Waking up from cryo sleep was as unpleasant as she had expected but Maddie recovered quickly, hurling the fluid from her lungs and stomach with relative ease compared with the Marines around her, who likely hadn't been given the kind of cryo training she had received over the last four years. Training to be ONI special forces was a high intensity affair, but it was already paying off as the grogginess slipped away and she made her way to the bridge, chewing on a minty sugar bar to make the symptoms of the 'slipspace sickness' subside. She scowled as the grogginess gave way to a splitting headache that barrelled about her brain like rogue code, trying to crash her system.
She placed her hand on the panel and the doors receded after a brief moment of waiting. Katya was already there, scowling as Maddie approached.
How had she beaten her to it?
Maddie pushed the jealousy aside and saluted the Commander, who set aside his drink and rose from his chair.
"Just in time, Lt. Harper." He said, smiling "I thought I was going to have to have you arrested." He added, jokingly.
Katya looked as though she were locked in a wonderful dream where that had come true and Maddie shook her head, understanding Katya's hatred, but desperately wishing it to end.
"You are here to understand what my men go through. You are new to ONI and you are new to the UNSC so I understand both of you, you're green." He said, his words laced with a booming confidence.
Green. This guy.
Maddie watched the energetic commander rattle off a series of orders before grabbing a microphone attached to his chair at the helm of the ship.
"All hands, prepare to drop out of slipspace. I understand that this is new for many of you but trust your training, and trust the men beside you. Do that, and we'll get through this in one piece. Sterling out."
Maddie swallowed and the atmosphere tensed. Several officers sat near her braced, their knuckles white as their fingers rapped mechanically over the keyboards at their stations.
"Sir, thirty seconds!"
"Bring us out, son," the Commander said, his expression hardening.
Maddie watched the young commander bristle and cocked a brow. He seemed to shift, from an intensely energetic young man into a steely commander in the space of a few deep breaths.
"All hands, twenty seconds." He said, his voice spreading out over the tannoy like a thick medicine. Katya remained unfazed, even as the Ides groaned beneath their feet. Maddie was locked in a trance, watching as Commander Sterling worked the deck like a professional sportsman
The blackness of slipspace began to melt away before us as 'real' space emerged from the thick gloopy hole that separates the two plains of space.
"Five… four… three… two… one!"
A vast battle emerged before us.
"Nav! Where are we?" The commander bellowed.
An Ensign fumbled, "other side of the 5th!"
"Bring us in, watch for the rest of the fifth. Weapons, I want that MAC ready to fire. And the rest of the fleet?"
Maddie watched the monitor exploded with friendly signals as the fifth fleet reinforcements erupted from slipspace. The formation was a mess, with several ships miles from anyone and totally exposed.
"Minimal losses, Sir, good jump."
Sterling looked firmly ahead at the covenant fleet engaging the fifth over Meridian. His attention was only diverted as a harsh woman's voice broke in the bridge's comms relay.
"Seventh fleet, this is Admiral Reitker of the Invictus. Prepare to fire, we'll push them off our and regroup with the rest of the fifth." The voice was calm and reassuring.
"MAC 80% charged, Sir!"
The Commander's eyes narrowed.
"Get me a fire mission from the Admiral."
"There's one coming through now, Sir."
Commander Sterling reviewed the order and pushed it to the large screen in the middle of the deck.
"Target located at grid 13, -34, 1200." Said the man at the gunnery station.
"Show me." Sterling said, his gaze swerving to the detection table, where a battlecruiser lurked menacingly.
"Sir! Enigma has identified movement, the Covenant are repositioning!" Shouted the Lieutenant at the nav station.
The Commander growled.
"Admiral, we need to fire..." He said to himself.
"D-do I give the order?" The gunnery chief asked.
"Negative. The fleet is not at 85% readiness. Hold your fire."
The tone of Sterling's voice seemed to calm the man, who sighed deeply and hovered over the firing switch like a fruit fly to rotting food.
Sterling tensed as light's emerged from the covenant fleet.
Here it comes.
"Come on…" Maddie whispered to herself.
"Hold…" the Commander said, grimacing.
The lights grew brighter and brighter, their energy trails arced through the sky like meteors.
"Hold…"
Maddie held her breath.
Admiral Reitker's voice returned, "All ships, fire!"
The Commander gave the order and the MAC gun grunted twice, firing two warheads off into space. The thumping bucks of the cannon sent tremors through the ship, conveying to all of the people aboard just how destructive those cannons were.
"All hands, brace!" Sterling shouted over the tannoy system.
Explosions erupted in the dullness of space and the comms station glowed like a crackling fire as frigate after frigate winked out of existence.
"Archer missile pods, A through D, fire!"
The ensign nodded and prepped the missiles, firing them just as the MAC rounds smashed through the Covenant shielding and again through the globular nose cone. The black of space glowed as the rest of the fleet let loose their archer missiles, a great wave of them flowing out into the depths of space.
The UNSC fleet that they had been sent to relieve fired their own MAC guns, skewering the Covenant's defences and bursting their shields as they began to buckle and retreat away, their push finally thrown back as the missiles crashed into them, grinding and detonating cruisers, corvettes and everything else in between as they retreated back across the stars to regroup.
A great cheer erupted among the men and women as the Commander congratulated them.
"Okay, let the fifth finish them off, Nav, proceed to rally point alpha."
"Aye, Sir!"
The screen showed the Seventh fleet break away towards the flat continent on Meridian's lower hemisphere. Commander Sterling rose from his seat and breathed a deep sigh before turning to Maddie and Katya.
"So now you have a taste of what we deal with up here." He said, crossing his arms.
"Yes, Sir, we do." Maddie said quickly, before Katya could give the guy any lip.
"We just lost fifteen ships in that engagement. Do you know how many people that is?"
"40 thousand." Katya said, watching him.
Sterling was unfazed by her icy reply. "You both are well aware of the deficit between our two navies, yes?"
Maddie nodded.
Katya remained unmoved.
"I'm not a fool, I have to put a lot of this on for my men… they don't like you black-shirt types. All I want from the pair of you is an honest appraisal of what you're asking of me and my ship. No details just… I don't know, let me know if I'm gambling my men's lives on good money or bad, will you?"
Katya raised a brow, intrigued all of a sudden by the gallant Commander.
"We can't put our mission at risk." She said, looking at Maddie.
"But we can try to make things easier, if you need it. We're in this together." Maddie added, trying to be diplomatic with him.
The Commander seemed unconvinced, but he did smile. "You two really are new to this, aren't you?"
Neither of them responded to that.
"It's okay, it'll just be fascinating watching you change." He said, dryly. "Dismissed."
The pair of them saluted and took leave of the bridge, walking out and down towards the ODST drop bays. Maddie found herself wishing the Commander thought better of her. He seemed like a good man, not unlike her Grandfather. Katya, of course, said nothing and Maddie wondered why she had taken such an oppositional stance with the young Commander, who just seemed to be trying his best. It seemed as though there was something bothering her, truth be told. Had Maddie not torched that bridge already, she would have asked but… she realised she was running low on friends and her face fell a little as they stepped into the elevator and waited for it to move.
At least Jack will be around.
Jack was leading his own platoon though, she'd be on her own for the most part, she realised.
Maddie sighed and the ship rumbled, the rest of the fleet were likely chasing the Covenant back to their hiding spot around the other side of Meridian's moon.
The elevators opened and Maddie stepped out with Katya in tow, the pair of them striding towards the officer's barracks, where they knocked on the doors and waited. It took a moment but the door hissed open as an ODST with a black eye stepped through the door, shaking his head. Katya ignored him and stepped inside to greet the Major, but Maddie watched the marine wander along the corridor towards the barracks.
"Lt. Harper?" Came a gruff voice.
"Oh, apologies, Sir, I assume that wasn't your handiwork?" She asked, saluting.
He chuckled, "at ease. And no, it wasn't, my men have been cooped up on this boat for a month, they're getting a bit restless."
The silvery man looked about for some papers on his messy desk before snapping his fingers and moving a file from one drawer and adding it to the pile in front of him. He motioned for the pair to take a seat in front of him and they obliged, at they waited for the Major to begin.
"I'm Major Seer, I'll be your CO for this campaign." He said cheerily, "that means I'll be keeping HIGHCOM off your backs and helping you and Captain Drake achieve whatever it is you are here to do."
Katya went to speak but he held up his hand, "Don't worry, when you've been in the position as long as me, you learn your place. Truth be told, I'm thankful for you being here."
"You are?" Maddie asked, quizzically.
He nodded, "Fox company is in dire need of some experience, or even well-trained officers. Had I been given the option; I would have volunteered to have you."
"It's that bad, is it, Sir?" Maddie asked.
"Captain Denning is decent enough, but he wasn't my pick for promotion. That was Lieutenant Braeburn. Unfortunately, Denning is well connected, particularly with my predecessor, who promoted him before he retired to desk work."
He shuffled the cataclysm of papers around and continued on, "second platoon isn't too bad, missing a few decent squad leaders but aside from that, the men are alright, some experienced foot soldiers under you, Lt. Volkovskaya."
Katya nodded firmly.
"That of course, leaves you, Harper. You're stuck with third platoon, a group of mostly replacements."
"Well that's not so bad, is it?"
"Not usually, but there's a core of guys in that unit that are uniquely bonded and caused trouble for the last CO."
"They got him killed?" Maddie asked, knowing who was in that unit.
"Oh, so you know?" The major replied, shaking his head. "I should have expected that from a Spook.
"I know Sergeant Davenport, it's not the first time it's happened."
Katya shot a glance Maddie's way, her eyes glittering in the dim light.
Major Seer sighed, "he's chummy with Denning, so it's been difficult to get rid of him, truth be told. We just don't have enough experienced NCOs to chuck him."
Maddie sat back.
Nothing has changed then.
"What's his service history been like post-Skopje?"
The major raised a brow, "Skopje?"
"Yeah, that's when I met him."
Now it was Katya's turn to take an interest, she leaned forward slightly, looking hungry.
"Well his service record before that was immaculate. The details about Skopje are sketchy but since then he's been cited numerous times for insubordination. Denning bails him out every single time, though, so it all goes unreported." He looked Maddie over and blinked, "you look a little young to have met him on Skopje, Lieutenant."
"It's classified, sir." Maddie replied, crossing her long legs, internally giddy for using the line in the proper context for the first time.
"Of course, it is." He smiled, "regardless, the mission is simple, you'll be dropped behind the front in an hour to take a small grove that we will use as a base for operations in the area surrounding Sol Fields. I'll send you the details to your HUD, but this is going to be tough, and we need to take that position or we won't take the city, understood?"
"Yes, sir," they replied, as the Major stood.
"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
Maddie nodded and they rose from their chairs before stepping out into the hallway. Maddie hung back, letting the others walk out ahead of her. All of sudden, she felt a little nervous and thumbed her helmet for comfort. Right now, Walsingham was her only friend, certainly the only person she had access to on a reliable basis and she steeled herself to face the veterans of her unit, who huddled around Davenport like a morsel of food gilded with rats. The ODST drop bays were dark and crowded. As they descended down into the belly of the ship, every squad they passed was tense until both Maddie and Katya passed. Some even audibly sighed as their unit was passed
ONI were as much the enemy as the Covenant at times.
ONI was bad news for the squaddie.
It was intimidating, sure, but Maddie and Katya revelled in it. You had to, if you wanted the job, or to be good at it. Conflict was second nature to everyone in the ODST jumper battalions, but it was in the DNA of the ONI agent. For people like Maddie, Katya, and Felix Drake, there were few friends to be made among the rank and file. Parangosky and her second, Serin Osman, had spent the last four years drilling it into her head that humans weren't to be trusted by virtue of their species. The two of them strode confidently, hiding their trepidation and anticipation behind steely gazes and pointed brows. Finally, they came to the middle of the ship and the major stopped in front of Fox Company.
"Captain Denning?" He barked.
"Here, Sir!" The Captain replied, stepping out of a huddle composed of two familiar faces and a group of wary squaddies.
"Assemble second and third platoons, the new blood is here"
"Yes, Sir." Denning replied, shooting Maddie a scathing look.
The Major turned and mouthed "good luck" to Maddie before walking off to deal with the rest of the men. Men and women made their way towards the pair, and Denning watched, chewing gum as they assembled themselves before them.
"2nd Platoon you will be led by Lt. Volkovskaya here," he said, as though his very words were shrugging in apathy. "Sergeant's Cole, Baker, and Cho will get you up to speed on the unit, they're good people, so don't get them killed."
If Katya was put off by that prying jab, she didn't show it, her face remained locked in a sort of pre-emptive snarl. A look that Maddie knew well, but one that was unfamiliar to the rank and file of the ODST. One or two of the men looked at her and saw Katya for the ravenous wolf that she was. Old and new blood alike seemed to shrink before her, intimidated by the pair of them as they stood, resplendent in their ultra-high-tech gear.
"Third Platoon, this is Lt. Harper. Harper, these are Sergeant's Davenport, Tansie and…" he snapped his fingers as a burly ODST shook his head.
"Grayson."
"That's the one. Now, defer to Sergeant Davenport for the details and meet me in twenty minutes for your kit. Dismissed!"
Men began busying themselves for the fight to come, the briefing was short and sweet. These guys had likely already known what was coming, the ODST with the bruised eye watched her from among the gathered men, reminding her of the anticipation of the soldiers around her. They were eager to get on with it. As was she. Maddie watched with a sort of unnerving look on her face, it wasn't savage, like Katya, it was infinitely more subtle.
Most of the men hung around, intrigued by the ONI pair as they wondered exactly all this meant for the operation, save for the small cabal mentioned who went back to their huddle around a game of poker. Predictably, James stepped forward, trying to stamp some authority over Maddie, or perhaps simply trying to undermine her in front of the others.
His brown hair had been cropped down to a thin covering and his eyes looked mean, there were scars along his left arm, now and his body bristled with a standoffish poise.
"When the Cap told me, it was you who took my promotion, I was almost glad." He said, his arms folded. "I didn't think I would ever see you again, Maddie."
"I didn't want to see you again, if you remember, Sergeant. You'll address me properly from here on out or I will have you cited, is that clear?" she replied, letting all the venom she could leak into her voice.
"Very, Ma'am." He replied, grinning as a few of the men around him looked between the two of them.
They're wondering how he knows an ONI officer, no doubt.
"Good. Sergeant Tansie, if you would care to fill me in on the status of the squads?"
"All squads are ready to go, Ma'am. We know the mission. They might be green for ODST but, you know how the saying goes." Replied Sergeant Tansie, a hulking tank of a man, who exuded confidence like blood from a freshly cooked steak.
"Good, let's make this as amicable as we possibly can, shall we?" she smiled, "Dismissed."
The three men saluted and turned away as Maddie watched Katya disappear into the crowd, having watched her first interaction with the men of the third Platoon.
She felt a large hand on her shoulder and grinned.
"Lt. Braeburn." She said turning to face her old friend, "long time no see."
"How are you doing, Kid?"
"Good, Jack, really good."
"I can see that, you were missing an eye when we last saw each other." he chuckled, quietly.
Instinctively, Maddie touched her eye at the seam where the cybernetic replacement had been fitted.
"Don't worry, you would never know, even if it were pointed out."
"Good. It's sort of an ace in the hole, only you, Naomi, Preston, and Drake know about it." Maddie replied, wondering if Parangosky would let her upgrade it at some point.
"Can I ask you something?" He said, sheepishly.
Maddie nodded and looked around, and the pair of them moved away from the group to a small maintenance room hidden at the side of the hall, sliding the door shut behind them.
"What's going on?" She asked, switching on the light so they could see.
"Drake. This is about CDS, right? That business back on Sko-"
"Shh" Maddie said, hushing him, "my partner doesn't even know about it."
"Seriously?"
Maddie nodded.
"James does." Jack replied with a frown.
"I know."
Maddie's foot drummed.
"So, is that what this is about?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"You know I can't say."
Jack chewed the side of his cheek and looked down at her.
"Look, I want out of this unit. ONI, God help me, is the best way to do it."
Maddie was unconvinced and folded her arms.
"You never used to run from bad Captain's, what's going on?" she asked, folding her arms and looking him up and down.
Jack shook his head, "look, uh, don't worry about it, then. I know how the game goes. If you need to pull someone out of a unit and join your… adventure…"
"I'll keep you in mind." She said, looking at him with a curious eye.
The maintenance room door opened and the pair of them jumped as Lt. Volkovskaya and Sergeant Davenport grinned hungrily at them.
Perfect.
The two of them looked at Maddie with a looming hunger and she felt like food, like a charred piece of dripping at the bottom of the pan.
"Can I help you?" Maddie asked, to either of them.
Neither moved until Katya shook her head.
"Unbelievable." She muttered, walking away.
The two old friends, Jack and James, shared a brief and vicious look. Both of them daring the other to break their gaze. To Maddie, it was clear that no love had been lost between them since Skopje. James buckled first, as cowards usually do, and left the pair alone to mull the encounter over. It had been four years since he had gotten a good friend of hers killed and Maddie had never forgiven him for it, not since the commander of the 314 fought tooth and nail to get him pardoned.
Out of spite.
Maddie truly needed no greater reminder of the hatred the rank and file had for ONI than that.
"Not a great first impression." Maddie noted, seeing the glances from the men of the unit around her.
"No." Jack sighed, "plus you're ONI"
Plus, I'm ONI.
"Okay." She sighed, "let's report to Denning and get this show on the road."
Lt. Braeburn nodded and led her down the corridor and passed the rest of the company as Maddie wondered what rumours would spread around the unit. Getting caught in a supply closet with a fellow officer was not the start she had wanted. This wasn't Skopje. She couldn't just ride the coattails of being a teenager and get away with everything because she was young. She was an adult, a trained operative.
And I'm screwing it all up.
The thought wasn't pleasant. Maddie had put a lot of effort into this and she refused to throw it all away out of carelessness. The armoury was close, with racks and racks of gear spread out along the walls of the ship. Maddie smiled, spying her favourite tools of the trade on the wall. Captain Denning stood talking with Katya, who had already selected an AR, the MA5B with sixty rounds in the box. It was just like her to get in amongst the thick of the fighting with something like that. Maddie went straight for the old-faithful. The Designated Marksman Rifle and the silenced ODST pistol for good measure. She was an experienced Marksman these days, with years of practice and one botched assassination under her belt. Maddie was a force to be reckoned with for such a green Lieutenant and she knew it. Meridian, according to the briefing that Walsingham had procured for her earlier, was home to giant farms, hedgerows and mostly flat and open ground. The MA5B was great in close range, or when used as a sort of suppressive option, but in giant open fields it would struggle to hit anything at distance. The choice for Maddie was clear, the DMR was king. Jack seemed to agree, taking a DMR for himself as they met with the Captain.
"Thank you for finally joining us." He said airily. "Have you had a chance to look over the mission briefing?"
Maddie nodded, "a little, Sir"
"Well, I suggest you familiarise yourself with it in the time remaining but here's the short version."
He opened a holo map as the four of them huddled.
"The 42nd's job is to disrupt the enemy as the main force, composed of the fourth and seventh armoured division, charges the open plains and takes on this defensive line."
The map glowed red as two red arrows pointed at the flanks of the city. Sol Fields was perched just behind the point where the river Sol diverged into the River Luna and the River Apollo, shielding the front from attack. Maddie's brow furrowed; it didn't take a genius to know that this would be costly. The Sol divided the two divisions down the middle, so attacking it would be impossible unless there was more to the plan.
Which is where the ODST comes in.
"A series of strategic objectives have been identified that will divert and disorient the covenant defences centred around the city." He clicked the holo map and zoomed into an area just southwest of the city.
Six red points glowed expectantly in two groups of three as Denning continued on.
"Our Battalion will be divided into two, Companies Alpha through Dog will take this small plateau here." he said pointing to a small outcropping, where a gentle hill seemingly flattened out into a broad and sweeping raised field. "HIGHCOM believe it's being used as a localised covenant artillery garrison so this is the primary objective."
"So where does that leave Fox Company, Sir?" Katya asked, her eyes pinned to the map.
"I'm getting to it, Lieutenant, hold your tongue." He said, irritably, "Easy and Fox are to take Scottsgrove, it's this small area of woodland that envelopes several farmhouses at this 'grove' here, by the crossroads. It's defensible, big enough to get a few pelican's in, and the only place we can fall back to if this all goes wrong."
Jack rubbed his freshly shaved chin, "seems simple enough. Covenant presence?"
"We expect they've jammed a few wraiths in there but we really can't say for sure until we get more intel. Aside from that, it's standard fair, little bugger's, bird-beaks and split-jaws to marshal them."
Maddie cocked a brow, "any sign of brutes?"
"Why would that matter?" Denning almost scoffed at her, "those bastards are as thick as their skin, they're only something to worry about if they're around, which they're not according to our intel."
Maddie sighed, "they're usually used as shock troops, their presence would suggest an attack."
"Lt. Harper, I am a Captain in the ODST, I know what brutes are used for. The point is that they're not here. Do you doubt that I know what I'm doing?"
Maddie nodded her head. "Sorry, Sir." She said, relenting.
"No, I asked you a question, Lieutenant."
Katya was thoroughly enjoying herself, smirking as she watched Denning put the screws to Maddie, flexing his authority like a dragon spreading its wings.
"You know what you are doing, Sir." she replied, imagining in her head all the ways she could pop his skull. Her fingers touched the hilt of the war-axe clipped to her uniform and she breathed deeply as she hid her contempt for the man.
"Good. So. when I tell you that something is unimportant, that word is law, understood?"
Maddie could see the arrogance in his face. Captain Denning might be capable, but the way he held himself didn't sit well with Maddie. His cheeks looked rubbery when he smiled, his eyes glittered like synthetic nodes, and he walked with a robotic swagger, custom built to convey confidence.
"Crystal clear, Sir, but I would remind you that we are of equal rank. I am your peer, not someone to be pushed about."
Denning glared at her and a tense silence hung in the air for a moment. He glanced at Katya, who crossed her arms, signifying that her loyalty lied with ONI personal above those of his unit. Maddie found herself glad that Katya was at least playing on her team.
A klaxon sounded and the steely voice of Commander Sterling emerged from the walls.
"Ten minutes to drop." he said, calmly.
The bay erupted into a flurry of movement as people found their pods. Jack pulled on his helmet and nodded as Maddie did the same, disappearing into the crowd as the helmet booted up and Walsingham appeared in the corner of her HUD.
"Your pod is there on the left, Ma'am." he bowed, his little avatar winking out as she made her way through the crowd. Maddie was thankful for him, reassured by his calm and poise as she clipped her weapons into their holsters and hoisted herself into the massive seat. Maddie knew a dozen facts about the SOEIV. She knew how heavy it was, how much it could carry, what could damage it and how to survive it but none of it came to her as she sat in the cockpit.
The cheap fabric of the seat and harness was just like the simulations she had run on Luna and Earth. Back then, however, there just wasn't the adrenaline rush of a looming battle to get her fired up and her blood flowing. She waited, watching for stragglers as they hurried about, filing into their pods as the ticker dragged down on the giant digital counter in the middle of the bay. Ensigns hurried to lock down the stray kit that had been left lying around, and ODST shoved themselves into their pods, their sleek helmets hiding the worry many of them probably felt.
Captain Denning signalled to Maddie, who gave him a thumbs up and strapped in, the cover hissed as it slid into place with the mechanical pulleys on the racks whirring into life as the clamps holding the pods in place loosed and left the SOEIV dangling inside the ship. The rest of the men cleared the deck, sealing the doors as a red flashing light blazed as the bottom of the ship grunted.
Maddie gasped as the floor below her began to give way and the vast expanse of Meridian, the seemingly giant mass that it was. She could see all the continents in flames on the horizon, scarred and melting in the heat of massive waves of plasma. I was like watching a cosmic glassworker make jewellery and it carried a sense of pure wonder if you could ignore the fact that millions of people were now part of that slag.
The timer ticked down, closer and closer to zero as the helmet hooked up to the network and linked the platoon via teamspeak. Voices echoed in her ear but Maddie could care less, her eyes were wide with delight and wonder as the last untouched continent came into view. It looked totally flat to Maddie, who regarded the infinitely expanding plains with awe. Walsingham noticed what she was looking at and brought up the geology report.
"Geologists believe the continent is flat because it has never sat on a fault line, and was once the polar South of the planet. This is the only theory that can account for the flatness of the terrain and the presence of Mount Sundial, which has baffled local geologists since the colony was founded."
Maddie felt like a child again, her mind racing with interest and a passion for knowledge. She felt a need to satiate that passion. To know, and to know now.
She looked up as the timer beeped.
Three.
Two.
One.
With a metallic click, she plunged into space.