-1The fleet was suppose to rendezvous with the civilian fleet in order to escort the passengers on board to another colony. There, they would try and either make a new life for themselves or take some shuttle to another colony. Garrett was eager to get back to the transport fleet, as there was one person in the universe he hadn't seen in four years. That person was his little sister, Savara Gryphen. She had entered the UNSC a year after he did, to try and follow in his footsteps. He was basically her role model in being tough, and she was quite a tomboy, though she was quite striking in looks. Red long hair and a good body, but she never went with any guys or had any dates no matter who it was. Garrett even remembered trying to set her up with a friend of his when she was 18, and needless to say, she ended the first date halfway through. Unfortunately for her, though, was the problem of her following orders, hence the reason that Garrett reached lieutenant in a few years and she sat at corporal. From what he heard, she was stationed as a marine complement on the Ulysses, but it was hardly anywhere near combat, which is just the way he liked it. Being overprotective of his little sister was an understatement. He only wished she didn't have to see combat, but she already had on several occasions. She was trained as a sniper because, like him, she had very good eyes, and with the modifications to the active camouflage systems from the covenant, she now had that equipped in a backpack like form. Since she had been doing mostly recon and solo ops, strictly because no officer anywhere wanted a maverick in their squads, she was allowed to grow her hair at waist length. If it weren't for the fact that the UNSC needed every man and woman capable of fighting out here, she might have been court marshaled and thrown from service a long time ago.
Garrett walked to his quarters, dropped his gear on a chair, flopped down on his bed, and pressed a few buttons on a trideo system. "Enter access codes please." Garrett thumbed his activation codes for mail, and got a com opening waiting for him. He turned on the video screen. "Hey bro. Long time no see. I heard about what happened on Valeius. Is it true you got some new armor? That's so cool. Anyway, duty on board is a real drag. How bout you?" She asked. "I… I've had an interesting field duty so far, and I'd rather not talk about it. So, you're having a boring time huh? That's good." Savara pushed some hair over her left ear and grinned. "Even a million miles away, you still try to protect me. I'm not a little kid anymore, so stop worrying. It's not like I haven't fought and been in danger before. And what about you? You were stuck on that colony for a year without backup and a covenant blockade. If anyone should be worried, it's me." Garrett grumbled something. He knew she was right. "What was that grumpy? I didn't catch that. Were you saying you're defeated? Hmm?" She asked. "Yes… but at least you're on a civilian ship, so I don't have to watch your butt along with my own." She rolled her eyes. "I wish there was some action. In the past few days, I've had to only break up a few brawls on board, stop a thief from taking some ammo from a munitions locker, and help the techs fix a broken heating regulator. At least I won't be here for much longer." Garrett raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why? You screw around with a superior's temper again?" She cocked her head and smirked. "For YOUR information, I've been pretty good about not disobeying orders. As long as they accept my skills, I'm a good girl. What I meant was that, heehee, (taunt singing) 'I got transferred to the Resilience.' What do you think about that?" Garrett gawked. "You mean you're gonna be here? On board this ship?" She smiled. "You know, for an educated man bro, you repeat things at the oddest times."
Garrett thought for a moment. My little sister is gonna be on this ship? Oh hell no. She's gonna cause so much trouble for me. Damn! Bad luck hates me so much, she brought friends! "Uh… no. You're not going to be on this ship. You're going to be on another ship." She stared at him, a little annoyed. "I thought you'd be thrilled. Hell, I haven't seen you for god knows how long. And you said you were gonna say hello when you were on Capella Station. You didn't even try! You were in and out before I could find out which gateway you were in." Garrett rubbed his neck.
"No. This is a front line ship. For all I know, it could get wiped out of existence in a few days. The covenant are still hitting hard. You can't do this." She grumbled something he couldn't hear. "What was that soldier?" He said, a bit annoyed. "I said it's already done. Once the fleets meet each other, I get on a shuttle and head to that ship. Big G… quit trying to stop me. You just called me soldier a second ago. That is what I am. If you don't like it, tough. I'm here to do a job." She was serious now. "Find then. You want to be professional, we'll be professional. Under article 36, section C, paragraph twelve, I, as a Captain stationed on this ship, hold rank and commanding officer of the main marine forces aboard this ship. Therefore, you are under my command. As I have seen your duty file already, I have no choice but to either have the transfer rescinded or have you stationed as an MP trooper." She gawked. "You… you couldn't. There is a Major ranked Spartan on board, and he wouldn't…" She started. "That Major is my superior officer, and as he will probably trust me with protecting what family I have, will allow me to have control in this matter." She stared sadly. "Come on, Garrett. Don't do this. Please…" Garrett sat there, and sighed. "No, you can't. Hell, we barely made it through the last encounter. This fleet had 14 ships in it, and we were hit by 20 covenant battle cruisers. You have any idea how much firepower those things have? Jesus, they took out two ships before we could even launch our fighters." She looked kinda sad. "Please, I can still help. This is my job Garrett, and I need to do it. I didn't join the military to be pushed around by my brother. I joined to protect Earth, my home, and other's homes so that they didn't need to sacrifice their lives." What she said had merit to him. "Ugh… (sigh, and looks around the room a bit) fine." She cheered up. "Really? You won't screw around with the transfer? Promise?" She asked. "No, I won't screw around with the transfer. I promise. But hell, do you realize your going to be in the marine outfit under my command?" She pulled something out. "Not just any marine. I passed the tests. I'm an ODST now."
SHE WAS A HELLJUMPER! "OH HELL NO! NO WAY! NOW YOU'VE DONE IT! NOT A CHANCE IN HELL AM I ALLOWING YOU TO STEP FOOT ON THIS SHIP!" She frowned. "I've been one for the past year Big G. And you just said you wouldn't screw around with the transfer. You PROMISED! You have never broken a promise to me, ever." SHIT! She threw the promise thing at me! I can't break that streak now! "Damn…" He cursed a bit more. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself against the covenant." He looked up. "That isn't what I'm worried about right now. I'm worried about you making my command hell." She smiled. "I won't. This I promise." Same thing with her. "Fine. Whatever…" Garrett played with a pen. "Alright then. I'll see you in a few… that's odd… there's a slip opening nearby the fleet. Have you guys gotten here already?" She asked. "No. We're still in transit… Oh hell! Savara, the covenant…" And the on the other side, the transmission glitches, as the room around Savara, rocked. "We're under attack! I'll talk later! Bye!" She switched the trideo off.
Garrett raced to the bridge as fast as his legs could carry him. The Major was nearby, and as he was talking to Dr. Halsey in the hallway, saw Garrett shoot by. He didn't know what was happening, but he was yelling "Out of the way! I need to get to the bridge!" Marines pressed against the walls as he bolted through the hallways. The major followed, wanting to find out what was going on. Garrett eventually made it to the bridge. "Captain! We need to move quicker! We have to get to the transport fleet! Their under attack!" The captain and everyone else were already at battle stations. "I'm well aware of the matter captain. Helm! Fix way fold by one five nine! Engineering control, boost power as high as you can get it! Full speed! Marius! Get all hands ready for combat!" She yelled orders to different people, including the ship's AI. She swore under her breath. "We aren't gonna make it in time." Garrett backed off from the bustle of people moving around. "Auron, can we…" and was answered with a no. "We are in a hyperspace jump. To open a slip gate here would be ill advised." Garrett cursed, and a big green attached to a Spartan hand descended on his shoulder. "Let's get to the drop bays. With any luck, they might try and crash land on Valeius and keep the covenant away. In that case, we can bring them back." Garrett thought about that for a moment. "Wouldn't the covenant then just glass the planet?" He asked. "No. If they don't have the information we have, then for all they know the people on those ships might have forerunner technology. Why destroy when they can capture?" Garrett agreed, and they ran toward the hangar bays, right past Dr. Halsey who was still trying to get to the bridge while following them. If they hurried, they could save those people, and the last family Garrett had.