Chapter 14: A Trip Cut Short
"Hey, Will, two things." Will looked over at Chris who was
leaning through the bulkhead to their chambers. From his tone of
voice, it sounded important.
"What?"
"Alright, first off. Kat got cleared; she just
got put onto a destroyer that's headed here this afternoon."
"That's…great." he said, stepping back
from a computer console, leaving the TacSat photos of the planet
still up on the screen. "What's the other thing?"
"The cap came through; we're got three days
on the surface starting tomorrow." Will was shocked at this.
Thinking it was the captain just trying to seem nice to the new crew
on board, it surprised him that he actually made the request and was
then able to get it approved.
"When is the destroyer supposed to be here?"
"I think they said about 1500 hours or
somewhere around there."
"Thanks." Chris just pursed his lips and
pulled back out of the hatchway.
Will was uncomfortable in the civilian clothes he had been handed,
not because they didn't fit (which they did) but because he rarely
ever wore them. Putting his arms through a black jacket, he twisted
his neck to try and get the tight cream sweater to sit in a more
comfortable position. His olive cargo pants were the only thing he
approved of and couldn't help but take a quick glance in the mirror
in their room but looked away quickly. He headed towards the door and
stopped at his locker, looking at the black M6E sitting on the top.
It was rare that he was ever more than a few minutes away from
weapons, if not carrying one with him. Grabbing the black pistol, a
shoulder holster and an extra clip, he tossed them into his small
backpack along with his earpiece headset.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd
think you were doing your hair in there," JJ remarked as Will left
their quarters.
"Shut it," Will said, shooting a dangerous
look his way.
"I didn't say anything…"
"That's what I though."
"Our ride is waiting, but we're not the only
ones that are going down so we have to hurry." Will nodded and they
headed to the Hawk that was waiting for them. A few other marines and
navy personnel were waiting outside and only glanced over at the much
less imposing Spartans. The other Spartans finally arrived and waited
a few more minutes before they left the hangar bay. Turning towards
the green planet, the pilot spoke of their plans.
"We're head to Fort Lawson which is near
the capital city, Gallant, you'll get some more info once we land
but I figured I would give you an idea of where we're heading."
Will pretty much ignored what he was saying and looked at the
others inside the craft. Making up the majority of the passengers,
the Spartans for one of the rare times they weren't in military
garb, blended in with their comrades in arms. His eyes finally rested
on Kat who looked stunning. Her hair shown in the light of the craft
and her perfect body was accentuated by the clothes she wore. Looking
up, she saw him staring and smiled, her bright white teeth
glistening. Millions of feelings forced their way through Will's
body and for the first time, he blushed. A few seconds later the ship
started to rattle as it entered the atmosphere.
"Welcome to beautiful Thandon! For more information on our
halcyon planet, please refer to one of the info stations located
outside of the port as well as throughout the city!"
"That would get annoying…"Chris said,
referring to the large holographic projection of a woman cheerfully
welcoming the new arrivals. Due to an accident at the fort they were
supposed land at, they were rerouted to the public landing zones and
left to get their own transportation to the fort or lodging in the
city. Almost immediately, the Spartans split into two groups, Will,
Linda, Chris, and Kat in one and JJ, Kayla, Matt, and Karl in the
other. For an Outer Rim world, Gallant, at least, was very well
developed. Tall skyscrapers rose into the air, their tops jutting in
to the crystal blue sky. Cars moved busily about the city as people
moved around the sidewalks, going about their business. It was a
strange feeling for them; it was rare for them to ever be at a city
that was truly alive and not just waiting for the Covenant to blow it
off the face of the planet. They started walking in a random
directing and Will discreetly placed his headset into his ear but
kept the volume down. "I don't know about you, but I am hungry"
Chris remarked as he looked around for a restaurant.
"I guess we can go and look for something to
eat," Linda said. Moving through the city, they finally found a
small café and sat down to eat. Will looked over the menu and
was again lost in a world he had never experienced.
"Hey there! I'll take your order whenever you're
ready," a waitress said, holding a small holopad in her hand and a
stylus in the other.
"I need a good burger, and some fries, big
soda too, what else…" Will looked over at Chris who was absorbing
every word on the menu.
"I'll just take some water please," Will
said.
"Salad?" The waitress nodded at Linda's
request and wrote it down along with her dressing choice. Kat quickly
ordered a salad as well while Chris added on onion rings to his
order. No more than five minutes later, all of their orders had
arrived and they were eating them. Will looked out over the park to
their right and saw the sun falling down behind a snowcapped mountain
off in the distance. He took a few sips of his water and just
listened to the banter between his squad mates. Once they had all
finished and Chris was able to move, they headed off through the city
again. The light slowly dimmed and the crowds on the street
transformed from business persons into evening clubbers and couples
looking to have a night out on the town.
"We should probably head to the base because I
know I don't have any money to get a room here," Linda said. The others looked at
each other and confirmed her suspicions. A taxi drove by and she
quickly waved it down. "We're UNSC personnel but…well, we've
got no money. Is there anyway we can get a ride to Fort Lawson?"
The taxi driver leaned over the seat and looked at the four of them.
"Yeah, we can work something out, only problem
is, I can take only two people at a time." Linda looked back at the
others but turned when the driver spoke again. "It's not me, it's
the law."
"You two go, we'll wait here," Will said,
referring to him and Kat. She slowly turned towards him but looked
back at them.
"It's about a two hour drive there, so
unless you wanna wait all night, you're better off flagging another
taxi down or I can radio another one to come and grab you guys."
"We'll do that."
"Alright." Linda and Chris got into the back
of the yellow car as the driver radioed another taxi. "He'll be
here in about ten minutes or so." Will thanked him and stood at the
corner of the street with Kat as they waited.
"I wonder how that would've gone if we were
in our armor…" he said. Kat laughed at his attempt at a joke and
to Will, it was like music to his heart. She scooted closer to him
and they leaned against a pillar together.
"Thanks for visiting me at the hospital.
You're the only one that came regularly."
"We were pretty busy, everyone else wanted to
come but they had to get back up to speed. Linda and I were already
up to speed on everything so we had more free time."
"Still, thanks. You kept me from thinking
everyone had left to go onto better things, leaving me behind for
good." Will looked down and felt her shoulder bump up against his.
"Did you know that I've never been to a city
that hasn't been under assault or when we weren't on a mission?"
he said, trying to break the silence. "I don't really remember
anything from my childhood except Reach and when we were old enough
to be on our own, well, we were being Spartans."
"I've always known war, ever since I was a
kid, Retter was always under the threat of attack and then I was
pulled into the Spartan program."
"It'll be weird if we can make it through
this alive. Having a normal life I mean. They probably never even
thought of what they would do with us afterwards, but I bet once the
Covenant showed up, those people who had the authority assumed either
we or Humanity wouldn't survive which would eliminate that
problem." Another taxi pulled up and the driver slid down his
window.
"You the soldiers?" he called out.
"Yeah, that'd be us." He motioned with his
hand and they walked over. Will opened up the door for Kat and placed
his hand on the small of her back as she bent down to get in. He
followed in behind her and the driver started driving.
"Fort Lawson right?"
"Yes," Will responded. He looked into the
rearview mirror and saw the driver's eyes go from him to Kat who
was tying her shoe.
"I've gotta make a personnel call, hope ya
don't mind me putting up the separator." Both of the Spartans
shook their head and a black screen slid up in between the two rows
of seats. Will's heart started to beat a little faster as he rode
in the car. Surprisingly fast, the lights of the city disappeared
behind them and were replaced by lush green forests, plunging them
into darkness.
"This reminds me of Reach," Will said,
remembering the sprawling forests that they spent their childhood
training in. He felt a soft hand touch his and he looked down, seeing
Kat's grasping his. Her head then settled onto his hard shoulder
and his heart quickened it's pace once more. His body started to
get a little clammy as he felt her body come even closer to his. They
stayed like this for a few minutes before he felt her head move off
of his shoulder. Looking over, she was staring right at him.
"We can't keep pretending this isn't
here." He didn't respond but took a deep breath. Suddenly he felt
Kat's body up against his and he wrapped his arms around her as
they pressed their lips together. They pushed closer to each other,
and time seemed to slow as they kissed. Will's hand moved along her
body as she pressed harder and harder against him. Will felt
something in the back of his mind and stopped.
"This can't happen…" he said, breathing
heavily.
"What?"
"This, all of this, it can't happen. What
just happened there...it just can't." Kat slid away from
him.
"I don't understand."
"We're soldiers, we were created to kill,
not to love. You and I will always know what's between us but it
has to stay within ourselves." It surprised him how easily it came
out, but it still hurt. She was the one person he had ever felt this
way about and he was telling her off essentially. In the darkness he
saw her look away but she said nothing. He was about to try and
comfort her when he heard something in his left ear. Quickly bumping
up the volume of his earpiece he was thrown into the center of a
frantic conversation.
"Multiple hostiles, requesting assistance
from any nearby ships! We're taking heavy fire! Just calm
down son, help is on the way. They're all over, fire the main-.
Jesus, did you see that? Launch fighter squadrons!"
"Shit." Will knocked on the screen quickly
and the driver lowered it down.
"What can I do for ya?"
"Fast, go as fast as you can to the fort!" A
confused look came across his face. "Just do it!" They suddenly
accelerated as they sped through the forest.
"What's going on?" Kat's voice was
methodical and cool.
"They're here," he responded while going
through his bag. His hand felt cold metal and he gripped the barrel
of his pistol. Digging a little more he found the extra clip and
holster.
"You brought a pistol with you? What were you
expecting to happen?"
"You've got a gun in here?" They both
glanced over at the driver who looked back at the road. Sliding the
thin clear mouthpiece down from his earpiece, he called tried to get
a hold of the rest of his squadron.
"JJ here, what's going on?"
"Trouble, get to Lawson ASAP!"
"Roger that." Willed pulled the
slide back and chambered a round.
"You didn't bring an extra did you?" Kat
asked.
"I didn't think I'd need this one.
Otherwise I would've grabbed a few more magazines." Off in the
distance Will saw the lights of the fort and suddenly felt relieved.
Their taxi sped up to the gate where the two Spartans jumped out. "I
don't think we'll have time to be dealing with the money issue.
But whatever you do, stay away from the city.
"Yeah yeah yeah," the driver said, suddenly
jittery as he turned his car around and took off. Running up the
guards, Will was finally able to see the new standard issue armor for
the Marine Corps. It was more or less the ODST armor but covering
even more of their body.
"We're Spartans!" he yelled as they ran by
them. Fort Lawson was bustling with activity as Hawks were loading up
with Marines and gear. Soldiers hurried back and forth and in all of
the commotion, Will spotted Linda and Chris.
"They're-," Linda started to say but was
cut off by Will.
"Yeah, I heard. The others are on their way
here but I don't think we'll have time to get to the ship and get
our armor." Their trip was suddenly looking as if it was quickly
becoming a liability. The sound of a horn blaring caught their
attention and they saw a large SUV come flying up to the gate. Music
was blasting from the car, shaking the ground they stood on. Four
Spartans jumped out of it and ran through the gates of the base as
the SUV peeled out and headed back down the mountain. JJ and his
group ran up to their squad mates and were filled in on the
situation. The base was quickly emptying out as Hawks ferried Marines
to the city to fortify it ahead of time. Just as Will was about to
find someone in charge, a colonel came running over to them. Saluting
him, the Spartans then listened to what he came to say.
"General Johnson has told me to tell you that
your mission is to defend the city at all costs. Transport to the
battle group is out of the question right now and unfortunately, we
don't have any spare armor lying around. You are in luck though,
we've got one Puma still left and an armory with some weapons and
ammo that are still there. Once we can get you back to the Tigre,
I'll send a Hawk your direction." They saluted again and the
colonel jumped onto the last Hawk on the landing pad. Instead of
heading towards the city, it flew up over the mountain and out of
site. The Spartans were now the only ones inhabiting the eerily
silent fort.
