Author's Note: This is in no way anything official, whether for this fic or not, but something that came to me as a result of a debate between some of my readers, and I felt the need to share it with you all! Enjoy it while you wait for the next chapter!
"LET GO! HE'S MINE!"
"NO HE'S MINE!"
"STOP IT! YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK HIM!"
Leviathan turned the corner to look into the barracks, spotting a certain trio of space-girls arguing... again. This had been happening more and more as they started showing up, and in all honesty, Levi was starting to believe that she was inheriting Goto's and Settle's headaches. "What the hell is it this time?"
Immediately three pairs of eyes all looked the flagship's way, all bearing the same angry scowl. The tallest one was Pillar of Autumn, who was rather tall at 6'2", and had the figure of someone who was in the prime of their life and just hitting adulthood, wearing a nearly skin-tight sleeveless bodysuit covered by a set of BDU pants from a navy crewman and showing off some ample curves. Her face was young-looking, but the grey hair and deep brown eyes gave hint that she was much older than she appeared.
The other two were much smaller, more resembling a pair of ten year olds rather than women, both with hair down to their shoulders in blonde and brown shades, and sparkling blue eyes that at the moment were rather stormy. They were both also wearing suit-dresses, the knee-length skirts giving way to dark stockings and equally dark-grey shoes, and coats that looked like little officers' jackets with a stripe across the chest. The blonde one bore a bright yellow stripe, while the brunette had a blue one. They were, respectively, In Amber Clad and Forward Unto Dawn.
And in the middle of all of them, an action figure of the Master Chief had each of its limbs in one of the girls' grasp...
Leviathan looked from the toy to the each ship-girl in turn, her eyes half-lidded dubiously. "Do I want to know?"
"They're trying to take the Chief away from me!" Amber said, yanking the figure her way again.
"NUH UH! You're the one being greedy! You already had him once!" Dawn replied, pulling back her way.
"Get your hands off of him! He's mine!" Autumn replied. "You both are too young for him anyways!"
"Can it you hag! You had your chance and blew it!"
"Yeah! Besides, you're too old and wrinkly!"
"WHY YOU LITTLE...!"
"LADIES! Enough!" Leviathan said, stepping up and then reaching into the midst of the throng and plucking the toy out of their hands. "This is ridiculous... You ALL carried him into battle, and I know you all care about him, but this is a bit much for a toy, you know?"
"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE TOY!" the three cried out, causing the cruiser to blink.
"Oh? Then if not that, then what the hell are you all fighting about?"
Amber crossed her arms in front of her chest and put her chin up high. "I only said that since I got to carry him around for his parade return on Earth before the Covenant attacked, that I get to be His Official ship!"
"No way! *I* was the one who carried him to his biggest fight! If anything, *I* should be the one called that!" Dawn said, thumbing herself in the chest to emphasize her words.
"Hmph..." Autumn said as she too crossed her arms. "You're both wrong... If anyone's his Official ship, it would be the one who was MADE for him! And that's ME!"
"No way! Just because you got refit for him doesn't make you the official ship!"
"It does too! It's how it always works!"
"It's a title! Not an arranged marriage!"
Leviathan's face could match that of a ten-year veteran at a tech-support desk at that point, the long-and-tired look of suffering that was also found on the eternally damned in Hell... While Autumn blushed and stammered and tried to deny the implications of what Dawn had just said while Amber worked herself up into another tirade, she had finally had enough. "ALRIGHT! Look, it doesn't matter who's 'official' and who's not, you're all comrades in arms and you all got the same result anyways! Grow up and learn to share!" Ignoring the trio of blushes that were starting to grow on the faces of the ship-girls, Levi then stalked away from the room. It was only when she was outside did she realize the action figure was still in her hand.
"Huh... They really did get the details right on him..." she said, looking it over, then shrugging before spotting an open window of the barracks. "Well, at least they'll stop shouting for the rest of the night... Time for a drink." With a casual toss, Leviathan let the figure of the Master Chief soar out of her hand through the window to land on one of the beds inside, which produced a shrill cry of alarm. Ducking her head through the window quickly, Leviathan saw the form of a destroyer-girl rocking back and forth in the corner, staring in abject fear at the figure.
"Ohhhh shit..." Leviathan said, taking the figure back. "Uh... Sorry about that Resolute! Forgot about your uh... Look, try and get some sleep, okay? I'll be back in the morning."
"Can't sleep... Chief will get me... Can't sleep... Chief will get me..."
"For God's sake Res, there is no 'Chief blows up all his ships' curse! Stop it! History will NOT retcon itself to get you just because you come in contact with an action figure!"