"It is my belief that among you, there are the men and women who will make the difference. Each victory will require you all at your best, each defeat will demand of you the need to learn, to understand and to move on, with iron in your hearts and fire in your eyes. There will be no surrender, no capitulation, no mercy, and no quarter. You will be the instrument of human ingenuity and courage… and you shall see us through these dark days."
The parade ground stretched out for miles. In the warmth of Sol's graceful rays, several thousand new officers stood on the hallowed tarmac of Luna's parade ground as Lord Hood's speech reached its emotional and stirring peak.
Maddie stood tall and proud, clad in black, with her First Lieutenant's pin on her uniform alongside the comparatively small number of fresh new ONI officer's who stood apart from the rank and file of the Navy servicemen. Already, Maddie could see suspicion in their eyes, anger, and in some: fear. It had never failed to impress Maddie, that sort of sheer reputational power that ONI seemed to possess. Her eyes wandered over her UNSC compatriots, much in the same way that she had seen Drake regard her all those years ago. It felt strange, to do the same to others, to know that you inspired such emotion in others. It was a power that Maddie revelled in, sparking her pride and stoking the fire that had kindled in her belly since she entered that vault on Skopje.
Next to her, equally proud, was Katya Volkovskaya. Katya had not spoken a word to her since they fought in the pit almost a week ago, but the rage in her mind's eye had not abated over the last week and Maddie didn't think it ever would.
She had ultimately been made a First Lieutenant as well but what mattered most was their legacy at Luna and that was ultimately a victory for Maddie. It probably stung, that she had been blind to the lengths that her rival was willing to go, but Maddie had learned four years ago that when it came to ONIs best, there wasn't anything off-limits, there were no lengths you didn't go to.
The mission comes first.
Katya had needed to learn that lesson and likely needed to learn it still, she would need to find the strength to reach the limits of what she found acceptable, and push beyond it, to truly find her potential.
The ceremony drew to a close as the earth rotated in orbit with its usual grace, Maddie had spent most of the last hour standing at ease, gazing up at the ancient nations that floated by. They dominated her imagination and gave her inspiration every time one of her favourites passed her by.
Several ONI personnel drew close and reorganised them all into new lines, not by rank but by assignment. Maddie remained standing beside Katya, eyeing her uneasily. Hoping to God that this would all soon be over. Orders were handed out; furlough's and awarded to everyone. Maddie grinned, knowing that she would be able to go see her sister soon.
The United Kingdom hung in the sky. It was one of her favourites, and she tried to find Oxford, where her sister wanted to go, and Windsor, where she had been resettled. It all looked the same to Maddie, who despite having a wealth of knowledge and experience on Earth, was unable still to make out the little motes of light from space. Earth was truly a playground, not just for Maddie, but for the budding officer as well. There was so much diversity, history, and culture there that you had to try to remain unenriched by it all.
The Naval graduates began to fall out, dismissed as Lord Hood and his staff departed with a swarm of clout-chasing teachers and sycophants at his heels. Maddie was unfazed by it, instead enjoying the warmth of the day on her skin. An orderly arrived, having walked down the line, to award Maddie her schedule and orders in an envelope, stamped with the Office of Naval Intelligence insignia on the front.
She ran her fingers over it, savouring the moment, before looking up at earth as it hung in the sky.
Yes, she was ready.
Her nail slid under the adhesive and she tugged delicately at the enveloped, tearing it open.
To: Harper, Madeleine (Lieutenant)
Furlough: 2 day(s)
Orders: Report to UNSC Enigma for briefing and assignment (Specifics to follow)
Paper was old fashioned, but Maddie loved the pomp and circumstance of it all. The pit, the parade ground, the furlough to earth, and training in its historical stomping grounds; it all gave the graduates of Luna Academy an understanding of what it was that was truly at stake. Human civilisation and culture were at risk and little progress had been made in the years since she had escaped the Battle of Skopje. There was little free time to be had, and Madeleine spared no time as she took a shuttle bus from the parade ground back to her apartment on the campus.
"Ma'am." Walsingham said, as she entered. "You have one more message, left by your mother, shall I play it?"
"No." Maddie replied bluntly, "and stop notifying me when she tries to call."
"Are you sure, Ma'am?"
"Yes." she said tersely, "use your time to have my things moved to Eliza's place, instead. That would be a much better use of your time."
"Very well Ma'am." he said, obediently, "should I delete the messages as well?"
Maddie stopped and sighed. She looked down at her small bag of luggage that she would take out on furlough.
"I..." she began, before changing her mind, "archive them for now, just in case. I'm serious though, Wally, no more updates, is that understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am, understood."
"Good, because I'll need you at your best when we're in the field."
"You received permission for me to accompany you?" he asked, wryly.
"Of course not, but when has that ever stopped us?" she replied, docking a small thumb drive into his central processing unit and copying him across.
He didn't reply as he was secured inside the drive but Maddie knew that he approved, it was what she had designed him for after all. She opened the door and left the apartment for the last time, dropping the order to relocate her things at the desk with the administration staff and catching another shuttle to the docking bay.
Maddie couldn't help but feel confident as she swaggered through customs, flashing her ONI ID at the young teenagers and civilians manning the port. They looked at her fearfully, her tall and graceful figure putting the fear of God into one particularly stout looking security officer. It was all a part of the allure of the job. The status, the reverence, the power, the fear, it made becoming an ONI agent a particularly attractive prospect to certain people.
"Your pass checks out, Ma'am, you may board when ready." the young woman said, watching her.
"Thank you, Ensign Taylor." Maddie replied, glancing at the girl's chest.
Maddie strode past the other passengers and boarded the shuttle, waiting patiently for it to take off as the rest of the passengers boarded slowly. She relaxed in her seat besides the window. The shuttle whirred and shuddered as the engines spooled up and the craft left the port, shooting up into the sky with a power and speed that thrilled the young Lieutenant as Earth grew larger and larger in her view. For a long time, there was nothing but the enticing blackness of space. Maddie felt as though there was little to be scared of in space. Space represented the great possibilities of the human race. In getting there, they had created their deadliest weapons, they had taken their biggest steps, levied untold risk, and shown an unwillingness to bow before nature. It truly was a place she adored and loved; what she loved even more however, was entering Earth's atmosphere.
It began with the cold black of space. She looked out of the view port and smiled as, at the edge of her view, the blue hues of an atmosphere tugged at the edges of space. Then, the shuttle warmed as the atmosphere pushed and yawed the craft as it battled its way into the atmosphere. Maddie grinned as space fell away to the dark blue of the upper atmosphere and the warmth of the planet began to fill the cabin as it rocked and jittered.
Then suddenly, the brightness of a clear sky, the fluffiness of the cloud layer, and finally: the green and rolling hills of western Europe. It was this point which held Maddie's attention the longest, with the ancient lands of her youth, once only imaginary, now locked in the view of her eye. Every journey to Earth had elicited this response. She remained transfixed, even as the craft docked in the spaceport and the rest of the passengers disembarked. Each and every time she visited, she would take her time, drowning herself in the sights and sounds of where she was staying.
She'd been to Britain, France, Nepal, Nigeria, Tunisia, Chile, and the Commonwealth of Australia and each had the same intoxicating effect on her. None of them quite had the same feeling as Britain and France however, and she had spent all of her free time exploring the ancient nations and all the culture they had to offer, from high tea, comprising of sandwiches, pastries and herbal teas in London, and freshwater salmon and whisky in Scotland; to the Jet Set of St Tropez and the romance of an evening meal in Paris, Maddie had truly immersed herself in them. She'd visited every castle she could find, loving the authenticity of it all as she scoured them, ruined or standing, for all the things she'd read about as a child.
It gave her chills.
Those same chills bit at her still, as she descended the steps and onto the tarmac in the cool summer breeze of late August. Winter approached, Maddie could feel it in the air as the season changed, draining the trees of their life and sapping them into a delicious and mature flurry of golds, browns and oranges.
Maddie took a pair of aviators from her pocket and put them on her head, shielding her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness of Sol, gleaming in the sky like a drop of nectar. She departed the port and boarded a taxi, styled after the old black cabs, and smiled at the driver, who was oblivious to her rank and posting.
"Where to?" He asked.
"Windsor, please" she replied, crossing her legs as the cab set off.
"You came down from Luna?"
"I did"
"Graduate?" He asked, turning onto the main road.
Maddie nodded, "as of about four hours ago, actually."
"Oh, very nice, my nephew went up there." He said, sadly.
The car thrummed along the road as the ancient English hills rolled outside of the window.
"They serve in the Navy?"
"He did." He said, shaking his head.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Maddie replied, feeling uncomfortable.
"Don't be, it was about four years ago now"
"My oldest brother is in the Navy, we worry about him a lot."
"You should" he replied, "do you think he served with my nephew?"
"What ship was he on?"
"The Lotus."
The name was familiar, but it wasn't her brother's ship. She shook her head, trying to remember where she had heard it.
"I'm not surprised. He died saving some doomed colony."
And then it hit her, like a bullet to the gut.
"Where did he die?"
Maddie tensed, pretending as though she didn't know the answer to that.
"Skopje." He replied, flatly.
Maddie swallowed. The Lotus was the ship Naomi had been sent from. Her mentor, Captain Felix Drake had sacrificed an entire fleet to save them from a covenant siege. It was something that Maddie had rationalised as necessary but… even now a mixture of very complicated emotions erupted whenever she confronted it.
"I-if it's any consolation." She said, shifting uneasily, "he died saving my life. Skopje used to be my home."
The cabbie couldn't reply, the words sticking in his throat as he tried to speak.
"At least he died for something then." He said, turning off the main road.
The pair sat in silence as the small town of Windsor creeped up around them, the great castle looming majestically in the background.
He dropped her off, silently, only nodding as she thanked him. She watched the car until it was out of sight, humming quietly away.
It was a short walk to their favourite cafe, and the sun dipped a little as she texted her sister.
[Guess where I am!]
…
[No way! Seriously? You're not joking?]
[Of course not, not after that one time]
[I'LL BE FIVE MINUTES]
Maddie smiled and sat back, ordering her sister's favourite drink and cake as well as a set of sandwiches and tea for herself. It was a pleasant afternoon, but the conversation with the cab driver had left Maddie feeling a little despondent as she drummed her finger on the table, waiting for her food.
The wind picked up and ran through her long blonde hair and down her back, making her shiver as she stared up at the castle, looming over her, the Union flag raised to signify that the royals were home.
She smiled weakly, looking up at the grand old structure as someone sat in front of her.
"I've been waving at you all the way up the street but you still ignore me for that damned castle."
Eliza said, grinning.
"Sorry, I didn't see you" Maddie replied warmly, taking her sister's hand firmly in her own.
"I would have thought you would be over it all by now." She sighed, nodding at the waitress as she delivered her cake and coffee. "Are you alright? You looked like you were deep in thought."
"Oh, uh, you know me" Maddie replied fumbling her words, "I still get all misty eyed when I'm down here."
Eliza shrugged, "liar. You got your order's and you're going to miss me." She said, plopping a large chunk of soft sponge cake into her mouth.
"Pfft." Maddie lied, trying and failing to hide behind sarcasm.
She shook her head, "no, I'm not having that," she swallowed, "admit it."
Maddie faked indifference but Eliza laughed.
"Fine." Maddie said as the waitress delivered her own food. "I will miss you."
"Yes! I knew it. I can read you like a book; you know."
Maddie smiled inwardly, knowing how that wasn't quite so true.
"But you finally graduated then?" She asked, sipping her tea.
Maddie bit into her sandwich and chewed, tasting the freshness and savouring the flavour before replying, a hand over her mouth; "yeah, I ship out in the next couple of days. So, I don't know when we will see each other again, or if I'll be able to contact you much." Eliza sighed and bit her lip; her face contorted a little as worry flashed over her face. She gripped her sister's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Do you think the Admiral will give you special treatment? You know, let you call back home extra often?" she asked, Parangosky had been a saviour for the two girls in recent times. She'd invested in Maddie and both of her sisters, although one was believed dead by all but Maddie herself. Eliza had been rehomed a couple of years ago, and had taken to it like a moa to running.
Maddie laughed, "I'm not under her command, and no, I think I need to earn that."
"Well, just be careful, okay?" she said, letting go, "there's not many of us left" she added, forcing a smile.
"not many who matter, anyway."
"Ha, exactly." she said, darkly. Her face grew silvery and serious, like a dulled piece of metal, ready to be sharpened. "Speaking of which, has she tried to talk to you again?"
"Constantly." Maddie replied, leaning back in her chair, "she won't get the hint."
"Well, the Harper family stubbornness has to come from somewhere." she grinned.
Maddie rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Sure, but I thought it was Grandad's fault."
Her sister shrugged. In truth, their entire family was dripping in stubbornness; they were all headstrong, even Maggie had been, in her own strange and quiet way.
"Maybe you should answer her." Eliza said, sheepishly.
Maddie scowled and crossed her arms, "be honest, would you?"
"I-I don't know, Mads. It's been two years since Dad died, and four since Maggie was..." she couldn't finish.
"Answer the question. Could you do it? Could you listen to her excuses?"
Maddie took another healthy bite on her sandwich and chewed as her sister struggled to answer. Maddie understood, their mother was all alone on the colony of Ballast, her family scattered and gone, she likely felt as though she needed to reconcile before things were too late. The thought of there still being time for her mother to make amends seemed amusing to Maddie as she shook her head at the audacity of their mother.
You're not quite alone though, are you, mother?
"I couldn't forgive her, but…" Eliza shook her head, "I don't think I'm ready to hear what she has to say."
Maddie nodded, "Me neither."
"Sorry, Mads, I just thought that, with you shipping out and being in danger…"
"That I should reconcile?"
"That you should consider it." she smiled, "I'm sure Maggie could have gotten us to do it, she always was the best at this sort of thing."
Maddie nodded, polishing off her sandwich as the pair sat, thinking about their 'late' sister. It had been four years now, and the Admiral hadn't given any inkling as to her sister's status. Maddie had mourned all those years ago, and occasionally she still hoped to see her sister again, standing tall like Naomi had as a SPARTAN. A god among men. Maddie felt responsible for all that had happened since Maggie left, especially regarding her father. Had he just known that his daughter was alive…
"That she was." Maddie said, a little choked by the thought of her father.
"You're still not smoking?"
Maddie smiled because Eliza always asked. "Four years free."
She nodded, "good, because I'll never talk to you again if you do."
Maddie smiled, "liar. You love me too much."
Eliza shot her an icy glare, "I'm serious."
Maddie shuddered, Eliza had that same look in her eye's that she saw in herself, that potential for quick and precise violence cloaked by the beauty of her slender and angular face.
In Eliza, she understood why people found her so disarming.
"I know you're serious, El. Have a little faith though, yeah? I'm not the same person I was all those years ago."
Eliza softened, her face saddening a bit, "I-I know and I don't doubt you." She paused, looking around and taking in the bustling street, "It just meant a lot to Maggie and with her gone and you and the boy's off fighting, I feel like I'm the one who needs to mother you all."
Maddie sipped the dregs of her tea and sighed contentedly, "it's not your job, you know. You get to still be a kid a while longer."
She folded her arms, "you know that our childhood ended the day the Covenant showed up at our planet and turned it to glass."
Maddie nodded, chewing the last of her food and swallowing it before talking; "I just figured with you being younger… and you had already missed out on so much… a-and we weren't exactly close either."
She shrugged, "It's not your fault, Mads, I might not have known the best times for very long but it was just as much my fault that things went wrong as anyone else." She looked at her sister, deep in thought, "maybe even more."
"How do you figure that?" Maddie replied, incredulously, "you were too young"
"I knew what I was doing. Setting everyone off against each other like I did. Then when we all were moved to Ballast and it was just the three of us… I was never there to see what was going on. I dropped the ball and dad…"
She couldn't say it.
"...did what he did."
Maddie wanted to cry for her sister, who was so clearly hurting; she forced herself not to. She had to be strong.
"You were twelve, you saw Maggie get shot and your home destroyed. I think that can excuse you."
She shook her head, "you saw worse. You never say, you're probably not allowed to say but I know. You changed."
"For the better, I hope." Maddie replied trying to diffuse a little of the tension. She smiled, hoping Eliza would relax but she wasn't looking at her, she was deep in thought.
"You're more mature."
"Is that better?"
She shrugged, in that errant way she often did, "I guess we'll find out".
"I guess we will." Maddie nodded as the pair of them continued to grip each other's hands tightly.
They sat in silence for a while as the world passed them by, basking in the cool glow of the mid-afternoon sun with the hint of winter on the whip of the wind. Maddie settled the bill and stood up, her sister following her as they walked through the town.
"I had an idea, by the way," Eliza grinned, "for your tattoo."
"Yeah?" Maddie asked, her mind cast back to the woman who had suggested a tattoo in the first place.
"Mhmm, do you trust me?"
Maddie didn't need to think, "of course" she laughed, "You're about the only person in the galaxy I can trust."
"Exactly. So, remember last time, when you told me about your nickname at school?"
"What about it?"
She produced a small sketch from her school bag and showed a beautiful design for the back of her shoulder. The circular brand would be joined, subtly, and crafted into the coil of a snake, ready to strike. The design would then move up her shoulder to the top of her arm where the head is, its jaws wide and flanking the crevice of her armpit and her bicep.
"Eliza… this is amazing." Maddie said, staring at it.
"You wouldn't tell me how you got it so I couldn't think of a better way to personalise it."
"No, no," Maddie said, shaking her head, "this is better. Trust me."
She hugged her sister tightly, and as though the world would never change. They remained locked in their hug for a while, enjoying it, while they were still together.
}{=}{
"There! What do you think?" said the bubbly tattooist.
Maddie smiled from ear to ear as she looked at the beautiful craftsmanship of the tattoo, lasered into her skin. It had taken hours of stinging pain and her head hurt from tensing so much.
"It's incredible, thank you!"
"Honestly, it's some of my best work, can I take a picture?"
Maddie wanted to say yes, but she shook her head, "It's private" she lied, "I'm not one for attention, I don't even have a net account."
Eliza moaned about that, which helped sell the lie.
The artist shrugged nonchalantly, "it's a strange scar but it blends perfectly with my work, I'd ask how you got it but I don't think you'd tell me."
Maddie smirked and winked at the clerk as she pulled a tank top over her shoulder, her shoulder burned, but so did her eyes as she looked at it in the mirror. The detailing was sublime, and it maintained her feminine and dainty frame, whilst portraying a keen sense of mystery and danger.
Perfect, don't you think, Ellen?
Naturally, there was no reply, and Maddie felt an old pang of sadness in her heart. Although she felt ready to move on, there was a constant gnawing of past memories spurring her on, reminding her why she fought so hard for her current posting.
Ellen, Nicola, and Maggie. The three women had a profound effect on her, and never strayed from her thoughts for too long, maintaining that burning need to settle the score with the covenant and secure the future of all humanity.
As Maddie thanked the artist again and tipped her generously, Maddie noticed her sister leave the shop and gaze up into the sky. She followed and stepped out into the breezy streets.
"What's going on, Liz?"
"That's a lot of ships." she said, not tearing her eyes away.
Maddie followed her gaze to the sky where hundreds of ships now gathered in plain view of the people of Earth.
"They've been arriving for days," she replied, taking her sister by the arm.
"You're really going, aren't you?"
Maddie laughed, "you thought I would chicken out?"
She laughed too, her golden smile twinkling in the breeze, "I suppose I've been burying my head in the sand a bit."
They headed in the direction of the train station. Maddie had enjoyed her few days with Eliza but she was pushing it as it was, and the fleet certainly wouldn't wait for her.
"Don't do anything too stupid whilst you're out there. I know it's bad to say but you're the only family I've connected with like this and I don't want to lose you."
Maddie felt her arm squeezed tightly. "I can't promise anything" she said darkly, "but I'll do my best, I promise."
Eliza sniffed, "that'll do, I suppose"
The pair of them laughed all the way to the station, enjoying only the little stupid details of each other's lives. Revelling in the gossip at Eliza's school, the happenings at Luna and the Pit, as well as inane speculation on the state of their favourite films and music. As the station neared, the talking died off, with Maddie electing to simply be close to her sister and enjoy the simplicity of her company. The old station was a beautifully inefficient maze of platforms, ticket barriers and kiosks as she searched the board for the train to Euston.
The sister's bid each other goodbye, waving until Maddie was out of sight, striding with purpose to the grand old platform and flashing her military ID at the barrier.
As soon as she was out of her sight, Maddie hardened, her expression growing cold. She checked the encrypted message she received an hour prior.
[Lt. Harper:
Proceed to these coordinates for transport to Enigma.]
They were the coordinates to a small ONI base north east of London, and Maddie took in all the little signs that she was on Earth. The railway lines, for example, were tiny and thin, a leftover of constant evolution from old railways, laid over 700 years ago, or the architecture built not to imitate but with purpose and the clear sign that it had once been contemporary.
She took her bag, packed with her essentials, and stepped onto the narrow train, heading for the toilet where she changed into her pristine black ONI fatigues, complete with a black cap adorned with the ONI insignia. Finding the quietest carriage that she possibly could, Maddie spent the hour or so that it took to get to the base watching the hills of England roll by, dreaming of ancient battles, knights, and the era of chivalry.
There was something almost biblical about visiting earth. Everywhere you went was a sort of pilgrimage, a unique site of cultural and historical significance that was now spreading out among the stars to colonies that were imitative or derivative of the cultures that propelled them to the stars in the first place. It was pure, simple, and illogical.
London was a goldmine of strangeness, as had been Paris and the many other places she had been. All of them lacked the forethought and planning of colony world's like Skopje and it was all the better for it. Maddie wondered if old earth colonies were the same but she supposed that it was more complicated when others were already living on the land you wanted to colonise. There was certainly plenty of evidence for it according to the history books she coveted so much.
Her whimsical journey through the south east of England didn't last long enough, but Maddie was looking forward to her assignment. Payback was due, and she could taste it on her tongue. She was as ready as she could be, ready to find out what it was ONI wanted from her after all these years.
She thought about that as she arrived at the local train station, tucked at the point where Greater London receded and the hills of England began to roll more freely. The air was crisp and clean, a testament to humanities strides in environmental consciousness, and the sky was clear and bright as the sun began to dip.
A lone officer stood waiting for her on the platform, dressed in the ONI black.
"Lieutenant Harper?" he asked, gingerly.
"That's me." Maddie replied as the ensign snapped into a crisp salute.
"I'm to escort you to the base, follow me, if you will."
Maddie nodded, following the man to a transport LAAV Warthog parked nearby.
"Your new CO mentioned that you new guys got a few day's R&R"
Maddie adjusted her cap so that it was tight on her head, her long blonde hair flowing out the back as she fixed it all in place.
"I was visiting family."
"Ah, getting the house in order?" he said, pulling away.
"Something like that." Maddie replied as the wind rushed through her hair.
The ride, as it always was with Warthog's, was bouncy and unpleasant but cars always moved out of the way for them, as was the law nowadays. Maddie hadn't been born before the war, and she wondered how much had really changed for most people over the last few decades. On Skopje, an inner colony world, she had managed to live without much consideration for it right up until the invasion began but…
For people like Dad, the war had changed everything.
It tore families, businesses, communities apart like Styrofoam packaging. It had stopped private space-faring and exploration, changed laws and attitudes. Maddie alone had lost half of her childhood friends, and lost contact with all of them. Nico, Ana, and Angie had been moved to Ballast with the other refugee's but she had heard nothing from any of them. Not that they hadn't tried, of course.
Maddie's expression hardened. She hadn't quite forgiven them for abandoning Nicola like that. Had the girl not waited for her, Nicola could have survived. She shuddered in her seat as she remembered her friend's body in the dark room, spattered into a paste by a brute. It hadn't been her friend's fault, not really. Nicola's death was the Covenant's fault. It was something Maddie had never forgotten once in all the years since. Yet, she had never been able to reconcile with them, no matter how much she thought she should.
The warthog wheeled and screeched through the countryside as it sped towards the base. Maddie enjoyed the sensation of human driving, the thrill of being at the mercy of the driver's skill, the way it cornered and accelerated. She always valued the older, simpler way of doing things. Eventually though, the vehicle slowed, pulling up at a barrier where the pair of them flashed their ID and entered the base. It was small and very minimalist. A single landing pad for a Pelican, which sat expectantly with several figures huddled around the rear ramp and a series of bags placed gingerly on the tarmac.
The Ensign pulled up and stepped out. Maddie followed suit and followed the man to the small group of people on the landing pad.
Maddie groaned internally as they approached.
You have to be kidding me!
There were two pilots, but it was the third person that they were chatting with that made her sick. She thought she would be posted on the other side of the galaxy.
Of course. Admiral, you evil cow.
"Hello, Lieutenant Harper" she said in a venomous tone.
"Lieutenant Volkovskaya" Maddie replied, as gingerly as she could.
"Ah, you're acquainted?" the Ensign asked.
"We are." Maddie said, swallowing.
The pilots took their leave and began final preparations for take-off, leaving only Maddie's bags lying on the ground.
"Well that will make things on Meridian easier." the ensign said.
That piqued Maddie's interest.
"We're being sent to Meridian?" she asked, a little eagerly.
The ensign nodded, "You are, yes. With the brand-new 7th fleet." he chuckled, "Well I say new, its crew is, only the Ides and the Invictus are actually new ships. There are also only 8 ship's in the whole thing."
"Seriously?" Katya asked, incredulously.
"Yep." the Ensign replied dryly, "the 7th fleet is a propaganda piece, most of the ships up there are part of the 5th fleet, which will be relieving the 13th."
The Fifth? That's Grandpa Joey's fleet!
"You will dock with the UNSC Enigma for the ONI briefings and to meet your CO. From there, I don't know what will happen but I'm sure it will be quite the experience. Two and a half years of siege with the war bogging down is only so much of a win. Things are getting desperate so go give them hell for us, yeah?"
"Will do, Ensign" Katya laughed, "dismissed."
The Ensign saluted and left but Katya's expression soured immediately, shanking Maddie with a stare so lurid it could have made a SPARTAN wince.
"Well. This isn't ideal, is it?" she spat.
"No. I suppose not." Maddie replied, swallowing. "But we're going to need to work together to beat the real enemy, Katya."
Katya fumed; her brows fixed into a sharp knife-point.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" she said, her teeth bared like a salivating wolf.
"Takes one to know one" Maddie shot back, with an oily smile "I didn't realise you were that desperate to beat me."
"You were the one who slept with that lecherous pig" she said, shaking her head, "you must think I'm an idiot. You crossed a line, and the moment you give me the chance, I'm going to sink you like a brick."
She turned and walked away, her long legs carrying her up the ramp with an assurance that was intimidating even from where Maddie was standing. She shook her head. It would be tough, but she could handle Katya, she had faced worse and lived.
At least I know it can't get any worse.
Fuming about Cyberpunk being delayed. Was thinking of writing a short story for it but at least I'll have more time to write it on the side I suppose.
What do you think so far? I'm really enjoying this one, it's much better paced and the wider plot is a lot more developed I think (can't wait for you to see what happens!). If you enjoyed the dreams and the mystery established in the last book, then you will probably enjoy this story more as well!
Stay safe, where ever you are and thank you for reading!