Chapter Eleven: Downtime
Erde-Tyrene, a name
Of pure, radiant music
She knew her mission
UNSC Infinity, Admiral's Private Quarters
Slipspace, en route to Alliance Shanxi System
"Visitor for you Admiral."
"Who is it Roland?"
"Commander Palmer sir."
"Send her in," said Lasky, setting the datapad he was reading down on the desk.
The door to his quarters slid open, and Palmer stepped inside. Instead of her Mjolnir armor or it's dark-blue undersuit, she was dressed in simple BDU's. In each of her hands was a medium-sized enclosed plastic tray.
"Admiral," she acknowledged.
"Sarah," he replied with a smile.
Palmer returned the smile, recognizing the dropping of formalities between the two with Lasky's use of her first name.
"What's for dinner?" asked Lasky.
"It's Italian day in the mess halls," said Palmer, taking a seat opposite of Lasky on the other side of the desk and setting her trays down. Lasky opened his tray, revealing chicken parmesan and lasagna, along with a side of bread. Palmer opened hers as well, and the hot steam that had condensed in the trays wafted up between them for a second.
Lasky took his fork and knife and cut off a piece of the chicken, bringing it to his mouth. He took a bite and savored the exquisite taste. Every single one of the Infinity's three hundred cooks were revered by the crew. He suddenly realized how hungry he was, and quickly cut off another piece and started chewing.
"When was the last time you ate Thom?" asked Palmer with light concern.
"I dunno," said Lasky between bites. "I had an energy bar before the assault on the Mass Relay, but before that? Before we first met up with the Arbiter."
"That was nearly thirty-two hours ago," said Palmer disapprovingly, to which Lasky simply shrugged.
"What about sleep?"
"Well, the call to meet the Arbiter came near the end of my shift, and I was too curious to go to sleep during the jump to the meet-up point. And I haven't since we got here either."
"Thom," said Palmer, frowning.
"What?" replied Lasky, raising his utensil-clutching hands up in defense. "It was a tense few hours." An understatement to be sure, he thought.
"I know, I know," said Palmer. "But the ship needs you at your best, and depriving yourself of food and rest isn't the way to do that."
"I'm not depriving myself of anything. I just don't have a lot of spare time at the moment," said Lasky, attempting to defend himself.
"Are you now?" asked Palmer, eyebrows raised in amusement. "We have twenty-two until we drop out of slipspace. But instead of using this time to relax and recharge, Roland told me on the way up that Sergeant Julian had to nearly drag you off the bridge. And here you are in your quarters, doing what? Sleeping? Eating? No! You're reading!" She picked up the datapad on the desk between them and waved it at him.
"Learning," quickly corrected Lasky, grabbing the datapad out of her hands.
"Learning what? Forgot some formulas for your math test tomorrow?"
Lasky shot a quick glare her way before saying, "No. Cortana forwarded me this document, it's called the Codex. It's a compilation of basic knowledge on nearly everything you would want to know about this galaxy. The different species and their culture, history, biology, galactic roles, basic technology, major galactic events, all sorts of stuff."
"It sounds like a fascinating piece of material," acknowledged Palmer. "But you should be reading it after you've slept."
"I was going to sleep before my next duty started," reasoned Lasky.
"And when is that?"
"In uh, in seven hours," said Lasky, checking his watch to make sure.
"Make it fourteen."
"Fourteen? That's – "
"Roland?" interrupted Palmer.
"Admiral, Captain Suresh has stated that he is perfectly fine with taking a double shift," said the AI.
"Well..." began Lasky, chewing on his bottom lip. "Alright, fine. Sarah you're right. Roland, I'll be back on duty in fourteen hours, but if anything out of the ordinary happens, you let me know right away."
"Of course Admiral."
Lasky looked to Sarah and saw her eating her meal quietly with a small smile on her lips.
"Don't look so smug," Lasky chided playfully, his mind and body already starting to relax with the knowledge that he had half a day of rest coming up. He looked around the table and furrowed his eyebrows when he didn't see any glasses or bottles. "You didn't bring anything to drink?"
"Oh, I didn't?" said Palmer, feigning innocence. "Hmm. I must have forgotten. If only there was something we could do about it..."
Lasky smirked. "Do you seriously expect me to fall for that trick again?"
"Yes?" replied Palmer.
Lasky got up out of his chair and walked back into the room towards a small wood cabinet with glass doors. "What will it be today? Italian Merlot... Brooklyn Bourbon... That aged Epsilon Scotch we had last time was good... Harvest Brandy..."
Palmer nearly choked on her food. "Harv – You have Harvest Brandy?!"
"I haven't told you?" said Lasky calmly, drawing the liquor out of the cabinet and inspecting it's label. "2020."
"2020 Harvest Brandy?" said Palmer in disbelief. "Now how the hell did you get your hands on that?"
"Lord Hood gave me a pair when I was promoted to Admiral."
"He gave you two?!"
"Yep. Only have one now though."
"Well what happened to the other one?"
"I lost it."
Palmer let out a short laugh. "Lost it? How?"
"To Sergeant Julius. In a bet," said Lasky.
"No you didn't." said Palmer, wide-eyed and smiling. "Wait, let me guess, the Wargames Championship?"
Lasky nodded meekly.
"Unbelievable..." said Palmer, shaking her head. Admiral Lasky and the bridge guard head Sergeant Julius's fierce competitiveness when it came to the Wargames was the stuff of legend throughout the ship, Lasky representing the officer corps while Julius represented the enlisted.
"What? Fireteam Lancer was the clear top seed."
"I'm surprised the officers aren't mutinying. Knowing that you, Grand Admiral Supreme, lost a bottle of the rarest Brandy in the galaxy to a Sergeant."
Lasky waved his hand dismissively and walked back to the desk, a dark brown bottle and two glasses in his hands. He set the two glasses down on the table and opened the bottle, this one Epsilon Bourbon, and started pouring
The two ate in silence for a few moments, savoring both the relaxed atmosphere and each others own company.
"You know, I didn't want to have to do that to him." said Lasky quietly after a minute.
"Who?"
"The Master Chief. I didn't want to separate him from his squad," Lasky said, swirling the contents of his glass. He looked at the dark liquid, pausing for a moment, before tipping his head back and downing the rest of the drink. "They're the only kind of family he has left really... but it's important having a UNSC presence on the Normandy, if she's one of the ships that's going to be right in the thick of this war. And he's the only one I trust to protect that UNSC presence."
"I'm sure he'll follow orders," reassured Palmer.
"It's not about whether he'll follow the orders or not. I know he will."
"Then what is it about?"
Lasky drummed the fingers of his right hand on the wooden desk, the other holding his fork. "The man's been through a lot. Done a lot. Seen a lot. Probably more than anybody would ever want to, yet what do I do? Put him on a foreign ship, separating him away from the people he's just allowed himself to get close to again."
"You're feeling guilty."
"I suppose. I can't help but feel sorry for him however. How many wars, how many conflicts is he going to have to fight through in order to get a break?"
"You know you had to do it. Besides, Spartans are tough, double thatfor the Master Chief," said Palmer.
"Yeah I know," said Lasky, sighing, "But it doesn't mean that I liked giving the order. Although I guess that classifies most command decisions."
He sighed, forking the last bit of chicken into his mouth.
"How was it?" asked Palmer.
"Filling. Did I ever tell you about the Italian family that lived in the apartment next to us back on Mars?"
"I don't believe you have."
Lasky chuckled a bit. "Me and uh, me and my brother, we would go over to this family's apartment at least two or thee times a week. The mother, big lady, the most stereotypical Italian woman I had ever met, didn't speak a word of English but always had the biggest pot of red sauce cooking. I had some of the best meals of my life over there."
He paused for a moment, tapping his fork on the tray a couple of times while he smiled "My brother and I became really good friends with the three girls. Debbie, Dana, and Delilah, those were their names." Lasky stopped tapping, and his smile disappeared. "A week before my brother shipped off to C.A.M.S., the father was arrested and the family was deported."
Palmer stopped with a forkful of chicken halfway to her mouth, her face a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Arrested?"
"It turned out that the father was a terrorist. An insurrectionist that made the bomb which killed thirty-seven Marine and Naval personnel and wounded nearly a hundred more at a military nightclub. The authorities traced the materials back to the suppliers, and then from the suppliers to him. My brother and I had no idea."
Lasky let go of his fork and knife, the two utensils clattering onto the tray, and rubbed his face in his hands exasperatedly.
"What's wrong Thom?" asked Palmer, concern showing in eyes and furrowed brow.
Lasky removed his hands from his face and looked at her, and Palmer now noticed that she could see just how tired the UNSC Admiral looked.
"I'm just... I'm worried about this whole thing. It has the potential to go south at any moment," he said.
"Our situation, you mean."
"Yeah. There's just too many unknowns, too many variables."
"Well that's part of our job, changing our plan to being able to adapt."
"Yeah, well I'm not too sure about our overall 'plan' in the first place," admitted Lasky.
"We have no choice but to rely on the Systems Alliance. They're the ones who offered us protection, and besides, they're Human," said Palmer.
"That just makes me more concerned, not less. Sure they're Human, but they're not us," said Lasky, pursing his lips. "I just don't want us to thought of as a commodity. Reaper-killing machines that are sold to the highest galactic bidder."
"I think the last thing we need to worry about is being turned into a commodity. In fact, I'd say that we're gaining some sort of V.I.P. status. You told me how poorly the Systems Alliance ships did against the Reapers above Earth 2.0, and how desperate their Admiral Hackett was to secure an alliance with us. Right now, they need us, not the other way around."
Lasky thought for a moment, bobbing his head up and down ever so slightly. "You're right. I know I was right. I still can't help but wondering what will happen when this galaxy stops falling head over heels for our Heavy MACs and Energy Projectors."
Palmer stood up out of her chair and started slowly sauntering over to Lasky's side of the desk, running the tips of the fingers on her right hand lightly across the wood. "You worry too much Tom."
Upon reaching the other side of the desk, Palmer stepped over Lasky's legs with one of her own and sat down in his lap, straddling him. She wrapped her arms around the Admiral's neck and after a second's pause, bent her head down to give a deep kiss which Lasky gladly reciprocated.
"How many times – am I going to have to tell you – to relax?" said Palmer softly, each pause in her sentence marked by another kiss.
"How much time until you're back on duty?" asked Lasky quickly.
"Enough," Palmer replied, biting her bottom lip suggestively.
Satisfied with the answer, Lasky pulled Sarah closer for another kiss. It was only then, as their kisses grew more passionate and their hands more exploratory, when Lasky allowed the stress that had built up over the past couple of days to release and finally, truly relax.
SSV Normandy
En Route to Citadel
"Commander Shepard says that it's safe to come out now, we're through the Relay," Cortana said through the Pelican's intercom.
The Master Chief unbuckled his crash-webbing and stood up from his door to the cockpit slid open and the two UNSC pilots, Samuel Dolton and Roran Cehack, emerged with helmets under their arms.
Witha loud hiss, the gunship's troop bay decompressed as the rear ramp started to lower and light from the Normandy's hangar bay flooded in the relatively dark interior.
For safety reasons, Shepard had wanted the UNSC personnel to stay in their Pelican until they got through the Charon Relay, so that if 'things went bad' during the assault they could be ejected through the hangar bay.
The ramp lowered fully, impacting the metal deck of the hangar bay with a metal clang, and the Spartan walked into the hangar bay, turning around so that they were facing the inside. A short distance away stood five figures dressed in Alliance fatigues, save one wearing a tight gray shirt. Standing in the center was Commander Shepard himself, flanked on the right by Major Alenko and on the left by Dr. T'soni and Lieutenant Vega. Chief recognized the five of them from previous encounters on Earth and Mars. Standing next to Vega was another dark-skinned man with buzzed dark brown hair that Chief hadn't seen before, however.
"Welcome aboard the SSV Normandy, it's an honor to have you here," said Commander Shepard, stepping forwards. "Now that the battle is over, I figure that this would be the best time for real introductions and a tour of the ship."
"Sounds good," Chief replied for the UNSC group, remembering his official assignment of 'liason'.
"Alright then, I'll start," said Shepard, nodding, "I'm Commander John Shepard, Alliance Navy. I'm the commander of the Normandy."
Shepard looked to Kaidan, and the Sentinel cleared his throat. "I am Major Kaidan Alenko, Alliance Marines, Shepard's second-in-command."
"I am Liara T'soni. I'm an Asari, and I've known and worked alongside Shepard for the better part of four years now."
"I'm uh, Lieutenant James Vega, Alliance Marines also," said the large Marine with the gray shirt.
The other dark-skinned man went last. "Senior Airman Steve Cortez, Alliance Navy. I fly the Normandy's Kodiak shuttle," he said sharply, nodding his head in the direction of the craft.
Dolton, the sandy-haired pilot, straightened up. "Flight Sergeant Samuel Dolton, UNSC Navy. I fly that bad girl over there." He pointed back to the stealth gunship they had just emerged from.
Dolton nudged Cehack with his elbow, and the younger pilot said, "Senior Airman Roran Cehack. I'm the gunner of the Pelican."
Lastly was the Master Chief. The Spartan was silent for a moment noticing that all eyes in the hangar bay were on him. He decided to keep things short. "Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117. You can call me Master Chief."
"And I'm Cortana, the Master Chief's AI," added Cortana as she projected her voice through John's helmet speakers. If any of the Alliance crew members showed unease at having not one, but now two artificial intelligences aboard the Normandy, they hid it remarkably well.
Shepard nodded in approval at the completion of the introductions, and said, "Well now that that's done, let's start with the tour. Where you're standing in right now is the Normandy's Hangar bay. This is where our shuttle is stored, and now your gunship as well. Space will be a bit tight, the Pelican is a bit bigger than what we're used too but w should be able to manage."
Shepard began walking backwards, motioning the rest of the group to do the same. "At the front of the bay you'll find the weapons and gear lockers, as well as the main elevator that runs through the other floors of the ship." The Commander pointed to one portion of the bay wall where a number of empty lockers were open. "We've made some room for your own equipment. Here is where we gear up then board the shuttle before each mission."
"Now if you all will step into the elevator with me, we'll be going to deck three, the crew deck," said Shepard, pushing a button to open the elevator doors.
"Is there only one elevator for the whole ship?" asked Dolton, stepping in with the rest of the group, sans Vega and Cortez who stayed behind in the hangar. With five people and a fully armored half-ton Spartan, it was a bit of a tight fit.
"Yes, this is the only elevator," said Shepard, pressing the button for Deck Three. "There is however a set of service stairs that spirals around the elevator shaft you could take instead."
"Gotcha," said Dolton.
"Deck Four is just storage bays and the Normandy's engine room, feel free to visit it later," said Shepard, anticipating any question of why they were skipping it. "Deck One is my cabin. If you need to speak with me privately, ask to see me in there."
After a few seconds the elevator door opened, and the group stepped out into the crew deck.
"Right in front of you are rooms that house the life-support systems and the crew quarters. Down the halls to the left and right are the port and starboard observation decks, as well as the bathrooms and showers. Around the corners behind us are the mess hall, the med bay, and the XO's quarters."
Kaidan coughed at Shepard's last statement. "Yeah, XO's quarters."
Shepard looked at his friend with furrowed brows and said to the UNSC personnel, "Feel free to take some time and look around."
They split off Dolton and Cehack setting off towards Port Observation, while the Master Chief wandered around the elevator into the main crew deck space.
"What are you talking about Kaidan?" asked Shepard, wondering about his under breathed remark.
"You should probably see for yourself," replied Alenko with a knowing smirk.
As the Alliance group walked towards the XO's office Shepard tried to catch Liara's eyes, but the Asari was looking meekly at the deck. Behind them Shepard could hear Dolton and Cehack's conversation once they triggered the door to Port Observation.
"Check it out Sam, they've got a bar here. Or, at least what looks like a bar... Although I don't think I've ever seen purple alcohol before."
"Screw the purple stuff, look at this! A poker table!"
"Oh really?"
"Roran my friend, it is only a matter of time until history is made. I'm going to be the first person to acquire a Systems Alliance dollar in the name of the UNSC. Or coin. Or credit. Or bottlecap, whatever they use."
"The first order of business, naturally." Heavy tones of sarcasm behind that phrase. "Aren't we here to help them?"
"Sure, help them blast some bogeys out of the sky, help them lighten their pockets of money, whatever they need..."
As Shepard walked out of earshot, they arrived in front of the XO's quarters. Out of the corner of his eye Shepard could see the Master Chief slowly walking through the mess and the central part of the crew deck, helmeted head moving back and forth slowly as if he was surveying as much of the surroundings as he could. A couple of regular crewmen eating at the mess table shot him some furtive looks, but the Master Chief either didn't notice or didn't care. Shepard bet on both.
"After you Commander," said Kaidan.
Shepard punched the door command, and when it opened his mouth dropped. "What the hell?"
He didn't even recognize the old XO's room anymore. Gone was the simple desk and lightly cushioned chairs, as well as the previously bare walls. Now, one wall was lined with dozens of computer monitors all linked together to show a single picture of their galaxy, while various terminals and what looked like heavy duty server hardware lined the opposite wall. Cabled both large and small crisscrossed the floor, while the bed at the far end of the room was concealed in darkness behind a glass screen.
"What is all this?" asked Shepard, looking back to his companions. Kaidan just had an resigned look on his face.
"Why don't you ask her," said the Major, gesturing in Liara's direction with his head.
Shepard looked suspiciously at the Asari. "Liara?"
"I might have needed to commandeer Kaidan's quarters..." she said, biting her lip and trying to look innocent. "My newfound – responsibilities – require a lot of hardware, and therefore, a lot of space."
"When did you do all of this?" asked Shepard curiously.
"Before the assault on the Charon Relay after we left Mars. You were busy in the CIC and the War Room," she answered.
"That wasn't even two hours of time."
"I'm fast Shepard, it's a requirement in my line of work."
Shepard sighed and shook his head, but couldn't help at slightly smiling. He should have figured that Liara would need to set up a Shadow Broker Command Center somewhere in the ship, but he didn't think that she would have been bold enough to take over Alenko's quarters.
"And what do you think about this Kaidan?" he asked.
To his surprise, Alenko just chuckled. "It's fine Commander. Liara actually approached me before hand asking to have the room, and I gladly let her understanding the circumstances. I don't mind hot-bunking with the crew, I have been doing it for the majority of my service in the Alliance anyways."
Shepard looked at Liara, whose hand's were clasped in front of her stomach and whose blue-pink lips returned his slight smile. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, and suddenly Shepard decided that he had better things he could be doing then playing tour guide.
Dolton and Cehack had finished their exploring of the front half of the crew deck and had joined the Master Chief in the central mess.
"I apologize, but I have an important matter I need to attend to in my cabin. If you would like to see Deck Two, which houses the Command and Control Center, the Conference Room, and the War Room, or Deck Four, Major Alenko would be happy to show you," said Shepard.
"Commander, a question," spoke Chief.
"Yes?"
"Bunk arrangements?"
Shepard nearly palmed himself in the forehead, he had completely forgot about that. "Right. Hmm. There should be enough empty rooms to fit everyone in." He thought for a couple of seconds, cycling through the different unused spaces throughout the Normandy. "For you two – " began Shepard to the two gunship pilots, but Dolton interrupted him.
"Actually Commander, Cehack and I have brought hammocks that we would like to set up in the hangar bay, if that's alright?" asked Dolton.
"Yes, that would be perfectly fine," said Shepard. "Vega and Cortez already bunk down there anyways. Now, that just leaves the Master Chief. Any preferences?"
"Somewhere isolated if possible," he said gruffly.
The Commander smirked. He had known someone like that, thinking breifly back to the days when Jack had established that as her spot. "I think I know just the place. There's a small spot underneath the engine room on Deck Four that doesn't get a lot a through-traffic, if you're able to deal with the engine noise."
"I'll be fine," he said.
"Perfect. Alenko can show you there. Now if you'll excuse me," With that, Shepard broke away from the group and made quickly for the elevator.
"We're going to take the service stairs back down to the hangar bay," said Dolton, leaving with Cehack.
"I'd like to see Deck Two," said Chief to Kaidan.
"Sure thing, but we'll have to wait for the elevator," he replied, taking into consideration the bulk of Chief's armor.
EDI's voice came through on the intercom. "Dr. T'soni, Commander Shepard would like to see you in his cabin. He says it is urgent."
"Tell him I'll be right there." she said. With that she turned away and walked in the direction of the elevator, wondering what 'urgent matter' Shepard needed her for. She smiled as she opened the entrance into the service stairs and started ascending to Deck One, part of her mind already knowing what was likely in store.
When the Master Chief stepped out of the elevator into the Hangar Bay, Dolton, Cehack, and the Alliance pilot Cortez were already in a full blown argument. This wasn't an angry argument, not in the least, rather the kind of argument that one could only witness occurring between pilots of different crafts. It seemed to be a ritual almost upon meeting each other, where after names and courtesies were exchanged a battle was launched where each pilot attacked and defended the strengths and weaknesses of each craft.
"It looks like a brick!" chided Dolton
"Yeah, well yours looks like a high-schooler's unfinished computer model," retorted Cortez.
"That would be the photo-reactive paneling and stealth coating," corrected Cehack.
"The Kodiak's got stealth too, just not as flashy."
"What's that things top speed?" asked Cehack
"I can squeeze 500 kph out of her on a good day in atmo. And you?" asked Cortez
"That's pretty fast for a brick," admitted Dolton.
"The gunship can get just over 700," answered Cehack.
"And what kind of weapons does it have? Looks like it has more teeth than a tiger shark," wondered Cortez, appreciatively looking over the fuselage.
"30mm minigun with accompanying Gauss cannon, two 7.62mm remote controlled machine guns on each side, missile pods under each wing, and to top it all off an 80mm cannon on the, well, top," said Sam with a hint of pride in his voice.
Cortez whistled. "Now I don't know about any 'Gauss cannon', but the Kodiak's a lot more modest. Two 20mm cannons on either side of the cockpit. How many people can that thing hold?"
"Five, maybe six with a tight fit," said Dolton.
The Alliance pilot smiled, knowing that he had beaten these UNSC hotshots in at least one area. "The Kodiak can hold ten fully-armored soldiers both with comfort and style."
"I don't know about style," snorted Dolton.
"She gets the job done, that's the best kind of style there is," shot back Cortez.
"Yeah yeah, well you can carry all those people, but what about protecting them?" asked Cehack.
"This baby's got state of the art the art cyclonic barrier technology, along with some of the best Silaris armor plating money can buy. And you?"
"One main layer of energy shielding, as well as emergency hardlight barriers."
"Hardlight?"
"Yeah. its light that's uh, well, hard," explained Dolton who shrugged as he gave up trying to explain it further.
"It just works. That's all we really care about," Cehack stated.
"Uh huh. What about armor plating?"
"Sadly not as much as a usual Pelican, but sacrifices had to be made somewhere for the stealth paneling," said Cehack.
"But we've got an actual energy shield generator to make up for it unlike the regular Pelicans who just have a hardlight barrier. Let's us take a few more hits than usual," said Dolton.
"I think I understand. Once your shielding is gone it won't take much to bring you down, but that's what the stealth is for."
"Eliminating the enemy before they know what hit them. Exactly," said Dolton.
"And as a result, keeping us out of the line of fire," followed up Cehack.
"They seem to be getting along nicely," Cortana chirped into Chief's ear. He didn't reply, instead walking over to one of the dozens of crates on the ground and picking it up easily. He carried it over to lockers that had been designated as 'theirs' and began quickly unpacking, putting the crates contents of weapons, armor, and ammunition into the lockers. Dolton and Cehack saw what he was doing and joined to assist, and in less than thirty minutes they had all of the lockers filled to capacity.
The Chief nodded at the two pilots for their help, and picked up a separate crate he had set aside, walking towards the elevator. Once there, he entered the space and pressed the button for Deck Four, arriving there a few seconds later. Stepping out of the elevator he turned right, then right again into one of the two doorways that led into the engine room.
John nodded at Chief Engineer Adams, who turned from his work at a console upon hearing his entry and gave a simple nod back. Major Alenko had introduced him when he was first showed him his 'room' and he seemed likable enough. He had said he would try his best not to be 'too loud' when working, which Chief appreciated.
The Spartan made his way down the stairs into the space below the engine room, and once he reached the farthest portion back gently set down the crate he had been carrying. Popping the lid open he withdrew a sturdy folding cot and unfolded it, laying it out next to the crate. Once that was done he withdrew his ACS from the magnetic plates on his back and set the rifle carefully against the wall, doing the same with the Magnum attached to his hip.
Now that he had disarmed the Chief faced the opposite wall and assumed a spread eagle position, legs apart and arms raised from his side. Then, with a very specific three-second series of blinks and chin presses the back of John's Mjolnir split into seams, then completely retracted into the front armor plating, letting him freely step out the back inhibited. Once his feet hit the cold metal deck he sent a command to the suit from his neural lace and the back armor plating reemerged, locking itself into a full-suit once again. It was certainly an improvement from the previous iterations of his Mjolnir suits where he required the assistance of a combination of highly trained technicians and complex machinery to get out of his armor.
The all-encompassing black undersuit required a bit more effort to get out of, and after a minute of unlocking, tugging, and pulling, the Chief had it all deposited securely into a lockbox.
Now with that finished, John reached into the crate again and withdrew his duffel bag, setting it on his cot. Unzipping the bag revealed its neatly folded and organized contents of clothes and personal hygiene tools, and the Chief pulled out a towel, wrapping it around his waist, as well as some soap and a set of fatigues.
"I'll be back in five minutes," said Chief.
"Have fun," lightly replied Cortana from his suit speakers.
He took a step then stopped, and after a brief hesitation picked his Magnum up from the floor and rolled it up inside of his BDU pants.
The shower was uneventful, the only person he saw along the way was Major Alenko who was had just finished lacing up his boots after his own shower. The Alliance Officer had given a simple greetings of "Master Chief," upon determining who he was based on his significant larger body frame, and John had returned with a cordial "Major." The fact that Alenko had looked at him for longer than usual didn't escape him.
He took the service stairs both ways, both because he didn't feel like waiting for the elevator and that he hadn't been though them yet. The stairway was relatively narrow and could probably fit two people shuffling by each other, but for him it was a tad cramped. He definitely wouldn't fit in there with his armor on, which could be a serious problem if the ship was ever boarded. A single avenue of travel, like the elevator, could be anticipated. Ambushes and traps could be set, and things could go wrong very quickly. He would talk with Cortana and EDI about it later, see if between the three of them they could formulate some alternative plans.
John got back to his small area just three seconds shy of five minutes according to Cortana, and feeling refreshed from the shower withdrew a datapad and a small, circular holographic display device from his bag. He put the bag back into the crate and set the lid back on, making sure to trap a corner of the wet towel under a portion of the lid so that it could hang to dry.
He sat down on the cot with his datapad and set the mini holo-projector on the lid of the crate, from which a miniature holographic of Cortana sprang forth. She was 'sitting' cross-legged, arms behind her back and hands supporting her body on the ground.
"Comfy?" she asked, smiling.
Chief looked around the bare room, whose only features were the cot, the crate, and his suit of Mjolnir. "I've stayed in worse places."
"I imagine that it wouldn't be hard to beat being in a cryo pod for five years."
"What about you? Are you...?" he asked, not sure how to ask the question he had.
Luckily, Cortana understood what he implied. "You know, the Normandy is like a small log cabin. It's refreshingly new and cozy, but after a while you realize you wouldn't want to live there."
"I've never been in a log cabin."
Cortana rolled her holographic eyes. "Your suit has more storage space than the Normandy."
"It's certainly no Infinity," he said. Hell, it wasn't even a frigate.
"We'll manage," said Cortana, "After all, like you said, we've stayed in worse."
The AI was silent for a second, and John didn't need her to say anything to know what she was thinking about. Namely her torture at the hands of the Gravemind and her imprisonment within the destroyed half of the Forward Unto Dawn.
"Can you forward the Codex section on biotics to my datapad?" asked Chief, breaking the silence.
"Biotics huh? I figured they would perk your interests. Planning on doing some researching?"
The Chief nodded. "Biotics are a relative unknown. I've reviewed my combat footage from Earth and Mars several times now and what Commander Shepard, Major Alenko, and Dr. T'soni were doing with their biotics the UNSC had never seen or trained for before. The more I know about what they are, how they're used, and how to counter them, the better."
"Biotics seem pretty common place around these parts," started Cortana, "Certainly every faction I've read has them in one form or another. Did you know the entirety of the Asari race are biotics? Everyone of them, some are stronger than others obviously, but every Asari is a confirmed biotic. It's fascinating and more than a little frightening, especially when reading up on Asari Commandos."
The Chief nodded in thoughtful contemplation. If Cortana was singling out individual groups for particular study it was usually done for a very good reason.
"Anyone else that comes to mind?"
Cortana nodded. "The Turian Cabals make for an interesting read also; in particular how the Turians keep them in separate units and integrate them into both small and large operations. Also, some of the Alliance Biotic N7s require a mention. Very formidable, very capable, very effective bunch it seems based on what I can find. Shepard is one of them you know, an N7.
"Special Operations." The Chief grunted, having read about the monomer earlier. "He certainly fights like one. What about the opposition? The Reapers? Or that 'Cerberus' faction we encountered on Mars?"
Cortana shook her head, "Nothing solid on them so far. Considering the war just kicked off today I'm not surprised by the lack of general information. I've put in a request through EDI to get access to any classified files the Normandy crew may have on enemy capabilities and tactics; specifically anything about biotics. I can't touch those without her noticing but soon as I have it I'll forward it to your pad."
"Good. The more we understand about their strengths and weaknesses, the better we can develop counters against them, or at least integrate them into operational planning."
"Always the strategic one, aren't you," said Cortana playfully. "Well if you're looking to learn about biotics, you don't want what the Codex has. That's all just basic stuff. Try this instead."
"Chief's datapad flashed and a new document popped up on the screen. "A Guide to the Tactical Applications of Biotics in a Combat Setting. Alliance Ascension Program." John looked up at Cortana eyebrows raised. "This is a military document. Did EDI already give you clearance? "
"Uh. No," replied the AI guiltily.
John looked at her with eyebrows raised, then glanced around the room.
"No, she can't hear us. One of the first things I did was install audio blockers in this part of the ship so we could have some privacy whenever we want."
"Good thinking. But how did you get this?"
Cortana bit her lip, saying "I asked EDI for clearance but she said she would have to get permission from Admiral Hackett to distribute it to us. But you should know how impatient I am, I didn't want to wait that long so I just got it myself."
"Cortana, if anyone found out about this it certainly wouldn't help our objective of gaining the Alliance's trust."
I know, so you better read up before the Alliance comes arrest us," she said sarcastically. "But seriously, the Alliance's security firewalls are a joke. They should really get someone to fix that. I'd offer to do it but I doubt they'd take me up on it. Very uptight bunch."
John shook his head, the slightest of smiles forming on his thin lips. "Let me know when we're six hours away from this Citadel."
"Sure thing John."
With that, the Master Chief settled in and started to read. He may not have wanted this assignment at first, but now he realized that as long as he had Cortana, everything would be all right. After all, they've both been through worse.
Special thanks to my beta JonHarper