Watchpoint Gibraltar, Iberian Peninsula, Europe

Adrian wiped a hand against the fogged-up mirror leaving palm sized streak of clarity in the reflection as he stared at himself. He lightly slapped his cheeks to wring out the last drops of lethargy from waking up. Turning on the sink he cupped his hands under the faucet and splashed the cool water against his face before drying his face off with a towel and leaving the small bathroom. Tossing on a set of spare clothes piled up in the corner, he walked to his door that slid open revealing a slightly surprised McCree that had one hand frozen in the air as if to knock who was flanked by Genji.

"The two of you look like door-to-door salesmen." Adrian quipped.

"Can we offer you the deal of a lifetime? Or the chance to hear about our lord and savior?" Jesse replied with a grin.

Adrian chuckled, "I'll pass, what can I do for ya?"

Genji spoke up, "Breakfast my friend, it's important to give your body an early boost of energy."

"Aye, Shimada and I were about to head to the canteen and grab some chow, figured we'd tag you along with us."

He shrugged, "Alright, have either of you seen Liam anywhere?"

"Shacked up with a new friend."

"What's new." Adrian shook his head as the three of them walked through the winding halls of Gibraltar's interior. The base was busier than usual, with the exception of a handful of personnel out on the mission in India it had been relatively quiet for the past week according to Genji. When Adrian asked about this, the response from both men was an unsure shrug, McCree mentioned that a similar slump of Talon activity had occurred just before Adrian had crashed in Africa. Shimada was surprisingly the most dismissive, stating that ups and downs are a guarantee for any organization and arguing that he'd be more worried if they had the power to keep putting out constant threats. A point to which Adrian couldn't relate, the insurrection had become too splintered for anything on the scale of Talon and the Covenant were well…the Covenant. While Genji had a seemingly through argument, neither Jesse nor himself were wholly convinced.

"I'm just saying it feels wrong, you say their rebuilding their forces but what if they're holding back for an all-out attack?" Jesse argued as he pointed his fork at the cyborg ninja.

"That is always a possibility, but logically why would they not have attempted something of the sort sooner when we we're weaker?" Genji replied coolly.

"A fair enough point, but when have Talon ever been rational."

"An equally valid point my friend."

"Why waste time worrying about it. If it happens it happens if it doesn't all the better." Adrian offered his two cents.

"Kinda pessimistic partner."

Adrian simply shrugged, "Just being realistic."

"Have you perhaps thought of meditation?" Shimada questioned to which Adrian shot him an odd look and simply ignored the question.

McCree turned the conversation into a new direction as the loud Korean pilot made herself known while walking into the cafeteria, "Speaking of, the kid's grown a lot. Went out of a mission with her not too long ago and I've gotta say I'm impressed. Reflexes seem quicker and her aim's improved, not that she was ever a push over to begin with but in the battlefield she's frightening."

Adrian chuckled, "No shit? Well she's a spitfire and considering her age could probably beat us in a few years if she keeps with it."

"While true, I do not think she needs even more to her ego." Genji quipped dryly.

"You're right! I am pretty great aren't I?" Hana grinned as she plopped her tray down while taking a seat next to the trio, "It's hard to be such a prodigy,"

"Ah fuck." Adrian groaned.

"Though to hear three old guys talking about how good a nineteen-year girl isn't the best look." She said slyly.

"Again with the age! I'm not even that old."

McCree snorted, "You sure act like an old ass though."

"Your personality does not accurately reflect your biological time." Shimada even added in.

"It's alright Oppa, I hear retirement is great to look forward too!"

"Retirement? That hits home even for me." McCree scoffed.

"Listen here you little shit, I guarantee I will crush you at any one of your modern games."

"You sure about that?" Song replied with a cocky smile.

Adrian faltered as his mind caught up with his mouth, "I uhh…Maybe not."

Shimada patted his back, "Sometimes we have to accept defeat."

Hana's grin faded as she looked seriously at the trio, "Do you really think I've improved that much."

"We would never lie little one, if Jessie says you're a threat to be reckoned with then that statement carries great weight." Genji reassured her.

"It's been a couple weeks since we went out on an expedition together, but you're training has been going along smoothly." Adrian added

"Think I could beat you?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Idle chat continued to flow between the four of them, McCree and Song reminiscing about their latest sortie while Adrian and Shimada placed bets on how long it would take until their reminiscence turned competitive. Though ultimately it would never come to fruition, Jesse got called way for a debriefing and not long after Genji left for his daily meditation leaving behind Adrian and Hana as the two began to file out of the canteen and into the hallway.

"You meet Vaswani back in India right? What did you think of her? She's been here for like a week or longer but doesn't seem that interested in making friends."

Adrian scratched his chin, "Wouldn't say we hit it off, she's dedicated though, I'll give her that."

"Makes sense why Winston would put her on the project to get you home." He looked incredulously at the Korean girl to which she simply responded, "I hear what I hear."

"Eh I think it's a bit more than that, but if she's as smart as they say then all the better. Seems like they're finally getting close to the end, shouldn't be much longer until I'm back to fighting hinge heads."

She shot him a curious glance, "Your universe is a living hell, why go back?"

Adrian looked down to his scarred hand where an energy dagger had impaled it only a couple months prior. Flexing his hand the messy scar tissue crumpled and stretched in odd ways, plasma burns were difficult to heal and impossible to restore.

"Well…it ain't no paradise. Especially compared to here."

"Exactly! So why are you so eager to leave?" She shouted animatedly taking him aback.

He stopped walking as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Because well…while I'm here it feels like I'm running away."

"But the whole thing is that you should be able to return right as you left, what's the harm in staying a while longer."

"The keyword there being should, what happens if it turns out every second, I've spent here has been a second back in my world? That's edging to half a year that I've been out of the fight, that the Covenant had been on Earth and that's assuming they're not there just to glass it. It's not like I'm skimping on some minor civil war that could blow over in a couple years, it's the fate of humanity resting on our final defense of Earth."

"You've said it before, you already know how the war is going to turn out, why throw everything away for it?"

"Revenge? Duty? Fate? Any or all of the above? We've been at war with the Covenant since I was born, some of my earliest memories are hearing above the Covvies encroaching like a plague throughout the galaxy, eradicating millions to billions of people one planet at a time. A thousand colonies brought down to hundred if we're being conservative, every minute off the clock is another dozen deaths. Ever since I understood and I mean truly understood the threat the Covenant faced, I lived every day in fear of what tomorrow might bring. Worrying that I might wake up to see an armada hovering in my planet's atmosphere, ready to burn the planet to dust. Eventually you live in so much fear that it just begins to…wear off. When I joined the UNSC, the average soldier survivability was about sixty percent, when I became an ODST it was thirty-five percent, and when I came here ONI analysts had it at about three percent. At a point, every mission becomes a suicide mission and every return to base is a lucky opportunity, eventually it all fades into nothing and what you're left with is ambivalence."

They stood in the empty hallway for a bit while Hana tried to regain some of her composure as Adrian stood awkwardly to the side, eventually he patted her should with an unsure gesture.

"But there's still time until that happens, so might as well make the best of the time left right?" Hana said.

"Exactly."

She then embraced him with a quick hug that made him feel even more out of place, hesitantly patting her back she light-heartedly scoffed as his obstinacy. Behind them a voice called out, "Adrian and stubbornness, name a better duo."

Angela chuckled as Adrian rolled his eyes at her comment, "Whenever you and Hana are in the same room it always turns into ganging up on me."

"To be fair you make it extraordinary easy." Hana quipped, then added, "Well I'm sure you two have some catching up to do." As she walked away with a coy smile.

"I think I see your influence on her more every day and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Ziegler said as she her eyes followed the young girl.

"I fail to see how it could be anything could be bad, especially if it's my roguishly rugged good looks and charming personality she picked up."

"Now you're starting to sound like Liam."

"That might be the cruelest thing you've ever said to me." He feigned hurt as the two aimlessly walked through the base.

"I'm known to have a callous streak."

"You? I have a tough time believing that."

"I once convinced a patient that kept harassing the local staff that his mild inflation was actually a precursor to permanent erectile disfunction."

Adrian looked at her dumbly, "Holy…That…I can't think I'd do that to my worst enemy."

"He was so occupied with his own problems that he stopped bothering the staff, so maybe I'll do it again." She shot him a devious look that caused him to take a step to the side. Angela burst out laughing so hard she had to keel over with a hand over her gut as she used her free hand to hold onto Adrian's shoulder for support.

"You have a sick sense of humor." He chimed.

She didn't reply as she struggled to stop laughing her lungs gasping for breath in between each chuckle, Adrian simply widely grinned as he saw the joy glinting in her eyes. Eventually they made their way to the crew quarters where Angela had eventually calmed down, she invited him into her room. Looking around it was about what he had expected, full of medical devices, books, research, and papers but all were meticulously organized to a tee. He sat down on the edge of her bed as she wandered around the room, 'cleaning up' as she called it though he didn't think it was possible to do any more.

"It's…odd to have such a quiet day. Normally even if we're not dealing with Talon there's still something to do but today..." She commented. "Normally I'd have paperwork to fill out, patients to care for, or even something mundane but my schedule is entirely open."

"Heh welcome to my world, this is how I feel whenever I'm not out on a mission. Doubly so when I first arrived here."

"Initially a small part of me thought that was just an excuse for poor socializing."

Adrian snickered, "Just on a roll with these remarks, and what about now? Is it still an excuse?"

She pondered the question, "Well I think the poor socializing holds some truth." Angela smiled as she walked over, "But I got you so maybe I'm not entirely unbiased." She lightly pulled the collar of his shirt forward brining him forward into a deep kiss.

Once he pulled away after an involved few seconds he looked up into her eyes, "We don't have any plans for the rest of the day, right?"

Her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise before she leered as she closed the gap completely and straddled his lap. "Let's see how much time we can kill."

…

…

…

Adrian shuttered as he felt Angela's nails dig into his back as he finished. She gave him a final longing kiss as she quivered in turn, the two holding deeply in each other's embrace before eventually parting after an eternity of warmth. Adrian involuntarily shivered as Ziegler's warm body moved to empty bedspace next to him, leaving him a touch colder than he'd been for the past couple hours. Under the covers he felt himself reaching for her hand, the two extremities intertwining themselves together as the two laid in a comfortable silence. Their peace was broken by Athena's robotic voice chiming in, reminding him that any semblance of privacy meant nothing to an omnipotent A.I.

"Adrian, Winston has a great advancement that he would like to share with you."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and Angela laughed next to him, pulling the covers over her mouth to hide her amusement.

"In your honest to god opinion Athena, how important is this."

Without missing a beat, she replied instantly, "Immensely."

That caught his attention, "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes." There was no response leaving the two once more in silence, Adrian rolled over to look at Angela. "Wanna tag along?"

"It's fine, whatever it is I'm sure he'll show the rest of us soon. Besides I'd like to take a shower, maybe a bath."

"A shower huh. Need any help?"

"Adrian."

"All right. All right."

Adrian sat up on the edge of the bed, running his hands across he faces he picked up his discarded clothes from the floor and put them as. Standing up he could hear the water flowing as Ziegler started the shower.

"Final call, free to help with any and all shower needs! I've been told I do wonderful massage work." He called out.

"Adrian Sashovich Kasporov." Her voice rang out sternly liked a mother's warning.

"Oops." He gulped as she ducked out the door with unmatched speed. Slowing down on his way to Winston's lab his mind began to race over the possibilities. Immediately he went to the idea that everything was done, ready to transport him back to his world but he immediately trampled that thought as he tempered his expectations. Still Athena's reply was earnest, and he didn't think it common for her to be so forthcoming in her persistence, normally she'd let him slip Winston's calls but this time had an unusual urgency.

The lab door slid open in front of him to reveal the whole space had been cleared out, or rather the tables and lab equipment that normally filled the room had been pushed to the side leaving a large open area in the center. Off in the corner he saw Winston's large form fiddling with something, walking over to where the ape was, he saw it was some sort of large glowing cylinder a bit smaller than the size of his torso. It seemed to be covered in an odd shimmering blue with several wises visible underneath the translucent coating

Upon hearing his approach, Winston turned to face Adrian bursting with energy, "Ah great! Now I have some…wonderfully exciting news!"

"I see, you uhh…built a battery?"

Winston palmed his face, "No no no, nothing of the sort. My friend this right here," He gestured toward the cylinder, "Is the completed device." It took Adrian a second to process but before he could speak Winston continued, "Now it's not complete as in we're ready to send you home, the logistics still need some fine tuning but the physical construction and application…we believe we've finally completed it. Our less than trusted Vishkar associate was fair more useful than I anticipated, her hard-light creations are immensely strong and unbelievably light, meaning we can layer immense amounts of hard-light plating and not comprise the structural integrity."

Adrian had tuned most of that out, instead focusing on what would potentially be his and Liam's way back home, "So this is a sort of prototype then?"

"Exactly! The logistics shouldn't be much longer if I'm being honest, we're data mining the spy drone you brought in, speaking of which Athena's compiled a number of key fragments. To use they mean nothing, hopefully you'll be able to piece some of those bits together. Winston said sporadically as he frantically pushed a large data tablet into Adrian's arms before turning back to the miniature slipspace drive.

Still in a bit of shock, he absent mindedly began to scroll through the information collected, most of which seemed to be trivial. "Athena is this all the information collected from the drone?"

"No, there is a strong encryption that is pushing my limits. That is simply all I could decrypt at this time."

Adrian hummed in understanding, he almost continued scrolling before something caught his eye; the Clarion spy drone's last recorded location was in the Epsilon Indi system. It rang a bell in his mind that he couldn't immediately place before he had any more time to think it over Adrian was ripped from his thoughts as Winston pulled on his arm.

"Now just watch what we can do." The ape spoke with unparalleled enthusiasm. Adrian complied, watching as Winston hefted the cylinder with his arms and placed it down in the center of the room. He then proceeded to input a few commands into the device before stepping back next to Adrian, grinning wildly Adrian thought the ape would come apart at the seams with how excited he was.

Looking on, the prototype hummed with energy as it grew louder, it crackled and buzzed as several lights began to light up along it's sides. The translucent hard-light practically glowing with energy as it powered up with Covvie technology. In the blink of an eye an all too familiar slipspace hole erupted around it, consuming the device before quickly closing around it with a small blast of dispended energy leaving only light scorch marks across the ground. Adrian was at a loss for words, he was almost about to speak before another miniature slipspace portal opened in the blink of an eye far across the room, depositing the device and promptly disappearing.

A wave of indescribable emotions passed over him as he witnessed a miracle of science right before his eyes, Winston grabbed ahold of his shoulders and spun Adrian to face him, "Adrian my friend, you're on your way to going home."

.