"Text" = Speech

"Text" = Nonverbal Communication


Epilogue

June 4th, 2581

21:35 Local Time

Casbah City, Tribute, Epsilon Eridani System

Andrew swiped his key card over the door's RFID scanner, letting him into the mostly unassuming apartment building. Sylas followed by his side. The Spartan opened his mailslot, finding a surprising amount of nothing within. It had probably been months since he last found his mail empty. As he proceeded to the elevator a rather thin man approached him.

"Hey, Andrew. Do you have a minute," the man asked nervously. He was far twitchier than Andrew had seen in a long time, but knowing what must be going through his mind the retired Spartan didn't blame him.

"Of course, Ari. How can I help?"

"I wanted to tell you about what happened today. I'm sure you already heard from the police and my advocate," Andrew nodded in response. "Well, an old friend of mine contacted me today, said he wanted to hangout a bit and asked if he could come over because he lost his apartment. I told him the address and to call when he got here. I figured I might contact my advocate later and see if the guy could stay a day or two until he had someplace else to crash. We talked for a good few minutes before he asked the question. He asked if I had anything we could do in the apartment. Pills, needles, anything; he said he was starting to come down. That's when my mistake hit me." Ari started to clam up and Andrew could tell. He placed a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder and motioned for him to continue.

"I told him that I wasn't using anymore. I told him that I was getting clean and putting my life back together. That's when he started to lose it. He got really angry. I tried to talk him down. I told him about the program and said he should apply. That's when he tried to punch me. I took off for the bedroom and locked the door so I could call the police. He kept yelling at me. I told him I can't have a negative influence like him around anymore. By the time the police came he'd punched a hole in my wall."

Ari was beginning to retreat in on himself.

"I'm proud of you Ari. You did the right thing. You cut out that toxicity and went to the right people for it. I'll have a contractor come by tomorrow to fix your wall. I appreciate your honesty, too." Andrew gave the man a brief hug, something he knew Ari didn't mind.

"Thanks Andrew. Oh, uh, I saw some military types headed up your apartment. Wanted to give you a heads-up."

"Thanks Ari, looks like I may have to go off-world for a while. I'll do my best to be available for you all if you need to talk," Andrew's distaste for the unexpected visit painted his words. Sylas followed him to the elevator, blissfully unaware of what would soon happen.

"Sylas, bleib ruhig. Es wird in ordnung sein," Andrew commanded as the elevator reached the top floor. The dog cocked his head at the retired Spartan. Andrew took notice of how much the hellhound had changed in thirteen years. They were subtle changes only he'd have noticed. There was far more gray in his fur, the scar on his muzzle faded and the jagged tear in his ear was much rounder than it used to be. Despite his advanced age, Sylas was still as spritely as ever. Andrew chalked it up to the augmentations. The two stepped into the small hall and were stopped by MPs.

"Identify yourself."

"Look, I've had a long day. I wanna get out of my work clothes and Sylas needs to eat. Get out of my way," Andrew brushed past the two without so much as a second thought. Punching in his keycode, he opened the door for Sylas and followed the dog in, locking it behind him. Sylas trotted towards the living room; his habitual scan of the apartment was something Andrew found humorous. Even with the military at the door this was the safest place on the planet for them.

"SYLAS," a shrill voice cried out. The retired Spartan raced into the living room to find a young girl with her arms wrapped around Sylas' neck. The dog turned his head to look at Andrew. The Spartan scanned the room finding his former team and Thermer's wife, which meant the girl was Thermer's kid, and Andrew's goddaughter.

"So … what's up with the family reunion?"

"Nice to see you too, big guy," King said. The leader of the first trinary Headhunter team had a few new scars across his face. The new markings didn't surprise Andrew at all.

"There's only one way you'd know that I live here. What happened?"

"We'll talk about that after Alice goes to bed. It's nice to see that you remember, Andrew," Sarah said plainly. Thermer had met Sarah back on Minerva. The two had married about a month after Andrew had retired. It wasn't too long after that Thermer became a drill instructor for the Spartan Program on Mars.

"Sarah, it's nice to see you two are safe."

"What kinda place do you live in Andrew? The people here look shady as hell. Especially that scrawny dude down by the front door."

"You'll hold your tongue in regards to my tenants, Sam. Those people have more strength than most of those I've met. Ari is one of our best cases." He barked at the flippant marksman.

"Chill dude. I'm just saying that this place gives off a real bad vibe."

"Did you not read the file, Sam?" Jaq asked frustratedly. Sam's silence was enough to know he hadn't. Still the same carefree sniper he always was.

"I run a recovery network for addicts facing serious prison time. This building provides them with rent free housing. The rest of the Phoenix Network provides counseling, an advocate, work and healthcare. I would appreciate it if you treated them with a modicum of respect for turning their lives around." Andrew explained.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Sam deflated.

"Alice, why don't you go get ready for bed? The grown-ups need to talk about something."

"Okay mommy." Alice rushed off to the guest room. Sylas started to follow her before looking back at Andrew who gave him a short nod. The dog wandered off in search of his eight-year-old charge.

"What happened?" Andrew questioned as he sat down.

"Jesse was deployed just over three months ago. Some sort of investigation that only he'd be able to help with. According to the Office he hasn't checked in in two weeks." Sam said.

"About a week ago all of us got the same message from him on Waypoint. Your contingency plan. It just so happened that Sarah found this on her kitchen counter the same day." King said as he tossed a data-pad to Andrew.

Andrew deftly caught the device and thumbed over the fingerprint scanner. The screen lit up and displayed a message reading, "Tour move, Spartan G199. Let the game resume."

"Sarah, you and Alice are going to be staying here for a while. King, I presume you have my papers?"


Translations

"Sylas, bleib ruhig. Es wird in ordnung sein." = "Sylas, keep calm. It will be fine."

Ok, this is the very end of OUTCAST. You may see a typo somewhere, keep that in mind. There's a bit of revision I have to make to the first couple chapters of the sequel, but it should be coming soon.