36

For all her faults, Jasmine was a survivor. Two hours into the drive across the blandlands, Jacen had to admire the determination and courage to embark on such a trek. For kilometers, there was nothing but flat plains and distant hummocky. A person could easily lose their orientation and become lost. From what he could remember, the night cycle began shortly after she was exiled. Three hundred eighty-four hours of darkness out there. He didn't know why he was surprised. Jasmine's past wasn't a secret to him, the hardships and trials she endured—like all of them—molded her to what she was now, for better or worse.

"We're about an hour from the depot."

It was some of the first words Damon said since the departure. The Corporal hadn't said much to Jacen's additional surprise, only speaking when necessary it seemed. That was fine by him. Had Aaron come along, he was sure they would've come to blows in minutes.

"A part of me is thinking we should've waited for the night cycle, in case your girl is right. I'd rather not have the enemy see us coming."

Jacen let the remark slide. He figured Damon didn't mean anything by it, not by the tone in his voice. "Jackals see well at night. They'll see us coming regardless. Did you review the workup Rey gave us? Not a fan of surprises."

"Yeah, I did. Some species called the Jiralhanae. Took me a minute to pronounce it right. They're big boys, accurate to how Jasmine described them too. Extremely aggressive, the intel said. Brutes seemed to be the unofficial name for them."

"Then I doubt we'll beat them in a straight-up fight," Jacen said. "Best we keep our distance with a plan to run. I'll check the layout of the camp; we'll need to know where the exits are to get out quickly."

Damon took his eyes away from where he was driving for a moment and looked over at Jacen with furrowed brows. He vented a hushed laugh and shook his head before returning his eyes forward.

"What's funny?" asked Jacen.

"Just another piece added to the jigsaw puzzle that's you. You and Díaz both, actually. I've seen the two of you fight; the way you move, the way you kill. Real special forces type training. That's not something you learn on the street. What's your story?"

Jacen pulled up the schematics to Selk Camp and began skimming through the entry and exit points. "I'm not that interesting."

"You don't exactly volunteer information about yourself. Public database says you're from the Leonis Minoris system, from Rico. Nothing else beyond that."

Jacen continued to focus on the layout of the camp in Selk, marking three potential exits on the east side of the structure. "Well, it's difficult to update records when the planet is glassed."

Damon felt he'd put his foot in his mouth. Most of the people he'd met over the years were victims of the Covenant, their homes bombarded from orbit and vaporized. The only information that remained was what was in the database for public records. What happened to two of the three worlds in the Leonis Minoris system was a tragedy, as with so many worlds glassed by the enemy.

"It must've been hard."

"I adapted," Jacen said. "Spent some years running from the Covenant between colonies before finding my way. Are we done?"

"Is that when Díaz recruited you?"

Jacen laughed. "She didn't recruit me. We've been together most of our lives since we were kids. We had to make the best with what we had left, and it wasn't much."

"Then answer me this: you're not innies, but you hate the UNSC just the same. Why is that?"

"Let me ask you something first." Jacen started. "Why do you love the UNSC so much?"

Damon almost laughed as he maneuvered around one of the rocks in his path. "It's not about love, man. I had my reasons for enlisting. It just didn't turn out the way I thought."

"And what were the reasons? I mean, since we're history diving now. A little from you, a little from me. An equal indictment, if you will."

"You're a hard case, aren't you, Pearce?"

Jacen switched off the schematics. "I'm something."

"Fine. I enlisted so the UNSC would help pay for college. If I put in five years, they guaranteed to put me through. Moms and Pop didn't have the income to do it. I wanted to study finance, give people direction on how to manage their money."

"An accountant?"

"Something like that, yeah." Damon made a slight right, following a path between a pair of low dunes, the interior rattling from the rocks underneath. "Growing up, my parents didn't make the best decisions and it made it harder for them later in life. They had two kids to raise, so I understand why. I just wanted to help people not make those same mistakes."

Jacen said nothing for a while. He didn't feel a need to think about his parents. It had been so many years that the memories of them seemed like someone else's. He had no grand speeches about cherishing the time with those you loved, because who didn't know that? The war had taught everyone real quick that life was only dewdrops on a breeze.

"The UNSC likes doing things in broad strokes," Jacen said. "Refugee camps, public bombings, to name a few. But when they wanna get precise, there's no one better—and they won't miss."

"Those were dark days, Pearce. I'm not making excuses for some of the tactics used. I read reports about many civilian casualties, from both sides. If you lost someone you cared about, I'm sorry."

Jacen turned and looked out of the scuffed window, speaking so low that Damon couldn't make out but a few words. "He didn't deserve those tactics."

Damon figured that was as specific as Pearce was going to get and didn't push it any further. He remained silent for the rest of the drive and the two of them didn't speak again.

The central console pinged once and gained the attention of the two men in the cab. They focused forward, peering through the haze to make out something dark in the distance. Another ping. Upon further approach, the dark object increased in clarity to reveal a one-story structure of steel and iron. It resembled a small abandoned gas station without the pump stations, weathered and dark.

Damon drove up to the depot, parking underneath the wide metal awning that extended beyond the front entrance. He let the engine idle as he began grabbing his gear.

He secured his visor helmet, tightening the seals around his neck before testing the oxygen levels. "Well, we made it. Let's hope what we need is inside. Fuel is already below half."

Jacen applied his shades and full facial thermal. The gel layer mirrored his temperature and maintained it. He reluctantly grabbed the helmet and buckled the chin strap.

The two of them disembarked, grabbing their weapons before the engine was cut. Both of them groaned as their boots hit the concrete, shaking the numbness from their legs that hadn't been used in hours.

Damon went around to the front, rifle on his back as he noticed two faded pairs of prints across the concrete that led to the entrance. "I guess this is where our friends made it after all."

Jacen stood beside him, resting his hands around his collar. "Seems like it. No need to wait now…"

A thud sounded from the M18.

Damon and Jacen whipped around. The sound happened again, more forceful.

Damon pulled his pistol. "What the…"

Domp! Domp!

"It's coming from the cargo block." Jacen took a knee and aimed. "Get ready!"

"Maybe something burst inside," Damon shrugged.

The rhythm of the sound didn't seem likely to Jacen; but if that's what happened, then it meant they were probably stuck out here. How much more bad stuff could happen?

The domps kept coming, over and over. Jacen and Damon remained in position, hands tight around their weapons and fingers inside the trigger guards. The cover to the cargo block behind the right front wheel finally surrendered and folded open. A body, covered in full gear, rolled out and landed on its back. The person, alive and well, began to moan in discomfort.

"Uhhh, it was way easier getting in than getting out."

Jacen retracted his aim. He took a few steps forward. The voice was unmistakable, even muffled behind the thermal. "Naomi?"

"No, don't help me get up. I'll just stay down here," Naomi grumbled.

Jacen walked over to where she was, holstered his weapon, and stared down at her for a few seconds. He burst into laughter as he pulled her up from the ground. "Crazy bastard. What the hell are you doing here? And how did you even get in there?"

"You think I'd let you go alone?" Naomi laughed. "I told you those fetal position methods would come in handy."

"DÍAZ!" Damon shouted as he began storming towards them.

"Oh, meirda! Rey Jr.," Naomi mumbled to Jacen.

Damon walked up Naomi, chest to chest and visor to visor. "What in the disobedient f*k are you doing here?! This was a reconnaissance op, not a fireteam assault trio! There were two of us for a damn reason: stealth and conserving resources. We didn't need a stowaway!"

Naomi shoved him back with a finger against his visor. "Whoa, first of all, check your tone. I'll fold you like an omelet right now. Second, your precious resources won't be affected; I brought my gear, not from inventory. And third, this op might be a fresh bag of fire sh*t, so you might need a little extra help to not die."

"Rey won't like this."

"Rey doesn't even care where I am half the time, so why would he suspect I'm missing now?" Naomi gave him a short punch in the shoulder. "Think for yourself, Vasher. Tranquila and let's crack this place open and see what's inside."

Damon snapped around to Jacen, pointing between the two of them. "Did you know about this?"

Jacen held his hands up in a shrug. "I actually had no idea a person could fit in there."

Damon grunted out whatever frustration he had left and stomped off towards the entrance. This was already a mistake in the making. Diaz could handle herself, sure, but now he had to account for the three of them. He had to know where they were, what they were doing and hoped their actions didn't cause problems. Perhaps he was just overthinking it. They had combat training better than him, oddly enough. In their minds, they probably felt like he was the liability. Nevertheless, he needed to make something clear.

"Let's get on with it. Just know that we need some coordination. No lone wolf stuff. Comprende?"

"We're good, Vash," Jacen said.

"Fine." Damon went to the heavy metal door, grabbing the elongated lever, and strained to pull it down. The frost in the seams of the metal crunched, flaking like shards of glass on the ground. He pushed it open to reveal a maw of cold darkness.

Jacen and Naomi entered first, switching on their flashlights and immediately seeing bundles of cables snaking along the walls with its genesis winding off in an open room to the right.

Damon came in behind them and sealed the door, slamming down the interior lever. He went directly into the open room and began looking over the chest freezer-sized generator on the floor. The fuel gauge read that it was low. Overturned canisters of empty fuel containers were strewn across the floor with a single large container in the corner. He shook the container, hearing contents slosh inside.

"Point the light over here, please," Damon requested. "I need to fill it."

Jacen and Naomi aimed the beams of their light as Damon picked up one of the empty containers and held it underneath the siphon pump on the larger container. The cold plastic groaned in protest. Damon waved Jacen over and the two of them heaved their body weight over the pump in turns to push out the fuel into the container.

"Okay, that's good." Damon took the full container, entering the nozzle into the generator, and poured until empty. He tossed it aside, sealed the cap on the generator, and hit the starter.

The generator sputtered after each hit of the starter, revving longer and longer until it finally roared to life.

"Hell yeah!" Damon pointed to the wall behind Naomi. "Diaz, system controls are behind you. Light this place up. Atmosphere controls at the bottom."

Naomi went to the panel, switching the controls for lights, ventilation, oxygen, and temperature. Within moments, blocks of light began to wink on, the air began to flow, and the temperature began to rise. When the O levels reached 21%, the helmets came off.

"Okay, since we have some extra hands, we can make this quick." Damon turned off his flashlight. "This place only has three areas: essentials, vehicle maintenance, and engineering. We're in engineering now. Pearce, you get the fuel from VM and Diaz and I will see what we can stock up on in essentials."

"Copy." Jacen walked out.

The supply room only had two rows, separated by a double-sided rack in the center. Both sides were encased in black chain-link cages and doors, the mechanized locks cracked open by brute force. The gridded metal shelves were once stocked to the brim with foodstuffs and replacement gear. Now, however, everything seemed picked over with the bare minimum remaining.

"Looks like Jasmine and Quinn had their fill while they were here." Naomi walked down the row to the left, frowning at the labels assigned to the missing gear on the shelves. She ran her hands across some of the folded blankets that were left, the fabric thick and coarse. It didn't seem pleasant.

Damon grabbed a plastic storage container that was by the door, flipped off the lid, and set it in the middle of the floor. "It must've been heaven for 'em. All this to themselves, no sharing or rationing."

"You sound jealous." Naomi tested one of the small tactical flashlights before pocketing one.

"Would I mind a full plate of food that wasn't bland or in a doggy bag? Yeah, absolutely; but we all have to do our part, including food allotment."

Naomi grunted. "That has to be aggravating, your good soldier outlook? Let loose, man. Everything is mierda. It's fine."

Damon laughed, dumping bags of the overlooked MREs into the container, emergency water packs, and plastic cutlery packets. "It's kept me sane thus far. But trust me, if we get back to civilization, I'll 'let loose'."

"I'm not sure what I'd do," Naomi said, stopping at the back shelving and moving the empty boxes aside in disappointment. "It's not like we have anything waiting for us."

"No friends, old connections?" Damon asked.

"Not in the inner colonies, no. It's just me and Jacen, always have been."

"Yeah, he told me you'd been together since you were kids. I always thought you two met later in life."

Naomi turned and looked at Damon between the supplies on the middle shelf. "I thought I heard you two talking. Couldn't hear much over the engine in my hidey-hole. What else did he say?"

"Relax. He wasn't very forthcoming with details."

Naomi pushed off from the middle rack. "It's fine. Life wasn't easy for us. Not easy things to talk about. But good for you, Vasher, making friends. Proud of you."

"Yeah, whatever." Damon shook his head at her sarcasm and continued scanning for worthwhile essentials. He reached for one of the boxes in the back of the rack, pulling it forward. It had some weight to it, having nothing but a serial number and a barcode on the outside. He took out his knife and ran it along the seam and opened it. His eyes enlarged, pupils constricting. He gasped and dropped the box. "Diaz!"

Naomi spun around, weapon snatched from her holster and the safety flicked off. "What's wrong?"

Damon pointed in the box with a trembling hand. Naomi edged around the rack and approached. She returned her weapon to her thigh holster and her mouth fell open.

"Vasher, is that…?

"I think so." Damon sank to his knees and picked up one of the silver packets with tapered edges. DRK RST CFE imprinted on the bag. "Coffee. Real coffee."

Naomi started throwing out the MREs that Damon gathered. "Get rid of this crap! Dump as many cases in here as possible!"

"Chica, say less!"

The two of them hefted the boxes of coffee packets and dropped them into the container, all the while ignoring Jacen's voice coming through on the radio. They laughed and cheered, accumulating seven of the cases that stored 100 small packets each. His voice eventually boomed through.

"Naomi Andrea Montaño Díaz, answer your damn radio!"

Naomi stood up, eyes wide and cheeks red. "Uh-oh." She cleared her throat and keyed her radio. "Come in."

"What's the deal? I've been trying to reach the both of you."

"Sorry about that," she replied. "We've got a major find here, Jacen. You won't believe it."

"Yeah, well, I've got a major find of my own. I've got a body in here."