Chapter 13: Avoidance

Date: 1 December 2552
Location: Forward Unto Dawn, Space

"I think he is avoiding me…" I groaned into my palms after confessing this intrusive thought to Saffron.

"He is," she replied so matter-of-factly that I laughed at her blunt honesty. "I've seen him course-correct to avoid you in the halls before you've spotted him."

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 was rarely assigned babysitting-me duty, and when he was, he was fully armored and only stuck around for as long as deemed necessary for my safety.

"He's hardly spoken two sentences to me since we…" my thoughts skittered away at the memory of us just outside the door.

"I didn't mean to mess everything up," I whispered mostly to myself, ignoring the chill only self-pity could create.

Saffron's hologram manifested on the table next to me. "It's not your fault." I casted a look of doubt her way, so she continued.

"I was there, remember? I could see everything from that panel." Saffron rested her pointy chin in her hand as she virtually inspected footage no doubt.

"Both parties are culpable," she confirmed, nodding to herself.

"Voyeur," I muttered good naturedly with a smirk. Saffron grinned back.

"That man is falling for you faster than an ODST breaks atmo. Spartans are trained and prepared for every battle there is... except this one."

"And what battle might that be?" I asked, taking the bait.

Saffron's smile turned gentle as she nodded. "The war between heart and mind."

A knock on the door prevented me from asking her to elaborate further on that topic.

"Lasky," Commander Keyes greeted me as I opened the door. "Follow me; we have important things to discuss."

"Yes ma'am." My walk with Miranda remained uncomfortably silent but ingrained training taught me to not be the first to break the quiet. "Have you been to the Conservatory yet?" Keyes asked.*

"No, ma'am."

"That's where we're headed. Science is a modern marvel. We have a running track, park benches, picnic tables, all surrounded by plant life."

"The air smells fresher here," Miranda sighed nostalgically. "I wish I had more spare time—-I'd live here if I could."

A group of Marines exiting a set of double doors abruptly stopped laughing and saluted when they saw the Commander.

"At ease, soldiers." She dismissed them as we walked past.

We stepped through the same double doors and immediately I was taken aback. Everything was green and warm. Trees, grass, bushes, and a path amongst them-all lit with a natural warm glow imitating sunlight.

I hurried to catch up to Commander Keyes when she turned to smile at me. "Great isn't it?" She asked as I fell into step with her.

"Yes," I breathed. "The magic hour."

"Nature is a balm for mental health." Keyes paused a moment before plowing ahead to the topic she really wanted to discuss. "Dr. Ehlers has turned in her professional diagnoses and thoughts regarding your case."

"She's wonderful," I commented off-handedly. "Our sessions have really helped me come to terms with… almost everything. The anguish of all my lost memories isn't as prevalent. Instead I focus on the present and not what could have been." I signed.

"What's my status now, with Dr. Ehler's professionally educated opinion on record?" I asked calmly despite my rising anxiety.

"As you know, you may never fully recover all of your lost memories," Miranda continued. "Officially, you are out of the UNSC entirely, but I can see you being hired on as a contractor if all goes well."

I nodded and looked over at her. "And unofficially?"

She smirked. "Unofficially, Johnson and I don't see the harm in one last hurrah before the trial."

At my smile, Keyes continued. "You'll be boarding a Pelican with Sarge and Master Chief. Chief will split off, you'll stick with Sarge."

My smile faltered at the mention of John. "He doesn't think I should go." We both knew the "he" to which I was referring.

"Has he talked to you about that?" the commander queried.

"We haven't spoken much recently," I responded after a pause.

"You two have history. Give him time to figure out what's on his mind." She patted my shoulder. "I'm sure he'll come around."

I looked down at my hands with a reluctant laugh. "I just wish he'd stop avoiding me."

"It would appear... that your wish has been granted," the Commander said with immense humor.

"Chief!" Miranda called. I looked up suddenly, catching sight of the armorless Spartan approaching.

"Commander," the Master Chief stood at attention.

"At ease, Spartan. As always, your timing is impeccable. I have to head back." I smiled shyly when John looked at me.

"Is it alright if you two continue on from here?" Miranda Keyes phrased it as a question but it felt very much like an order.

"Yes, Commander," we answered in chorus.

"Great! Jayne, we will deploy in just over a week."

I watched John through my lashes as the Keyes backtracked the way we came. Sierra 117 was as unreadable as ever.

"Chief!" Keyes called again, drawing both of our attention. "Take care of her." She smirked.

"Chief, take care of her," Tom Lasky requested and then yelled "Axios!" and ran off into the dark forest.

"Lasky!" Orenski called.

Hunter shots fired as Tom provided the much needed distraction to divert attention away from the rocky cove where our team huddled.

I gasped for breath, my hand ghosting the injury slick with blood at my right side.*

"I'm going to kill him," I whispered breathlessly, trying not to cry from the culmination of everything that happened that day.

Circinius IV, our home for so many years, glassed.
Friends and family lost.
Running for our lives trying to escape.
The pain of my injury, no doubt dulled by adrenaline.
Lastly, my twin brother, ever the strategist, sacrificing himself so that we might have a shot of getting to that Pelican.

Tom fell with the first Hunter shot and I choked, but my breathing kick started again when he leapt to his feet and took off. Terrifyingly, a second shot sent Tom flying as the Master Chief stuck the creature and it exploded to bits.

Orenski, Sullivan, and myself ran to Tom's side. Orenski turned him over and tried to rouse him.

Time seemed to slow as I painfully hobbled to him. Each step was a sharp reminder of my needier-pierced side. My panting breaths were all I could hear as my hearing faded and my vision blurred with tears.**

Then he coughed and I fell to my knees with relief. I punched him hard on the shoulder.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will beat the shit out of you myself! Got it?!" I growled, still crying.

Tom grinned cheekily. "Love you, sis."

"Love you too, asshole," I sniffled, wiping my eyes impatiently.

I looked over my shoulder at the Master Chief. "Thank you," I said sincerely as I pushed up from the ground. The Spartan gave a nod of acknowledgment and then a few things happened all at once.

My temperature dropped and I began to shake. The pain in my side elevated to new heights and the blood drained from my face as I became light-headed and unsteady.

Chief lunged and caught me before I ate dirt.

"Sorry, I think the adrenaline finally wore off." I gasp-laughed.

"Jayne, stay awake. Stay with us." The Master Chief called, sounding more and more far away with each word.

"Thank you," I whispered, or I wanted to, but I didn't have the energy and at long last my eyes fluttered closed.

"Jayne!" He called.

A strong grip on my shoulder was the first thing I noticed as I emerged from the memory. The second thing was a softly voiced "Jayne?" from the man known as Sierra 117.

*I figure this far in the future they would have some sort of natural area on large ships… It's good for everyone aboard.
**Alas, the scene in the movie Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn that inspired this whole fanfic almost a decade ago. In this semi-AU, Silva doesn't exist and instead Jayne got pierced by the needler shot, but it only punctured skin, no organs (i.e. not fatal).
-Apologies for the 2-year delay; it honestly doesn't feel like that long but I appreciate you all sticking around! Truly, it warms my heart that this little story still got followed when I fell off the face of the earth.
-I apologize if there are more typos (particularly punctuation errors) than usual. I do proofread, but this time around I'm using my Remarkable 2 writing tablet and it translates my writing to digital text. It's wonderful but not perfect.