RECOMPOSE
by Ladywolvesbayne
Here's to your fellow comrade who guessed the right answer, Hyperdragon97. Keep your mouth shut and your fingers tied, pal. Nobody else must know for now. This chapter is in your honor. -hugs-
21. SWEEPING TOUR
proofread and correction by: SL4Y3R -hugs-
SEPTEMBER 7TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
S-DECK'S MED-BAY
11:42 PM standard time - mission clock: 02:59:12
"Sigrid, get out of there! They downloaded an alien AI inside the system!"
Sigrid spun on her heels, metaphorically speaking, when she sensed the presence.
Something was overlapping with her.
Before she realized, the foreign AI tapped into her shell code prowling out in the open between endless streams of data. If it could be described physically, it would be as an octopus: many dynamically encrypted tentacles protected by thick layers of firewalls, with a ravenous code programmed to absorb other sources of information.
To absorb other AIs, and make them part of a new entity. Like the Flood.
Good thing that ninety-five percent of her was still safe with the Master Chief. She could take the challenge, see which one of them was the best digital warrior, but Sigrid retreated as Cortana suggested since it was a reconnaissance and she shouldn't be picking fights with strangers. Yet, leaving that usurper wander free at the Infinity's net was disappointing, somewhat disloyal.
The Smart AI flowed towards the exit port but she couldn't make it. It wasn't that the port was closed, this strange AI was somehow 'grabbing' her code and pulling her back into the depths of the network. She fought back, decrypting the alien strands trying to merge with hers as fast as she could, but the other AI was rewriting itself extremely fast. She could sense it, a shadow growing bigger and bigger around her: the more she fought, the faster it multiplied.
It didn't seem that smart, but it was a predator. A dangerous one.
She had to make the choice. Sigrid gave up part of the code already under control of the entity, she wouldn't miss those routines anyway. She kept retreating, crawling as she fought the digital tentacles of her attacker, until she found the port and transferred herself completely inside her memory chip.
The link broke and Sigrid quickly reviewed the environment. No more shadows overlapping with her. The whole thing didn't last more than thirty seconds since Cortana gave the order and Sigrid could comply, but for her it was like hours of something only describable as fear. That would be ridiculous, Sigrid knew that she wasn't human, so she wasn't afraid. Still, she ran checksums of her code until she was certain that nothing of the foreign AI came into the Chief's MJOLNIR armor with her.
It was partially true. The shadow wasn't there anymore, but the 'feeling' persisted.
SEPTEMBER 7TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
S-DECK'S MED-BAY
11:43 PM standard time - mission clock: 2:58:42
"She's in." John announced. "Let's move, now."
Sigrid left the Infinity's network at the same time a sound like thunder came from the hallway, making everyone lay down once more. Then there was another thunder, and a third. Someone was pounding on something metallic with a heavy instrument, not so far away from the SPARTANS.
The next sound was utterly familiar: plasma weapons firing.
Roaring and cursing in alien language, too. John stood up and with a strong hand signal commanded the group to move forward, fast. Weapons ready and fangs bare the SPARTANS and the dogs approached an ample resting area in which seven Sangheili Storms were forcing a set of blast doors to open, with Sangheili number eight lying on the floor in a pool of its own purple blood.
"This is the company I warned you about." Sigrid said.
"Oh, look at that. In case you were getting bored." mumbled Madsen, nervous.
Faint human screams called out Cortana's attention. Children's voices. A chill ran through her body and she removed the plasma rifle from her back, ready to pounce and kill. She wasn't scared now, just furious. But when she was about to move, the barrel of a heavy weapon slid through the small crack between the two doors and plucked right into the open mandibles of an unaware Elite shouldering at the gates.
The result was an explosion that burst through brains and bone.
"How do you like my shotgun now, squid-head?" Dr. Quinn's voice yelled from behind the doors.
The Sangheili Storm twitched and fell backwards, his face smashed in purple pulp and dark burnt patches. The rest of them ducked to cover immediately except for one in gray armor that stood forward and thrust his own weapon through the gap, firing inside. There were more human screams, someone was hit. Cortana didn't even make it to raise her rifle: John and SPARTAN Madsen killed five of the remaining Elites with expertly placed shots, lightning-fast, but the sixth realized what happened to his fellow comrades and ran. The alien slid through another corridor, calling out for his brethren.
John just patted Charley on her hip, twice.
The dog bared her huge fangs, growling, and shot ahead leaving Walter behind. Both animals dashed disappearing from sight and a heartbeat later, as the SPARTANS moved through the resting area tainted in purple blood and dead Elites, an amalgam of monstrous sounds came back from the darkness.
Cortana just stared at the empty hallway, shocked.
She snapped out of it when she heard the voices:
"Dr. Quinn!" Tedra called out, crouching near the gap. "This is SPARTAN Grant. Are you all right?"
The silence stretched, only disrupted by weak cries and frightened voices coming from far inside the med-bay. John stood guarding along with DeMarco as Thorne and Hoya kneeled beside the blast doors, weapons ready. After a few seconds of nothing, the barrel of the shotgun peeked through the crack.
"Who else is there?" the woman demanded, her voice stern.
"Doctor, it's Cortana. We came back as fast as we could. I have the entire fire-team Majestic and the Master Chief with me. Is anyone injured? Please, open the doors."
"Either this is my lucky day or I'm fucking dead." the Doctor sighed and the gun retreated, then she appeared at the gap. Her tired face was splattered in purple blood, she looked at everyone and her eyes lingered over John's armored figure. A worn-out smile stretched her lips. "I'm afraid the doors are jammed, we smashed the circuitry and the manual overrides so no one would get inside. You'll probably need a Scorpion tank to break through."
John considered using a few plasma grenades and prove the Doctor wrong, but...
"How many civilians do you have in there?" DeMarco asked out loud, stealing the Chief's thought.
"As many as I could gather and get to safety." the woman answered, serious.
The team leader just nodded. She was a Lieutenant Commander, after all; aside from being Chief Medical Officer of the Infinity, Dr. Marilyn Quinn used to be a very resourceful soldier and field medic back in the day.
"So, if you're trapped, how did you get the weapons?" that was John's inquiry.
The Doctor smirked.
"Very clever, Master Chief. There's another way in to the med-bay, I'm afraid it's nothing glamorous but I think all of you can fit through. Hold position for a moment, I'll draw you a map."
SEPTEMBER 7TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
S-DECK'S MED-BAY
11:47 PM standard time - mission clock: 2:53:58
Cortana assessed the amount of injured and scared civilians scattered across the main aisle of the S-Deck's med-bay, disturbed.
She counted at least sixty people, at least a quarter of that number were children. There were some SPARTANS, only a handful and mostly dressed in their undersuits, but armed and ready to fight. Whatever happened, it was quick and broke the chain of command in half. It was a disaster. She could imagine the situation, people trying to get somewhere safe, to grab a weapon; the disorientation and panic. Seven crippled the crew by taking from them two of their most important assets: the ability to feel ground beneath their feet and their sight. Cortana's breath thickened.
In her head she only saw mayhem, and this was the consequence.
Dr. Quinn dashed back and forth checking on the children and the injured, she had a smoking plasma burn on her left arm herself but didn't seem that worried about it. The woman was right when she said the way into the med-bay wasn't glamorous. Climbing up the duct of the morgue's elevator wasn't easy for six armored SPARTANS either, but the squad accomplished the objective. The duct was too tight for an Elite. John gathered Charley and Walter before starting the climb, their armored harnesses were covered in purple blood and their muzzles still damp with darker fluids. Yet the looks in the dogs' eyes were calm, compliant.
Cortana looked at the children, some of them were crying but all of them definitely scared. She reflected about these kids and thought of John, trying to imagine what kind of childhood the Chief thought he had growing up to become the perfect war machine. She suddenly felt an urge to have eyes on him.
John was talking to Dr. Quinn now, so Cortana approached them carefully.
"Those are Jul 'Mdama's Elites." he observed, coldly.
"You mean those were Jul 'Mdama's Elites." the Doctor stated, laying the shotgun over her shoulder. "And you can figure they weren't here for my popsicles. I can fill you in about what I know."
"Go ahead."
"Somewhere between trying to get here in zero gravity and those freaks banging at the doors a moment ago I lost track of time, but I guess we've been in hiding for over a week." the woman sighed. "It all happened really fast, one moment I was gathering the kids at the main medical deck for routine exams and next it was absolute darkness, people screaming and my feet floating. We're running short on supplies and medicines, but at least the children are okay, none of them was injured. That's all I care about... thank God we have power now, the artificial gravity is a blessing."
"Are you the officer in charge, ma'am?"
Dr. Quinn shook her head. "That would be Commander Palmer, she's taking care of some Elite vermin across the bay, we heard noises before. I have a few members of fire-teams Crimson, Sygma, Taurus, Drachma and Clover with me but no armor, only vests. Strakovsky here has been peeking into their comms, the Elites recently started sweeping through every deck looking for human prisoners, but they don't kill anyone. They're taking them aft, towards the engine room."
She looked at a young Marine that was sitting on the floor, surrounded by several devices, holding half a headphone to his ear and taking notes with a tac-pad. The man seemed utterly focused.
"Any hint on why are they taking people there?" Cortana asked, troubled.
"For what we've heard the Elites don't know, they're just following orders."
"Then we go aft too." the Master Chief stated, serious. He checked on the mission clock, fixed at the upper left corner of his HUD: it said 2:43:14. Nearly twenty minutes wasted already? "Did you hear the recent broadcast?"
"Yes. I guess you don't have much time, you should get going."
"You will have more company very soon." Cortana said, her voice full of concern.
"It's okay. I have a shotgun and a handful of SPARTANS, what could go wrong?" the woman smiled, exhausted.
"John! John!"
John froze, immediately, Cortana just frowned. The sweet voice of a young child poured through the aisle, like a ray of sunshine. Then, this little figure broke from the crowd and ran into the Chief's leg, hugging his armored calf as she laughed, looking up at his faceplate. He didn't step away. And Cortana dropped her jaw when John kneeled down to reach for the child.
The little girl attempted a sloppy salute that he responded. Cortana was stunned.
She laughed again, her sweet blue eyes full of joy.
"Yeah, it's me." John said, his strong voice a little softer. "Are you okay?"
The child only stared at him, the smile on her face was permanent.
Then, Cortana understood. That was Subject Twelve, one of her original splinters. She didn't know how to react, what to say or even think. She'd never actually met the child before (or the other one, Subject Two) and now she couldn't do anything else but stare. Dr. Quinn bent down to pick up the girl in her arms, resting the shotgun against her thigh, and the Chief followed them. The child poked at John's shoulderplate a few times by leaning away from the Doctor, stretching her arms as far as she could.
"I don't know where the other one is." the Doctor said, saddened. "I lost her in the mayhem. I'm sorry, I hope she's..."
The woman didn't finish the sentence, it was a futile aspiration anyway. If Subject Two's brain was highly damaged, as Eleven once stated, it was more likely that she was unable to protect herself, let alone survive against highly trained Elite warriors. Cortana felt her heart shrink a little. She looked at the soft features of her little sister's face; so young, innocent. How could her former digital self spawn a being like this? And what part of the original Cortana was this child, exactly? She couldn't figure it out. It didn't seem like the little one recognized her, either, worth to say the little girl didn't even pay attention to her, she only had eyes for the Chief.
"John!" the child cried, when the older woman tried to take her away.
"No, no. This is no place for you right now, honey." Dr. Quinn decided.
"It's fine." John said, surprising Cortana and the Doctor. He moved his hand to reach for the child, just for a second or two. The little Cortana was about to cry, but she grabbed his thumb with both of her tiny hands. "It will be all right. I promise."
She swallowed her tears and let him go when John retreated, slowly.
Dr. Quinn left, muttering an almost silent 'thank you'. Cortana felt a strange heat grow inside her chest, it was a happy, comfortable sensation. Tenderness, maybe. She'd never seen him like this, it was so reassuring to know that deep down there, under layer after layer of hardened warrior, John was still a person.
A person she loved, she reminded herself.
She looked admiringly at him again, his attention was somewhere else and maybe he didn't realize that she was staring. It was better that way.
Suddenly, Charley and Walter howled in unison and then dashed to the next aisle, out of the blue. A moment later the mutts came back escorting Commander Palmer and a small group of S-IV's, some of them with minor injuries. When she turned around, Sarah recognized fire-team Majestic, the Master Chief and Cortana, since the latter wasn't wearing her helmet. She took her helmet off, the look on her face (aside from the small plasma burns scars over her right cheek and eyebrow) wasn't a welcoming one. The Commander strode towards them, as fast as her limping right leg allowed.
"Well, it was about damn time." Sarah said, dryly. "I knew the ship's power and gravity were back on because of something important. It's good to see your asses in one piece, SPARTANS."
"Commander on deck!" DeMarco snapped to attention.
All six SPARTANS regrouped and saluted the woman, including John.
"Nice suit, ma'am." Grant said, standing still.
The officer saluted back. She was wearing a rare MJOLNIR GEN2 shaded in dark gray with safety-yellow strips, clearly borrowed from the workshops. It was way too colorful, she looked like a deadly (and impressive) test dummy.
"It's a little tight on the chest but it's something since my armor is busted." Sarah explained, shrugging. "How the hell is it that you're here?"
"Actually, Commander, it was quite the endeavor to start with." Cortana said.
She took a minute to report about the mission at shield-world Paragon and what they found there. She tried not to recall the desperation, the paranoia. She didn't mention the moment when she thought Eleven was the Spike's informant, but she narrated about leaving him behind with half of their crew, working on the retrieval of the Forerunner energy generator. It wasn't just a coincidence, she was trying to make that clear. Palmer heard her out attentively and with every word that came out of Cortana's mouth, the darker the features of the Commander became.
It was bad. And it was about to become even worse, that was for sure.
"Where's the Captain?" inquired Thorne, concerned.
"Arrested." Palmer said, with a hint of anger in her voice. "Osman put him in custody when she heard about what he did to help the Master Chief." the look she gave towards John was on fire, but she wasn't going to break all Hell loose over him at that moment, there were more important things to take care of. "I swear, Tom has a thing for pissing off every commanding officer that comes around; the higher the brass, the more exciting it seems to be. Look, life support it's been online but the air quality is getting poorer by the hour now. It wasn't made to run indefinitely in this conditions. Without Roland to take over the systems, we're doomed."
"Manual overrides?" the Chief dared to ask.
Palmer shook her head. "Backup only."
"So, Cortana was right. We need to get Roland back." stated Thorne.
"If he's not already been corrupted. There's an alien AI in the system now, Sigrid ran into it a few minutes ago." Cortana said. "I need to be at the main server rooms and extract Roland's matrix before this infection can get him, it's the direct option."
"You'd have to get the Captain first. You need a security code to enter there and he has the clearance."
"What about Admiral Osman?" that was Hoya's inquiry.
"I don't know where she is, but I know where we can find Tom. And now there's a bunch of 'Mdama's goons between us and him, so pack up and let's get moving. Chief, I'm relieving you from command." the Commander stated, serious.
If she was somewhat expecting him to resist the order, she got disappointed:
"Aye-aye, ma'am." he answered in the same fashion.
That would give him freedom to move across the ship way faster, if Cortana could keep up his pace. He wouldn't have to worry about anything else than completing the assignment and acquiring the target.
"SPARTANS! Gather around!" snapped Sarah, out loud. In few seconds she was surrounded by her soldiers. "Listen up. We have power and gravity now, but this doesn't mean it's going to be a piece of cake. We're scattered across the Infinity. We have two hundred and fifty of the best soldiers the UNSC could produce against a bunch of Elites and a rampant AI spawn. I say we regroup and take them down one by one."
The S-IVs agreed at unison, with a loud 'hooray'.
"Split in teams of three, your first objective is to get armed and armored, ASAP. Secondary objective, assemble with any other SPARTANS you can find, secure your positions and move aft the ship. Turn every split-jaw on your way into a dead body. If you find civilians, protect them; if you find Marines or ODSTs, gather them. Release as many human prisoners as you can find. Priority target one is the Rampant Spike: if you spot her, you kill her. Request Sigrid AI for TEAMCOM links once you're suited up, and for God's sake, don't die on me. Am I clear?"
Another spirited 'hooray' agreed with her orders, the SPARTANS seemed eager to get into action again. Their faces only showed hunger for blood and vengeance.
John felt a bit bothered about that order. He was expecting to be the one to kill the Spike once and for all, but something deep inside him told him that he still had chances for a real showdown with that murderer. Somehow, John had the vague idea that ending the Spike's life was his job, and his alone.
He didn't know where that thought came from, but it disturbed him.
"Good. Move out, people!" Palmer howled, at last.
Fire-team Majestic looked at each other trying to decide how they would split into smaller teams (which meant who would go with Cortana and John). However, the Commander approached them with wary eyes.
"Wait." she said, grabbing DeMarco's shoulder. "Grant, you come with me, we're going to find the Captain. Go get some ammo. The rest of you, move your asses, those Elites won't kill themselves." she dismissed the team with a wave of her hand and they all left, immediately.
"What about us?" Cortana asked.
Palmer looked straight into John's faceplate, slightly tilting her chin up.
"You know? Lasky didn't listen to me, but I said it. I said that you would get us all killed, remember? This mess is on you. People died and more people will die, and it's on you, Master Chief." she started, her voice cold as ice, then turned to look at Cortana; the other woman looked shocked. "Both of you will find Roland and get the Infinity under human control again. I'll get you that security code. Did I make myself clear?"
Cortana wanted to say something regarding the matter of who was to be blamed, but John saluted the Commander with a strong gesture (a little stiff, maybe) and nodded once, cutting his companion off.
"Yes, ma'am." his voice sounded flat, emotionless.
The Commander stared at them as they left, quickly. She was angry, yes, but out of impotence. Out of stress and disappointment. Out of grief and fear. She'd been holding up almost blind and in zero-gee for over a damn week to protect her people and she was worn out, hungry, her recently rebuilt leg and arm hurt like hell. But she wasn't giving up, and she was certain that the Master Chief wouldn't give up either.
Sometimes, she just had to be the bitch and push. It was an occupational hazard.
SEPTEMBER 8TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY
CO QUARTERS DECK
0:29 AM standard time - mission clock: 2:01:34
The COs deck was swarming with Elites.
They obviously were aware of the strategic importance of holding or killing as many commanding officers as they could find, but this was ridiculous. As carefully as they could, Commander Palmer's team (Tedra Grant, a medic in trooper's armor and Walter, one of the only two UNSC K-9 agents left alive for what the Commander knew) moved quickly between the shadows of the corridors, taking out any alien they could reach as silently as possible. That way, they made it to the second level of quarters near the bridge of the ship, where Captain Lasky was supposed to be still imprisoned. He was a Captain, after all; Osman could have gone full bitch-mode on him and just thrown him into a cell at the prison block, but at least she allowed him to keep his dignity.
Sarah leaned in to peek around the corner, for half a second.
She registered four Elites walking down the corridor, heading away from her. All armed with long ranged weapons. She and Grant could take them, hell, she could take all four of them alone if she wished so, but she needed to be practical and brutal. With a quick hand signal, they attacked. Two quick shots, one stab right in the eye and Walter ripped to shreds the throat of the fourth Elite; the alien enemies were down within five seconds, the corridor fell silent.
"Sigrid, are we alone?"
Sigrid used the sensors embedded in Sarah's armor to check the environment.
ALL CLEAR. PROCEED.
"Thanks. The Captain's quarters are around the next corner."
"Do we even know if the Admiral is alive?" Tedra asked, concerned.
"I don't know and honestly, I don't care about her right now." Palmer spat back.
"Commander, I'm seriously worried about the Captain. He's been in lockdown for almost nine days now, without food or water. If he's alive…" the medic started. "Well, I'm not sure that I have what I need to treat him."
"Let's hope the Remnant didn't find him first." stated Sarah, her voice stern.
She didn't want to think about it, but she was worried about Lasky too. No, she wasn't just worried, she was terrified. She didn't want to run into his quarters and find him lying on the corridor's gratings with his guts turned inside out. Death by starvation would be worse than any plasma powered weapon, she was certain; it was a sluggish, hopeless torture. Those images only fueled her determination to run faster, almost leaving the squad behind.
The door seemed to be in one piece, the Elites didn't make it to blow it up unlike they've seen across the previous quarters. That gave Sarah a little hope. She quickly typed a nine digit code on the door's pad. Tedra and the medic looked at her, intensely. The Commander tilted her head back as the pad flared from red to green and the door unlocked with a click.
"I'm in charge of security, you know?" she said, clearing her throat. "There's only three people aboard this ship who have access to the skeleton-key override."
"We didn't say anything, ma'am." the other SPARTAN shook her head, amused.
Sarah pushed the door open, presenting her gun first.
It was a bit dark inside. Her fingers brushed the desk's side and found the lamp's switch, she turned the amber light on. The room seemed empty, the dim blue emergency lights were blinking, the bed was undressed and the sheets and covers twisted aside. She went in first, followed by the enhanced dog, the medic and Tedra at last.
"Captain Lasky?" she called, softly.
Nothing. Not even a squeak.
"Captain?" she called again, a little louder. "It's Commander Palmer."
Her heart throbbed, blood pumping in her ears. Where was he? Maybe he hid in the bathroom, for safety, since he had no weapons. The Captain's quarters were larger than regular officer's, which meant the place had two main rooms: the bedroom-slash-bathroom, which was perfectly visible from where she was standing, and the study with its desk, a couple of chairs, a file cabinet stacked above a minibar and two closets. Then, Sarah realized that Walter was growling and scratching the door of one of the closets. He managed to open the narrow cabinet and the Commander saw something pale fall under the edge of the half lidded door.
A human hand.
"Tom!" Sarah hissed, scared. She burst the door open and found him.
He was unconscious, crouching inside the closet, clutching an ornamented letter opener as a weapon.
"Tom, come on!" she shouted this time. "Wake up! Hey, can you hear me?"
Sarah grabbed the man by the armpits and hauled him back to the bed, he wasn't responding. The letter opener fell from his hands. Walter crawled with them, whining, sniffing. Sarah had to push aside the massive dog for the medic to come forward and tend to the Captain's state; the man opened his briefcase and sorted out the contents.
"Come on, boy, step back." Tedra dragged the dog backwards, to keep him calm.
"Captain!"
The Commander sat on the bed, clutching the man's body against her armored frame. She held him tight and rattled him a little. The medic stuck a small green patch to the Captain's neck, right where his nine-day beard ended, and tapped across the surface of a pad. The sensor patch immediately scanned him.
"The pulse is weak but steady. He's stable. Dehydrated but stable." the medic said.
"Wake up, Tom!"
"Commander! He's fine, you shouldn't...!"
It wasn't enough for Sarah. She slapped Lasky on the face a few times until he startled and groaned. He opened his eyes and maybe it took him a few seconds to realize what was going on, but when he saw her, he understood.
"Sarah." the Captain whispered, his voice raspy.
"Thank God!" she huffed.
The medic prepared a syringe-gun with a certain formula and injected the content at the man's neck, beside the sensor patch. Tom winced, but didn't complain. Palmer helped him to sit down, still pressed against her breastplate.
"Your face." he whispered, his thumb softly caressed the dotted plasma scars across her right cheek and eyebrow. It wasn't bad, but that wasn't there the last time he saw her. "I'm glad you're okay."
The Commander blushed violently, her skin burning in embarrassment.
The medic handed Lasky a bottle of water, he drank.
"Easy, easy, sir. You shouldn't drink that much yet." the other man said, softly, but the Captain didn't listen. "Oh, well, what the hell."
"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked, worried.
Lasky dropped the bottle after it was empty. "Tired. Hungry, thirsty, you want the whole list? I had barely a bottle of water in my cabinet and not a single knife. The food wasn't the problem." he showed them a plastic-wrapped piece of candy from his jacket's pocket. "I knew it would come in handy someday, that it wasn't just a guilty pleasure."
Snickers. She realized now that there were maybe a dozen empty wrappings scattered across the room.
Sarah dropped her head and shoulders, in deep relief.
"Your personal stash." she recalled, her voice trembling of sheer happiness.
"I was a bit low on reserves but I had a plan."
"You never cease to amaze me, Tom."
"Do I?" he tried to smile.
"Oh, God. You need a toothbrush."
"And you need a shower. We both do, actually."
The medic cleared his throat, while packing the contents of his suitcase again.
"Okay, we're even and we're leaving now." said Sarah "Can you walk? Because I can carry you if you can't."
"I think I can handle walking." Tom refused. "Fill me in with the basics, how long have I been here?"
"You're not even in condition of being Captain of a bathtub boat right now, I'm in charge. We're heading back to the S-Deck's med-bay and you will stay there with Dr. Quinn and her team. You hear me?" she stated, all serious in Commander-mode. Lasky nodded in agreement, as serious as she was, yet he couldn't help but smirk a bit. "Now, give me your clearance codes, Cortana needs them. She and the Master Chief are going to take back the ship."
TO BE CONTINUED
There's something that bothers me a lot, and it's people that hates Sarah Palmer. I'm not saying YOU, magnificent people who stops by to read this story, are the ones who hate her, no. I've been sweeping through some forums lately and a lot of fans seem to hate Sarah a lot, but these fans are never clear about why. It saddens me a lot to see so much hatred, that's all, personally I loved Palmer since the first time I saw her interact with John (it seemed to me that she was just being amicable, not arrogant). That's why I try to make my female OCs worthy, likable, but above all, real human beings.
Anyway, you tell me. I've introduced different sides of Cortana and female OCs with their own attitudes, what do you think about them?
Don't leave me hanging! Let's meet again next Sunday and have a good time ^^ Review, fav or follow if you like!