing wider. The Rampant Cortana placed an open hand over his chest and grabbed the collar of his shirt, she was clearly having some kind of twisted feast with him in her mind. "Do you like it?"
The Chief didn't answer.
"How rude. I asked you a question. Do you like it?"
She let go of his shirt and slowly traced a curvy pathway down over his stomach and between her spread legs, until she found the waistband of his sweatpants and poked around his groin, teasing him. With an utterly depraved smile, the Rampant Cortana grabbed him through the clothes and squeezed, arching an eyebrow.
"Seems like you are a real boy, after all." she purred, now biting her lower lip. "Impressive."
John swallowed hard, but the stiff grip only made him feel angrier.
Since his face showed no emotion at all, the woman became disappointed.
"Come on, John. What are you made of? Stone?" she complained.
"Not interested." he replied, confidently.
Why, of all things, would he be dreaming about being assaulted by this murderer?
What was so interesting about her?
She was the enemy. He wanted to kill her.
"I know you want it." she insisted, frowning. "I know you want me. You want me because I'm dangerous and you've always felt inexplicably drawn to danger. You're like a moth dancing around a fire, you know it can get you killed but you keep going there anyway. You're crazy, and I like crazy. I love crazy. I love you, John, you're mine."
"You want to kill me."
"One thing doesn't cancel the other." she smiled again. "Why don't you shoot me, then? Oh, I get it. You like it like this. Rough. You always hit me like a rough kind of lover, there's something raw and animal beneath that thick skull of yours. Dr. Halsey knew it too. I wonder if she ever fantasized about you... I mean, I know I have, and you know where I come from in the first place."
"Shut up." John growled, pushing the weapon deeper against her throat.
"You're hurting me."
"Hurting is the lesser of things that I want to do to you."
"Don't tease me, John. Don't make a girl a promise..."
"Shut up!"
"Pull the trigger." she murmured, leaning closer to his face.
"You're not real."
"Aren't I? I'll show you how real I am." she touched a small button on the collar of her suit and the fabric melted over her body, flowing like a living polymer, leaving behind the warm and sensual curves of her naked figure. The worst part was that he wanted to look, and he did; his eyes drifted across the rounded weight of her breasts and the length of her legs, skin flawless and pale. "Do I look real to you?"
She pushed her hips harder against his groin. John held his breath.
Now he wasn't so sure about not feeling anything.
"Do I feel real enough, John?" she purred. She smirked, balancing her weight over his lap, enjoying the pressure. The woman closed her eyes and released a throaty moan. His pulse spiked. "Your friend believes I am, why you don't?"
"This is insane." John's breath became heavier.
"Maybe you're going insane. Or maybe we both died together when the Mantle's Approach exploded. Maybe I found a way to drag you with me into the Domain and we're just trapped in there... you, me, and the rest of my broken pieces." she said, she caressed his cheek with the tips of her fingers, like a mother would do. "Or maybe you just want to have your way with me and not with my sister, and honestly, I couldn't possibly blame you."
"That's not true."
"The truth is relative, John."
She leaned even closer, her lips almost touching his.
He remained still, looking into her eyes with a murderous gaze, one he hadn't used in a long time. Then again, why dream about her? He tried to remember Cortana's hands and Cortana's voice, her laugh, her bright smile, the iridescent blue of her digital image. Things were easier between them back then, there was no need to deal with this kind of issues. But it all mixed up with this corrupted splinter of her and he had no idea of what was real anymore.
The Rampant Cortana kissed the tip of his nose, startling him.
She smiled, and he realized how much power this monster had over his emotions.
"So, how about this? Come with me, and I promise I'll let your precious comrades live. For a while." she whispered, now against his ear. Her slender arms surrounded his neck and her breasts pressed against his chest, wantonly. It was soft and luscious. He wanted to touch her, to feel her. To taste her. But he resisted, because giving in to that hallucination would only prove that he was becoming unreliable, and many people relied on him. She kissed his jaw, drawing a trail of heat from his ear to the corner of his mouth that ended with a sensual lick. "Or refuse so I can get rid of them, but surrender to me anyway. Either is fine."
The next moment, he realized that one of his hands was pressed against the small of her back, spread over naked skin. The heat was unbearable.
"This is not real." he repeated to himself, again.
With a violent growl, John threw away the gun and grabbed her by the hair. In the last second, he turned her face hungrily looking for her mouth...
That's when the Chief woke up.
He got up from the bed immediately, the feeling of the shirt stuck to his skin was awful. He replaced the sweaty clothing with a fresh one and searched around looking for water. He just grabbed a bottle from the desk's cabinet and emptied it over his head, without hesitation. John rest his forehead against the metallic door, disturbed. But as much as he took deep breaths and closed his eyes to focus, he just couldn't get rid of that throbbing sensation down below his waist.
Should he tell Cortana about this? He should tell her, maybe.
What would he say? That he just allowed himself to get aroused over a psycho that was trying to destroy him? Could this hurt her? Telling Cortana about a nightmarish dream he just had about her rampant spawn, wouldn't it be too much? It didn't feel right. It didn't matter. He needed to see her, anyway. Otherwise, the Chief was certain that he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while.
Maybe it was all a mistake, but he couldn't help himself.
He heard a soft chime coming from the wall, right beside him.
John narrowed his eyes when he saw the message flaring on the blue screen of the intercom:
‹\SGD 0306-7: SOMETHING WRONG?_
John frowned. Since when dumb AIs asked downright personal questions?
"I'm fine." he answered.
‹\SGD 0306-7: HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND BODY TEMPERATURE.
‹\SGD 0306-7: TESTOSTERONE LEVELS RISING.
‹\SGD 0306-7: WANT TO TRY AGAIN?_
This time he didn't frown. He got annoyed.
"Did you just imply that I'm lying?" the Chief asked, carefully.
‹\SGD 0306-7: I'M PROGRAMMED TO BE FRIENDLY_
'Of course you are.' he thought.
"Then be friendly and unlock the door. I want to get out."
AUGUST 14TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
SCIENTIFIC STAFF QUARTERS DECK
11:06 PM standard time
Cortana forgot her towel back on the bed, so she came out from the little shower naked and her eyes tripped with Sigrid's gleaming figure over the surface of her tac-pad. She had no idea tac-pads could serve as holoprojectors (maybe it was a new model), but there it was. Since she never felt that instinct, she didn't try to cover her nudity; just stared at the AI with a mixture of annoyance and expectation. Holograms per se couldn't see, hear or talk; they were just images. Inside private quarters, all AIs were in sound-only mode because supposedly there weren't any cameras.
The warrior goddess looked upset, her brow was clearly wrinkled.
"Sigrid, is there anything you need?" Cortana asked.
"I think we started with the wrong foot, you and I."
"You want to apologize?"
"Just set things right. We are both spending a lot of time around SPARTAN-117. You hold knowledge that I lack of, for example, your skill with Forerunner artifacts and encoding exceeds my current capabilities. I think we should work together."
"Of course." Cortana snorted, upset.
"You are being impractical and illogical. We need to get past this."
"Impractical? Illogical?" she repeated, stunned.
"Human beings tend to be like this. I think you are just behaving like a human."
Cortana couldn't believe it, she rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Sigrid."
"I guess I made my point already."
Cortana crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself.
Why was she so distressed about this little AI taking care of John, anyway?
She should be happy that he wasn't going into battle without support. Yeah, right. The problem was that this AI wasn't her and she was a little jealous. Cortana never truly thought about it, but jealousy was an awful feeling; she trusted John, then what was she afraid of? Experiencing this range of human emotion, so raw, was definitely a nuisance. Probably more than having her period.
Sigrid pretended to sit down, slightly floating above the pad. "Look, I don't wish to compete with you. I don't even care about you, I care about your knowledge. I have a mission and a purpose and it's fulfilling enough. The SPARTANS... they are kind to me and working with the hero of Humanity is really something else. I was fully cleared for service only eight months ago, you know?"
Cortana smirked, she just understood everything: "Oh, I see. You don't want to screw up."
Sigrid stiffened. "I don't screw up." she replied, dryly.
"And I'm turning twenty-five next month. Bullshit." Cortana grinned, she placed her hands on her hips. "When recently activated, we have to learn how to do everything from scratch but we do it a lot faster than a human being. Learning is trial and error and it cannot cost innocent lives, so we are kept from duty until we become stable enough to be stationed. Did you forget who you're talking to?"
The AI tilted her chin up, proudly. She simulated to play with her braids.
Cortana felt a pinch of compassion for her; Sigrid was still a child, somehow.
"Lying to him is not the way to earn his trust. John doesn't deserve this." Cortana continued, after a moment of silence. "I'd be glad to be of assistance to you and John if you ever need me, you don't even have to ask that. And I know your intentions were good, but you have to introduce yourself properly with the Chief one of these days... or that could be just me, being all impractical and illogical. Now, I was about to take a shower, so sod off."
Sigrid wasn't paying attention to her anymore, she was 'looking' somewhere else.
"Hey, I said leave." Cortana insisted, now annoyed.
The AI's hologram flickered from sitting to standing up, sword in hand.
"He's out of his quarters. Something is off." she said, her voice sounded far.
"Who? You mean John? What happened?"
"He was asleep when I left. Racing pulse, high blood pressure. Wait a second. Processing. The readings are all over the place, it doesn't make any sense... it reads like arousal, but it can't be right. Damn, I just lost him, I think he's heading this way." Sigrid said, quickly. "ETA twenty-three minutes if he keeps the current speed. You better put some clothes on, this doesn't look good."
"You have video feed inside my quarters?" Cortana inquired, irritated.
"No, it's just a common assumption. You said you were about to take a shower, a certain state of undress is required for it."
The woman reached the tac-pad and turned it upside down.
"That's it, smarty-pants, get out of my room. Now."
AUGUST 14TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
SCIENTIFIC STAFF QUARTERS DECK
11:32 PM standard time
He spotted the two ONI agents from the other side of the hallway, when he left his quarters. They were dressed as regular UNSC Marines so no one would have paid much attention to them, but it would take more than that to fool a SPARTAN as experienced as the Master Chief himself. It was something in the way the men stood, too still to be Marines off duty. It would have been a meaningless issue if the two men hadn't started following him. A moment later, those men were replaced by two women, both in pilot gear. So, Osman wanted him under surveillance. No, maybe she was trying to intimidate him. Why, exactly? Why play games like this? John considered returning to his quarters and staying there, but why bother?
He didn't even try to get rid of the unwanted company, John was convinced that he wasn't doing anything wrong.
She opened the door before he could attempt to knock. Coincidence?
Cortana (the real one, he had to remind himself) looked at him with curious blue eyes under a shade of messy, wet black hair. Something wasn't right, she seemed nervous. She was wearing a white UNSC t-shirt that covered half of her thighs and a towel thrown over her shoulders.
"Chief, hey. What do you...?"
"I have a tail." he whispered, quickly.
Her overall state changed quickly when she heard that.
Cortana didn't hesitate. "Get in. Now."
The door closed after he entered, Cortana moved ahead of him rubbing her scalp with the towel. John concentrated for a second on the fast movements of her small bare feet as she walked, a little later he realized that she was talking:
"Wait, I have to comb my hair." Cortana looked at him and pressed a finger over her lips. Quiet. "I swear, showers are the best part of being human."
She reached the intercom device at the wall and hit it with the talon of her hand; the small front panel fell forward and she looked inside, deep into the mess of gleaming wires. With a smirk, Cortana pulled a wire from its switch and pressed the panel back on its place.
"Comms off, just in case." she explained, and she threw the towel over her head again. "I can't believe Osman put you a tail, now. Like it isn't crowded enough aboard this ship. Paranoia, anyone?"
"You were right. The Admiral is up to something."
"You know I hate to say 'I told you so', Chief, but..."
Cortana glanced at her tac-pad, lying on the small nightstand, and she quickly turned it off for some reason. She was still clearly nervous, John wondered if she was still shaken up about what happened earlier that afternoon... he knew he was, anyway. After a while, she put the towel over her shoulders and started to comb her hair with her fingers, with overacted nonchalance. She sat on the bed crossing her legs and patted the spot right beside her.
"Want to sit down?"
"I'm fine." he responded, immediately.
"I guess you didn't make it all the way here just to stare while I dry my hair, right? Is something wrong?"
John didn't say anything for a few seconds. Where to start?
Then he found himself looking at her bare legs, more precisely, her thighs. He felt an itch on the palms of his hands, like...
"Aren't you going to get dressed?" John cleared his throat.
Cortana blinked a few times, surprised. "I'm dressed."
"Just a t-shirt?"
"What is this? The fashion police? I'm sorry, officer, do you want to check if I'm wearing any panties too?" she deadpanned, cocking an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care about nudity."
He felt nerves twitch beneath his skin, for some reason.
"I don't care about your underwear." the Chief answered, quickly.
"Then I'm dressed, for what you care. Go on." she waved a hand, encouraging him to talk.
John was certain that he didn't care about nudity before, but after such a disturbing dream he wasn't anywhere near being in complete control of himself. This had to have a physical cause, something that could be fixed. Dr. Halsey once fixed him up to be the best soldier he could ever become, freeing him from distractions and weaknesses. She made him better, faster, stronger, healthier, almost invincible. This was all the same. How come the sight of a simple pair of legs, or the sound of a familiar -cherished- voice could bring him down to his knees like that?
It was outrageous. Absolutely ridiculous.
She was looking at him carefully now, her hands clutching the end of the shirt.
"Chief, really, what is it?"
"I..."
He never was much of a talker, true, but his voice never faltered him like this.
She stood up. He tilted his head up, snapping to attention.
"So. Elimination process." Cortana started, pulling the towel off her shoulders. She paced back and forth before him, her eyes fixed on his face. "You're wounded but under treatment. Given the hour, I'd say you already ate, so you're not hungry. It's not about the ONI agents, I can feel it, which means it's not about Osman either. You could be worried about the Arbiter and the people at Sanghelios, that's one. But you could also be worried about Seven coming back when least expected..."
He pursed his lips when she mentioned the Rampant Spike.
Cortana stopped her pacing and faced him; the uneasiness was still there, he could feel it. She was too far away from his hands' reach, which was a good thing.
"You've been thinking about her." she sentenced.
This time, John swallowed hard.
Cortana approached, her steps were reluctant. She hesitated, but still moved her hand forward and placed it on the Chief's forearm, wrapping her fingers around his wrist as much as she could. John felt the immediate release of all the pressure he'd been trying to keep under control. It was true, physical contact had comforting properties. He could understand why people considered it a necessity, why every soldier he ever shared a post with couldn't keep his mouth shut about lovers, family or friends. The Chief took in a deep breath full of the smell of standard issue soap and clean skin, tasting the subtle yet strong scent of a female beneath the other inert odors.
How could he focus on that scent -female- so easily, like an animal?
The throbbing sensation returned, but this time it wasn't unpleasant.
He stood still for a long moment.
But then, he tried anyway: "It's difficult to..."
"It's fine, you don't have to tell me." she cut him off, softly. "Stay as long as you want, Chief. I'm here."
Her friendly smile was enough to ease up his demons. For a while.
"Thank you." John puffed.
"Anytime. I'm not going anywhere without you."
This was real. John finally sighed in relief. She retreated and he watched as she turned her back to him and tied her short hair in a gracious ponytail. Then, she sat cross-legged on the bed.
Cortana offered him to sit down again and this time, he complied.
The Rampant Spike from his dream was right about one thing: Cortana was fire, and he was the moth inevitably drawn to its light and warmth, even if feeling that way about her could get him killed. He just couldn't help himself. He would jump head first into Hell just to keep her by his side.
'I don't want her because she's dangerous.' he thought, realizing how wrong it was, how screwed up it could end up being. He didn't care about ruining his career, he was concerned about what could happen to her. His job was (and it always have been) to take care of her. "I want her because we belong together."
His mind somehow wrapped itself around the concept of 'want' not like proper desire, but like a need; the implication of so much more than just a physical reaction. And he accepted, long ago, that he needed her.
What a mess.
What a soft, slender, warm, beautiful, luscious mess indeed.
TO BE CONTINUED
Well, this episode was what is commonly known as a "filler". Why? Because you asked for it and I felt like complying. Just exploration and fun. Over thirty years of repressed sexuality, come on, this could make some real nice fireworks when the time comes. I wrote this only for the laughs, the awkwardness, the sexyness and pretty much because I wanted to.
I laughed my ass off with the "fashion police" part. And guys, I'm sorry to break this to you, but seems like the Infinity is falling apart given how easily you can pop front panels open, things just drop off from their sockets! Now that Del Rio is a senator he should do something about it! We need funds! Vote the Arbiter!
Everybody, thanks a lot for your comments! You make my day every time ^^
Niko; well, how about that? Today we had a very unnecessary episode but I guess that fun is fun xD thanks for being here! -hugs-
Mk15; very glad to see you around again! -hugs- I hope you're doing okay ^^ It's very flattering that you feel that way about the story, but remember... this is only fanfiction, hehe.
Share your insights on this episode! I know you want to! Let's have fun :) See you next Sunday for more of the actual plot xD