Chapter Two

New York City was beautiful. I'd been in big cities before, but never an Earthen supercity.

It must have had hundreds of levels, supported by walkways and balconies strung between the immense skyscrapers on every single side. Holograms were everywhere, in neons and pastels, advertising every type of product or service imaginable.

John wanted to be tense.

But this was a place for me, like the battlefield was a place for him, so this time he was resting in my comfortable excitement. Like I used his steadiness in combat.

And I was excited. I hadn't been out in a while; the last time I could remember being in some place that was civilian was when John and I went out to New Mombasa right before the Ark.

I was in a flowy white crop top and high-rise blue jeans. The crop top had cute bell sleeves and hung off of both shoulders. It came down to just above my belly button, displaying my rose-patterned ostomy bag.

I felt cute for once. John reminded me that I was always cute, and I blushed.

We were looking for Outpost Discovery. After what the marine and Commander Lasky had said on Requiem, we were more than a little curious about the newfound fame of Blue Team.

It wasn't hard to find the Outpost. It was absolutely packed. Everyone was eager to get inside and see something, but I couldn't tell what.

John hated the idea of the crowd.

I had my right hand in his left hand. I gave it a comforting squeeze.

"We can go back to the base if you want," I offered through the bond.

In the downtime before we were assigned somewhere else, we were staying at a large military base just inland of NYC proper. It was close enough that John would have been allowed to go even if he wasn't on leave.

But he was, so it was a complete nonissue either way.

John kept his gaze ahead as we approached the crowd pouring out of the skyscraper. "I'll be alright."

I just rubbed his hand with my thumb.

When we reached the crowd, John received no small amount of looks. People instantly recognized him as a SPARTAN; that was a big deal. ONI had released enough information that the public knew they'd been saved from the Covenant by SPARTANs.

We joined the throng waiting to enter the building. My shoulders were tense as I tried to keep from bumping into anybody. But there were so many people around us, it was impossible.

Several people moved towards us, eager to see a SPARTAN close up. It made John tense.

So, ignoring the pang of guilt it caused me, I gently pushed into the minds of those closest to us and urged them to take a step or two back. They did, without entirely knowing or caring why.

John sent me his gratefulness.

I basked in it for as long as I could. In a crowd this size, all of the bouncing emotions were getting to me. It was like everyone was yelling, but I could feel what they were yelling. And there was no way to block it out.

It made me twitchy, to say the least.

John let go of my hand and wrapped his left arm around my shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I just haven't been around this many people in a while."

He leaned down, way down, and kissed the top of my head.

The crowd was moving, slowly, into the building. When we reached a ticket counter the bored-looking man looked up at us.

His eyes instantly took in John's fatigues. He didn't care much about his height.

"Come see the return of the Master Chief," he recited in a dull tone. "Active-duty service members and veterans enter free."

John nodded to him and we moved for the door.

"You'll have to pay, ma'am," the man quickly asserted.

"O-oh. Right. Sorry." I flushed red and pulled my comm out to pay the minor entry fee.

When the transaction was complete the man turned his attention to the family over my shoulder.

I walked up to John and retook his hand. "He said something about your return."

"That would explain the crowd," John said as he led the way into the somewhat dim building.

We were met by a surplus warthog, painted up to look like it was still in use, behind a roped-off area. There was a small reconstruction of a valley behind it to give the illusion that it was deployed.

Through another large doorway was the main room.

It was...intense. Full of memories that were personal to John and me in a way that they simply weren't for many of these people.

To the right was a timeline of humanity, from the twentieth century to today.

To the left, a massive area about the Covenant and the species that had been a part of it. I kept my eyes away from the Sangheili. It was still hard to look at them, sometimes. I still saw grey eyes and felt electricity on my skin.

John reminded me that I was safe here. And I was. I forced myself to refocus.

In the center of the room, in front of a small area about the Flood, was the section about the Forerunners. There wasn't much information there - ONI really didn't want the public to know too much about the Forerunners - but everything that I could see was based off of some sort of genuine truth.

I could see an eerily familiar little ball ahead. It was in a gravity field, floating about thirty feet in front of us.

I walked up to it. "Is…? Th-this is Guilty Spark."

John walked up behind me. His mood was dark, and full of still-fresh grief.

Guilty Spark had killed the closest thing he had to a father.

I reached out and brushed the metal frame. "I-I know it's not really him, but it looks so similar…"

"Please don't touch the display, ma'am," a woman in a uniform snapped.

"Sorry." I blushed red.

It was weird. I had touched the real Guilty Spark - possibly killed him, even - but I wasn't allowed to touch this model of him.

I saw a small holographic paragraph behind the fake Spark.

I'd wondered what happened to him after I threw him down the shaft; had he even survived?

Reading the article, it looked like he had...sort of. He had been fragmented when the UNSC found him, and those fragments quickly died out one-by-one in ONI's care.

343 Guilty Spark was dead.

"I killed him," I murmured.

John didn't understand my guilt. "He killed Johnson."

"I-I know." I turned and wrapped my arms around him, offering him support. "He was wrong to do that... But I still don't think he should have died."

John wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"I can't believe I killed him," I whispered.

Someone bumped into John's back. He whipped around, pulling me behind him and prepared to fight.

But the nonthreatening old man hadn't even noticed us. He was hobbling towards a large crowd on the right side of the room.

The tension faded from John's body.

I stepped up beside him. "Do you- do you want to find out what's over there?"

He nodded. We both had an idea of what it was but we wanted to see for sure.

John and I walked up. I couldn't see very well over the crowd, but I did catch a glimpse of Fred's blue helmet.

John glanced down at me. "Want me to help?"

I stopped craning my neck and looked up at him. "How?"

He knelt on the ground in front of me. "Climb on."

I grinned a bit and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He stood back up, and I wrapped my legs around his torso.

"Thanks," I whispered.

I took a moment to gain my bearings; I was as tall as John now, and that was a view I was unused to.

I could see over everyone. The tops of their heads were most of the view. Everything around me, not just the people, looked so short.

Then I returned my attention to the display. It was a full-scale statue of Blue Team.

John, the Master Chief, was in the front. He was in a heroic pose with his rifle held in both hands. To his left, slightly behind him, was Kelly. On the right were Fred and Linda.

And beside Kelly was a towering SPARTAN in dark blue armor, with a smooth helmet that resembled a motorcycle helmet.

And while holograms identified everyone else by their Naval ranks and first names, the blue letters above that one simply said, "BLUE FIVE: KIA".

There was another holographic wall behind the statues. What I managed to read from this distance said something about the impressive field record of Blue Team.

And there was something about the 'heroic and selfless actions of Blue Five and the Master Chief on the Ark'.

And another that read, "The Master Chief and Blue Five became martyrs after their assumed death on the Ark. Recently, however, the Master Chief was recovered alive by the crew of the UNSC Song of the East. He was found alone after paying tribute to his fallen comrade, Blue Five."

I rested my chin on John's shoulder. "They still think I'm dead. That's kinda weird."

John half-turned his head to look at me. "They also think you're a SPARTAN."

"Yeah, that's really weird." I giggled a bit. "Could you imagine if I was that tall? It'd be awesome."

He kissed my forehead. He agreed that it would be cool if I was tall, but he liked how tiny I was.

And, though I'd never admit it aloud, so did I.

I leaned my head against John's neck and closed my eyes. Even here, where the emotions were mostly hushed and reverent, there were so many of them.

So I focused on John's.

He was staring at the statues. It was weird to see them, his team, up there for everyone to see. Their lives had been so glamourized.

Hell, they'd even come up with a vague, heroic backstory for John. Full of infuriating and saddening lies. Saying his parents had been murdered by Innies when he was little, and he'd been driven to become a soldier.

It was a stark reminder to me that his life had been wrought with trauma and danger since he was only six years old. Not because of Insurrectionists, but because of the UNSC itself.

The inspiring backstory, the heroic service records, they were intentional. People came here to pay respects, yes, but this place was a recruiter's dream.

Young, impressionable people would read about the courageous exploits of Blue Team, the awesome life of the Master Chief, and sign up for active service. Sell their souls to the UNSC in hopes of achieving that glory.

It was a very clever trap.

There was no glory.

oOOOo

It was July 6th. John had been back on duty for a little more than a week. We'd just been transferred to a brand new, experimental flagship outfitted with Forerunner engines.

The UNSC Infinity; Dr. Halsey's last creation for ONI before they made her their scapegoat and locked her up.

John and I stepped out of the Pelican inside Infinity's hangar bay. One of hundreds.

It was massive. Warthogs were driving around inside, and there were several other Pelicans dropping off other personnel.

SPARTANs, from the original IIs to the brand new, first company of SPARTAN IVs, were everywhere.

I'd heard the children of NOBLE Team were aboard, too. They were the only SPARTAN IIIs...that we knew about.

But ONI was an agency built on secrets, so I'd made a habit to distrust anything and everything they said. Even John admitted that strategy was necessary.

I shoved down the lump in my throat and looked up at John. "We need to find Captain Keyes, right?"

"Right."

Jacob Keyes was the Captain of the UNSC Infinity for its maiden voyage. I'd heard that Lasky had been reassigned as the Commander here, instead of the Song of the East. Blue Team was aboard as well.

They hadn't seen us in two years and eight months. It felt more like two months to John and me.

"Welcome to the UNSC Infinity." An orange AI dressed like a 20th century pilot appeared on a holotank to our left. "I'm Roland, the shipboard AI. Captain Keyes is waiting for you in the bridge."

The young AI practically radiated pride at his position, and for good reason. Infinity was the new flagship for the entire UNSC. A huge technological wonder that had taken literal years to build. A combination of human and Forerunner technology.

A marvel.

I nodded to Roland and grabbed my suitcase. "Thanks. We'll be right up."

"I've already let him know you're aboard." He fizzed his avatar out.

I reached up and took John's left hand in mine. "Do you have any idea how to get to the bridge?"

"I do." A voice piped up from behind us.

A familiar voice.

My heart stopped for a moment. I turned around, hardly believing my eyes.

Bradley Davidson. The first friend I made after ONI took me.

He was on Infinity?!

He looked a little older than he had the last time I saw him.

"Bradley!" I ran forward, throwing my arms around him. "I missed you."

"Mi chiquilla." He wrapped his arms around me. "I'm glad you're safe."

My voice was muffled by his shoulder. "Igualmente."

John was behind me, unsure of how to enter the conversation or if he even should.

Bradley frowned vaguely in his direction. Then, "Come on, let's not keep the Captain waiting."

We boarded a crowded tram up to the bridge. I was sitting between John and Bradley with my suitcase in front of me.

John had officially been transferred to the SPARTAN Branch, so Bradley was no longer his superior in any way. He couldn't boss John around anymore.

I got the feeling Bradley didn't want me getting hurt by John, emotionally. That was why he was hard on John.

But I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that John could never hurt me like that. We were soulmates. We had a bond.

Bradley had somewhat come to accept John, though. They were on a tram together without glaring at each other, which was nice.

I was leaning against Bradley's arm - it had been months since I'd seen him, even from my warped perception of time - and I was holding John's hand. I couldn't think of any two people I'd rather have with me.

My parents, maybe, but they were still under the impression that I was dead. So was Zeke and his family. Therefore, they were out of the question.

Laure knew I was alive, but she was probably in the beginning of a promising military career right now. The chances of her being on this ship were slim to none - it would be awesome if she was here, though.

The bridge was full and bustling when we arrived. Everyone was laser focused. Infinity was about to depart for its first ever trip in a few days, and there was a lot to do.

"Good to see you Chief, Clark."

I turned, smiling up at Lasky. "Hi, Commander."

A middle-aged man with a serious, but not unkind, disposition walked up. He had an unlit wooden pipe in his hand.

"Thank you, Colonel." The man nodded to Bradley.

I glanced from Bradley to the man. "He-he's a Colonel now?"

"Lieutenant Colonel," the man asserted, bringing the empty pipe up to his mouth.

"You know each other?" Lasky sounded surprised.

I nodded and put a hand on Bradley's shoulder. "Yeah, h-he was the Lieutenant guarding me when I was on the Spirit of Fire."

Wow, that was a while ago.

The older man refocused and shook John's hand. "Captain Jacob Keyes, it's nice to meet both of you."

He turned to face the viewport, where Earth was visible. He was all business. So much so that he pulled the pipe out of his mouth.

"Infinity's been assigned to investigate Forerunner artifacts on Reach. There's a heavy Insurrectionist presence. They're trying to establish a stronghold, before the UNSC can get a hold there." He looked back at John. "Son, you have the option of becoming a SPARTAN Commander if you want the position."

John looked down at Keyes. "I just need command of Blue Team, sir."

"Understood." Keyes nodded. "Carmichael here will take you to your room. Ms. Clark, you're in the Civilian Personnel barracks. Dismissed."

Then he walked away; he had a lot to do.

I glanced from John, to the approaching SPARTAN IV, to Lasky. "Where's John?"

"Spartan Town is in the lower decks," Lasky explained. "Built to give the bigger guys doors they don't have to duck under."

I looked up at John. "Oh. O-okay."

I knew, of course, we shouldn't have been in the same room. The fact that we'd been sleeping in the same room for so long without John getting in any sort of trouble was chalked up to two different factors; luck and John's terrifying reputation.

That wouldn't hold up here.

Or would it? Captain Cutter, despite what he said to my face, hadn't minded my relationship with John. Maybe Keyes would let it slide, too.

I just smiled up at John. "I'll see you soon."

He understood what I meant; the minute I was alone, I was going to teleport to him.

So he nodded and walked out behind Carmichael.

"Come on, caramela, let's get you settled in." Bradley clapped my shoulder.

I grabbed my suitcase and followed Bradley to a shuttle.

oOOOOo

Author's Note: Hi! Y'all probably noticed that I didn't put the Spanish in italics. That's a new change; I figured with Tawny and John talking through the bond, which is all italics, it would get confusing. So Spanish is just normal text now :)

Love you guys!