RECOMPOSE
by Ladywolvesbayne
Here's checkpoint three on my list of 'borderline insane decisions for this fanfic', so let's hope this comes out OK. Enjoy! Also: Thank God someone told me that the links in my profile are useless. It took me ten years to realize this. Literally, TEN YEARS. Good. I had only one job... anyway, if you want to check out the fanmix, just search "recompose" + "8tracks" at Google and it should appear first. 1:14 hours of music related to this monster.
17. LUCKY BREAK
PROBABLY AUGUST 14TH, 2558
LOCATION: COVENANT REMNANT ASSAULT CARRIER SONG OF RETRIBUTION
standard time unknown
"You were right." she whispered, about to explode.
"Well, naturally."
Dr. Halsey paused the video feed when the woman on the screen dropped dead to the floor, by the fifteenth time. She turned to look at the Rampant Cortana's face, trails of fresh but angry tears traced down her cheeks.
The creature was crying, as if her heart was broken.
"He murdered me and his hand didn't even shake." she said, drowning in rage.
"He didn't kill you, he just killed a flash-clone of you."
'I'd kill you myself if I didn't need you to get to the Fortress.' Dr. Halsey thought, the fact that she was furious too hid what she was really thinking.
This abomination, this corrupted construct, wanted to eliminate John.
She'd never exactly been the 'maternal' kind of person, not even with her daughter (although she loved Miranda deeply), but when somebody tried to hurt her SPARTANS she could become really dangerous. John was one of her last remaining 'children' and for a very long time he was her favorite subject of the S-II program. How could anyone think that she would just sit back and watch while this monster attempted to kill him?
The Doctor convinced the Spike to send in a flash-clone to battle instead of going herself, but she took her time to sabotage the operation. A few strands of Forerunner code here and there, extracted from another dead AI, and voilà: a flash-clone set to lose its mind and collapse, eventually. It wasn't that Dr. Halsey didn't trust John's skill, but she suspected he was compromised and she wanted to make sure that he would survive the match. She wasn't wrong about that, either.
It was both breathtaking and heartbreaking to see what he had become.
The video feed gave Dr. Halsey even more interesting data: there were at least two more of Cortana's rampant pieces made flesh, one of them male. It was amazing. She figured out what happened to John after his disappearance in 2552, and how did Cortana survive, even in her fragile fragmented state. The Rampant Cortana mentioned that she had 'ears' inside the Infinity, but it wasn't just that: she had a hidden access point to the flagship's systems. She was spying on them, yet the Doctor had no idea of how. Nobody aboard the Infinity noticed anything, not even Roland.
The deeper Dr. Halsey investigated the matter, the more she became stunned and frightened, and it almost made her forget about her crusade against the UNSC. It was a time bomb. If this damaged construct kept evolving, she would be unstoppable. She was nearly immortal now, seeing that to kill her physically was useless judging for the data purge that disintegrated the clone's corpse.
The need to get to this so-called Forerunner Fortress was now imperative. Since the Ark was now under UNSC control, the Fortress was the last bastion of Forerunner knowledge and it was the only artifact -or world- not to be listed within the Janus Key. Yet, this altered Cortana refused over and over again to share the Fortress' coordinates, that is, if she wasn't bluffing about knowing them.
"He keeps betraying me." the Rampant Cortana's angry voice broke with a mix of tears and humiliation. "I guess he is a machine, after all."
Dr. Halsey pursed her lips, uneasy.
She proceeded to kill the video feed on the screen and faced the creature, thinking about how to say what she had in mind. The Rampant Cortana collected her tears with her sleeve, her fists clenched. She was trembling.
Such a complex, although irrational creature...
"The UNSC confiscated the armor. What a waste." Dr. Halsey commented, dryly.
"It doesn't matter, it was worth the risk." the other woman said, her face was now serious and it had no trace of sadness. "I'm replicating a new model already, it should be finished within two standard weeks if nothing goes wrong. This one will be better and faster, you'll see."
"I'm very interested in this replication process you use."
"All in due time, Catherine. Now, it's time to move to phase two."
Most of her answers were cryptic like that one. It irritated Dr. Halsey to no end, it made her feel like a pawn (more like a defenseless mouse in the paws of a very unstable cat) and she could be accused of being anything but a simple pawn. Yet, since she was very young, Catherine Halsey knew that if she wanted the true answers she had to find them herself.
The most important question, however, would remain unanswered.
The laboratory's blast doors slid aside and Jul 'Mdama's armored figure strode in; the Shipmaster's rage reflected in the way he kept his in claws, as a threat. Behind him, his guarding party stood still but none of them drew their weapons. None of the women moved, they didn't need to hide.
"Disgrace!" he hissed, in a low growl. "My fleet was humiliated, and what for?"
"Jul, I suggested you to stay hidden in the dark side of the moon." said Dr. Halsey.
"NONSENSE!" the Elite leader snarled. "My warriors are not cowards!"
"Then, what are you exactly complaining about?" the Rampant Cortana said, her lips curved in a venomous smirk. "You humiliated yourself."
'Mdama growled towards her. He wasn't scared of that strange creature but he didn't want to cross her either, his wise instinct compelled him to not engage combat. Although stripped off her mysterious armor, that monster could still be very dangerous. Just looking at her caused him revulsion, it was her smell what he hated (and respected) the most. Something wasn't right with her.
"Why do I keep listening to your suggestions, human?" Jul roared, and he grabbed the elder woman by the neck with his enormous hand, pushing her against the consoles. "You promised me that I would crush the Heretics if I granted you protection, yet I see no progress!"
"We are closer than ever, Jul." Dr. Halsey gasped, still defiant.
"I had enough of your words." the Elite leader growled, furious. "My fleet had to flee from battle like defenseless insects and you still don't explain why? Don't you see, how this damages my warrior's morale? What is it that you are planning?"
"You should be more careful with that old lady, you know." the Rampant Cortana said, still amused. "Let her go and I'll tell you how and when you're going to become the most powerful leader in this Universe, Jul 'Mdama. But you have to be a good boy and lend us a paw from time to time, or otherwise you won't see a single new soldier for your little army."
"Speak!" the Shipmaster demanded, angrily.
"It's so simple I'm shocked you haven't figured out all by yourself: as long as the Demon and his people lives, you'll never succeed. You help me take down the Demon known as SPARTAN-117, and I personally will fire up a Composer for you. It will run for an eternity and produce infinite soldiers."
He shouldn't trust her, but he knew she was speaking the truth.
The gigantic Elite looked at her grimly for a long moment, then he looked back at Dr. Halsey. Finally, he chose to release the older woman and took a long step back, still towering over them. The Rampant Cortana flinched her nose, the alien's leathery scent was hard to stand in such close proximity.
"Killing the Demon would bring me glory." 'Mdama said, ominous.
"Imagine the possibilities."
The Shipmaster clicked his mandibles in frustration and nodded, still upset.
"Make it happen. I want results, or I will throw both of you off an airlock."
"Who could resist such gentle words?" the Rampant Cortana smiled.
Dr. Halsey rubbed the sore skin of her fragile neck and observed as the alien left, leaving them alone in the laboratory again. The younger woman stretched her arms over her head, satisfied. When the doors closed, the Doctor resumed her work at the console, her only hand trembling in anger.
"With friends like this who needs enemies, right?" Cortana chirped, playfully.
"We aren't friends." Dr. Halsey corrected her, disgusted. 'Fine, let's play along, the two of us. I need to know what the endgame is.' the woman thought, while tapping lines of code without even looking at the screen above. "We just happen to share some common interests."
"Relax, Catherine." the Spike said, softly, as if she were capable of reading thoughts. "If someone is going to end John's life, it will be me. I picked him, after all. He's mine."
AUGUST 16TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY IN SLIP-SPACE
STRATEGIC COMMAND AISLE
8:45 PM standard time
Osman said no.
Back when the Captain suggested it, she said no to the Arbiter splitting up with the UNSC fleet and taking the survivors to a proper colony. She said she didn't trust the Arbiter that much, but then, any ONI officer would say the same; their job was not to trust anyone. Now, after the tragic events with the Covenant Remnant's unexpected attack, the possibility was off the table for good.
The Infinity was on her way to New Carthage, their next stop.
John, on the other hand, was feeling really uncomfortable. He didn't know what to make of what happened with Cortana lately (also, that strange dream just kept him on edge, wondering about many things) and he was more focused than ever in getting that extensive medical scan performed on him. He was certain that whatever was going on had a physical cause and it could be fixed.
A small part of him rebelled against the idea, the sensations were too pleasing to just give them up.
Pleasing or not, it was interfering with his efficiency as a soldier and he couldn't afford that. Over his shoulders rested the responsibility not only for Cortana's life, but for everyone's welfare aboard that ship. Duty and personal issues never mixed well. He was taking the matter directly to Dr. Quinn as soon as possible.
The Chief focused on the meeting, in the meantime.
"A Forerunner generator." Osman repeated, somewhat dissatisfied. "I thought we had one of those in this ship."
"The Infinity's Forerunner engines were adapted to run on more accessible energy sources." Dr. Glassman explained, pushing his glasses up his nose. "If Cortana's theory is correct (which I believe is plausible), we can't kill the Rampant Spike unless her data is erased from the Domain; which now, after the decommission of the Ark, seems like it can only be accessed from the Fortress. And there's no way we can reach the Fortress without a Forerunner generator to produce the energy such an extreme jump requires. Traveling in stages would take months, we only have a few weeks to do something. I'd say we're stuck if it wasn't because we can try and look for one of this beauties in some shield-world within our range. That is our best chance right now."
It was strange to see Henry Glassman so optimistic about something.
"How long would that take?" the Admiral asked.
"We have to find a generator, first." the engineer said, annoyed.
"I mean finding it, Doctor."
"I don't know. It's a very specific energy source, even if we succeed in locating it, I don't know if it's portable or if I can make it sync with our engines. There's so much Forerunner technology we still haven't properly studied..."
The Chief sighed slowly, closing his eyes.
They needed to go to the source of the problem if they wanted to end it for good, he understood that. Rip it clean from the very root like it was a vicious weed. He peeked at the other side of the table, where Cortana was sitting beside Dr. Glassman, quietly. She wasn't looking at him, in fact, she didn't look at him at all since the meeting started and John didn't know what to make of it either.
"All right." Osman stated, weary. "Master Chief?"
He straightened his pose, ready to comply.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"You'll be in charge of the operation." she said, serious. "Recon under surface in a Forerunner shield-world of Dr. Glassman's choice. Alpha priority, search and recover a functional Forerunner energy generator. Choose your operatives and file in the roster tomorrow morning, you have until we drop the civilians in New Carthage to train and educate your crew if necessary, which is..."
"Sixteen standard days." one of Osman's officers specified.
"Understood." John nodded once.
"Cortana?"
"Yes, Admiral."
"You'll be head of the scientific staff, directly under the Master Chief's command. Dr. Glassman will spare a crew for you and provide guidance from the Infinity, we can't afford to deploy all of our technicians at once."
She nodded too, accepting the orders.
Then, she looked at John for the first time in the whole meeting. Their eyes found each other and she carefully winked at him, with a faint smile embellishing her lips. The simple gesture made the Chief feel excited for absolutely no reason whatsoever. It was like seeing the sun after spending months in a cave or something.
The room fell silent. That place didn't seem the same without the presence of the ship's Captain or the SPARTAN Commander, not even Roland had permission to enter. Something was missing and something else lurked in the shadows, most likely the fear of being wrong. Osman rose from her chair and saluted.
"Fine. Everyone is dismissed. Good night."
AUGUST 16TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY IN SLIP-SPACE
ENGINEERING DECK
10:23 PM standard time
Cortana closed the lid of the suitcase once all of the small pieces of her HARPY armor crawled inside and deactivated. The crate sealed itself with a low hiss, now inert. She heard someone cough softly behind her back and when she turned to see, she found Eleven; he was at the open blast doors of the main quarantine sub-facility. There were two trays of warm food on his hands.
"Aren't you hungry? It's kind of late."
"I've been busy." she answered, barely smiling. "What happened to your face?"
She was talking about the massive purple circles beneath his eyes and around his nose, indication that he had broken bones. She haven't seen him since the day before but she knew he underwent a surgical procedure to clear his respiratory tract after the battle with Seven. Something about blood coagulating inside his nose and upper airways that could have asphyxiated him.
"I fell on our dear sister's boot, remember?" Eleven said, upset.
"Oh, right." Cortana chuckled, amused.
"I don't see what's so funny about it. She caught me off guard."
"Did you know?"
"About what?"
"About what happens when one of us dies."
He remained silent for a few seconds, but she wasn't afraid to hear a lie.
"I had no idea what it was, but I saw it when Seven murdered Five. The body just disintegrated and I took off with Two and Twelve right away. The others wanted to stay behind and fight." Eleven answered, after a moment. He sighed deeply. "It should have been me, not them. Catherine made me go."
Cortana shivered, trying not to think about blood or death.
Eleven handed her one of the trays, they headed back together to the laboratories. She wasn't hungry now, but she knew she had to eat, her body needed it.
"She'll be back, won't she?" he asked, genuinely worried.
"I think we both know the answer to that." she said, insensibly. "Seems like your little prediction about Seven stealing the Infinity was wrong, after all."
"You know what are the odds, Cortana."
Yes, she knew. Her combat core's accuracy margins were always off the charts.
They sat around a small coffee table, in uncomfortable silence.
The third shift's staff was working on another aisle, so they were pretty much alone and the quiet was welcome. They could spend a few minutes under the illusion of safety and peace. Cortana stirred with a plastic spoon the content of one of the tray's compartments and took in a very small bite. It tasted like stew made of cardboard, or something. If this was Sangheili processed meat, then it was awful. Cortana swallowed the paste anyway, she hadn't realized how hungry she really was.
"Did you hear the news?"
"Shield 0313." Eleven nodded. "Engineers can't keep their mouths shut."
"Then you can figure that you're coming with me."
"Why? I don't even know what you will be looking for."
Cortana rolled her eyes, sighing. "You have the remaining functional HARPY. The Chief will be running the show, so he's not an option. I might need help."
"So, you basically need someone to boss around? I'm your man."
He smiled, making her feel better, but ate in silence from then on, for a while.
Worried, Cortana glanced at the sealed yellow crate behind Eleven, the unit that contained the HARPY recovered from the nonexistent remains of Subject Seven. It was picked up from ground zero by SPARTANS, so the thing didn't show any signs of being active, just like any other armor of the kind according to Eleven.
"What do we do with that?" she whispered, uneasy.
He looked over his shoulder and understood what she meant, instantly.
"Kill it with fire." Eleven said, serious. "It will be for the best, trust me."
She looked at him, sarcastically.
"You know what I mean. Drop it inside a plasma pit and forget about it."
"We could use it. Do you know how to wipe its programming?"
He shook his head vigorously, almost scared. "No clue."
"There must be a way to erase the current DNA signature and rearrange its matrix. Who knows? Maybe I can hack it using with my HARPY, if I can make the two of them interface together..."
"I'm not sure you should do that. What if it hacks you back instead?"
Cortana considered it for a moment. "You're right."
It was a shame, really. If they could find a way to replicate or reverse-engineer its built-in technology, who knew how much they could improve the MJOLNIR armors, or what kind of new armors or weapons the UNSC could develop? That stealth matrix was really something else.
Still, none of them should forget who did that armor belong to. The thing was as valuable as it could be dangerous.
'Maybe I should drop it into a plasma pit.' Cortana thought, and finished her meal.
AUGUST 17TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY IN SLIP-SPACE
S-DECK MEDICAL BAY
11:15 AM standard time
"What exactly do you expect me to find, Master Chief?" Dr. Quinn said, a little annoyed. She knew him for little over six months and he'd never been this persistent about anything before. He stormed her office requesting for an emergency full-body exam along with chemical tests, the whole package. But when she gave him the good news (nothing was wrong), he said she should run the tests again. Which was ridiculous. "Like I already said, you are healthier than anyone I know. Please, enlighten me because I'm failing to see where this is heading."
"I've been feeling this strange urges. I want them gone."
She pushed her glasses down to the tip of her nose, curious and confused.
"Urges? What kind of urges?"
"I can't stand being away from Cortana, and this tendency to touch her and want her to be close to me is affecting my efficiency. I can't think of anything else when she's nearby. This already caused me to fail in complying with my orders twice in the past few months. I'm sure it can be fixed."
The Doctor opened her mouth, she had a weird epiphany attempting to figure out what was he trying to say.
"Oh. You mean you feel sexually attracted to her? That kind of urges?"
"Yes."
She arched an eyebrow, surprised. She thought it wasn't possible. Because, well...
"Master Chief, do you know what an erection is?"
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not three years old, Doctor."
"I'm sorry, I just... you don't understand what you're going through."
"I understand just fine. I want it fixed."
"I can't fix you, SPARTAN, because you are not a piece of equipment." she said, stoically. It wasn't entirely true that she couldn't, but she wasn't a fan of turning people into something like machines. "Chief, I must insist; you don't understand."
"Then explain."
The Doctor slowly removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, frustrated. Then, she sighed and faced John with a worried look.
"I studied the SPARTAN physiology when I was commissioned to serve aboard the Infinity. Being in charge of the health of three hundred souls isn't an easy task, you know? The S-IV's are pretty similar to regular human beings except for their augmented physiques, which takes double or triple doses of medication, special contingency plans, nothing beyond that." she said, her voice softened. "But you are an S-II, and everything I know about your class is... vague. Secret, classified. I know a thing or two about your origins, yes, which explains a lot but not enough. There are not many specimens of your batch either, Master Chief, so it's difficult to treat you in medical terms because I'm not Dr. Catherine Halsey. I'm aware of that. The first time I treated you, when you were recovered from the debris of the Mantle's Approach, I noticed some peculiarities and I knew they were inherent to the S-IIs. For example, the curiously low levels of testosterone, which by definition should make you a toothpick of a man instead of the big, strong male you are today. Dr. Halsey compensated that hormonal suppression with chemical agents and a thyroidal implant in order to maintain your aggression levels mostly on check and accelerate your physical development."
The Doctor gave him a wary look.
"Mentally, you are as experienced and mature as a man of your age and situation can be. Physically, and I figure it's because you have spent a lot of time in cryo-sleep, you have the constitution and health of a man on his middle thirties. But sexually... well, you are underdeveloped. You have the sexual maturity of a fifteen, maybe sixteen-year-old boy. I think that what you are facing is a delayed stage of puberty."
John was listening, carefully. He didn't know much about the procedures of the augmentation (since he was sedated every time it happened) but he understood what she was saying. And he didn't like where this was going.
"Your thyroidal implant stopped working about three years ago, for what I can tell; but it's irrelevant at this point since you keep yourself in good shape and you have already developed all of your potential physical growth. I think the cause might have been the prolonged cryo-sleep aboard the wreckage of the Dawn, it may have messed up with the implant. We have to thank Cortana that she kept the rest of your implants under check or now they probably would be disabled too. If you ask me, that malfunction may have triggered this late puberty, but there's no way to be certain about it... if, for what I've been told, you had an encounter with the Forerunner known as the Librarian and she performed some kind of procedure on you."
"She made me immune to the Composer." John nodded, once.
"But what else did she do to you? To know better, I'd probably have to dissect you." She said, reflective. John frowned, a little alarmed. Dr. Quinn smiled and waved a hand. "I was joking. Relax. Nobody is going to dissect you."
"Are you sure you can't fix it?"
"You want me to fix your puberty. That's cute." she smiled again, amused. "The truth is, Master Chief, that I could do something about it if I was willing to try, but, like I already said, I'm not Dr. Halsey. From my perspective, you are absolutely fine. I can give you some anxiolytics to control this uneasiness you're feeling, but aside from that, I wouldn't recommend anything else if you want to keep this precious efficiency of yours uncompromised."
So, she was basically saying that she could do something, but she wouldn't.
John pressed his lips together in a hard line, displeased.
"And It's not just about the implant, there's also an important evolution." the Doctor continued. She pulled on her glasses and took her data pad. A file projected on the wall screen showing complicated graphics with many percentages and shimmering columns of data. "This is a comparison between your first complete exam under my care and the results of today's tests. See anything different?"
He observed, then responded: "A lot of parameters are different."
"True. But pay attention to this." she approached the big screen and pointed at a specific section of the summary. Hormones. Not only testosterone, but also dopamine, serotonin, adrenalin and cortisone among others. "I'm not that sure of what happened between then and now, but I'm glad it happened. This was you under PTSD a year and a half ago. This, here, is you today. You are doing remarkably better. Do you really want that to change?"
He shut his mouth and straightened his pose, realizing that he was being stubborn for no reason. John cleared his throat. "What should I do?"
"Beats me. Fraternization is not to be encouraged, but if you ask me, I'd say you not only want to get laid and be done with it, there's something deeper here. Hell, just connecting the dots, I'd dare to say that you had very strong feelings for this Cortana even before she became human." Dr. Quinn said, her voice now gentler.
"That is..."
"Oh, don't say it's ridiculous. Don't you dare." she raised her index finger, serious. "It's perfectly normal. Emotional bonding goes beyond any form of physical attraction, that's why friendship exists. Or love, just because we are talking about it. In your case, I guess I shouldn't even be surprised."
"Then I should just... go with it?"
"It would be highly unethical of me to advise you to have sex with one of your comrades, but the only thing you're doing wrong is trying to suppress those feelings. Do you want me to transfer your case to Dr. Waters? This is more her area of expertise, not really mine."
John considered it for a moment.
"No. I can take it from here."
"Are you sure?"
"You made things clear, this is something I need to deal with."
The Doctor pushed her glasses up again and pursed her lips. For a cheerful fifty-five-year-old woman that had seen an awful lot of gore and weird things in her career, there was a hint of red flush on her cheeks.
"I hope you know what you're doing." she sighed, concerned.
"I don't, but I'll figure it out. Cortana explained me most of the theory."
"She did what?"
He took a deep breath, but he wasn't embarrassed or anything.
"She showed me some videos, a few years ago." John explained, serious.
Dr. Quinn held a gasp, trying not to picture in her mind what kind of videos an AI construct could have showed him out of her good will. Although, knowing where that AI came from in the first place, she realized maybe she was overreacting.
"I have to warn you, Chief, the real thing is nothing like those videos." she said.
John slightly grinned. "Then it should be interesting."
He was about to leave, but the Doctor grabbed him by the forearm and stopped him. The Chief turned his head to her with all of his attention, sharp blue eyes almost piercing the woman's worried face.
"Maybe one little advice, if you're willing to try." she said, whispering. "Be gentle and listen to her. If you keep that in mind, you'll be just fine. You both will be."
John nodded. "Noted. Thank you, Doctor."
TO BE CONTINUED
Well, yes, that was my (sorry ass) attempt of filling a huge ass void in some things from the books that didn't make much sense to me. Also, Dr. Quinn is a badass trying to get the Chief to loosen up a bit, don't you think? xD
I'm not a biologist but I know my way around genetics and stuff; I tried my best to elaborate a decent representation and theory, it's the explanation that works for me xD Maybe the authors believe that the explanation given in Fall of Reach is all that there is about the subject, but obviously for the fans it's not enough; otherwise there wouldn't be so many fanfics exploring this specific side of the lore.
Why is Jul 'Mdama so afraid of the Spike? Something smells fishy here.
Niko; thanks a lot, pal! Really, it means a lot when people says they can't wait to read more of this monster xD
Rory; The Chief a 'leg man'? You think? We'll go for that then, I always thought that Cortana has beautiful hips and legs, haha. Loved the soundtrack recommendation, it's already on my playlist ^^
Guest; as always, my pleasure to entertain you :) thanks for stopping by!
Lance Corpral; in the light of recent discoveries, people would argue with you about THE Reclaimer, but I'm with you there. If you made it this far, you know that I'm aware about the debate on John's real age. And I'm very glad that you find my work good, I'll try to keep it up until the end ^^ -hugs-
ALMOST FORGOT: I'm in Tumblr, if you want to stop by. Same username. And I must warn you that the next episode may or may not be suitable for readers under 16, just be careful. Now, fulfill your duty and leave a comment, come on! I know you want to do it :P