Sorry this is late. I know it was supposed to be up yesterday. But... -does a happy dance- My writer's block is gone! I remembered what I was supposed to do! And I don't think the chapter stinks this week! So, now that we've got all that over with, please enjoy and let me know what you think.
I stand in the hangar, watching the hologram flicker in and out of existence in front of me. After a few more attempts, Rho manages to hold the image, and I appear standing before myself.
"Ta-da!" Rho cheers, popping up glowing and bight on my shoulder. "The tech is really different from the base's projectors, or my own, but I think I've figured it out now."
"Ready for the mission?" I ask. I suspect mom will have some sort of protection with her, even without Gold there. I can't begin to imagine what it will be, but I want us all prepared to deal with it.
"Well, I wouldn't get us in a situation where your life depends on it," she says embarrassedly. "Like I said, it's new tech. I'll need some practice to get used to it."
"Just keep it ready," I advise. "We don't know what kind of defenses mom will have waiting for us."
"What kind of facility is she hiding at?" Rho asks, floating backward a few feet in front of me as I walk. "I don't recognize the coordinates."
I shrug. "We don't know. Church didn't recognize them either."
"That's why we're going in ready for anything," a voice speaks up behind me. I turn around and see Gold standing in the hangar doorway, an RPG slung over his shoulder and one of Yttri's stunners on his back. He smiles when he sees me staring at one. "They pack quite a punch," he says. "I thought I'd take the opportunity to use one on someone else for a change."
"Hoping to use it on mom?" I ask.
"That would be nice," he says wistfully.
"If you want that you'll have to get in line," Nick says, stepping into the room behind him. Tinu follows soon after. "I already have dibs. I want to see how hard this new arm can punch," he explains, flexing the metal appendage for effect.
I give them a few seconds to laugh at the joke before speaking up. "Just remember our policy, guys," I warn. "We're leaving her punishment up to the Covenant."
"Yeah, we know," Gold says, cheery grin still in place. "Doesn't mean we can't dream, Si." He then walks up to the pelican and rests his hand on the patchwork metal of the side; evidence of the damage and repairs it's been through. "She's seen some better days, huh?"
"No thanks to you," Yttri says, appearing from behind the ship. There's a look in her eyes that shows she's joking, and Gold jumps right on board.
"Hey, I can't help it if I'm a good shot," he says, voice dripping false modesty as he shrugs.
As predicted, Yttri rolls her eyes at the comment. She then points the wrench in her hand at him threateningly. "Just be sure it comes back in one piece this time," she warns.
Gold holds his hands out in surrender. "Don't look at me. She's the one driving," he says, pointing in my direction. Yttri ignores him and walks out of the hangar. "Geez, you'd think I have some sort of reputation or something," Gold jokes once she's gone.
"I'm sure the thousand failed attempts on our old flight simulator have nothing to do with it," I add, walking into the ship. Every available rack is filled with guns of varying types, from heavy ordinance to silenced sniping weapons. There's also a large display of knives which I take a moment to admire.
Wash is finishing stocking the ship when I arrive. "Think we're ready?"
He shrugs as he surveys his work. "We could take on a small army with all this, but I can't really be confident when we're going in blind."
I hum a thoughtful tone. "I think we'll be alright," I finally decide. "We've made it this far. We have to succeed."
Wash nods, stepping up to my side and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I'm glad suddenly that I'm wearing my helmet. It hides the blush his action elicits. I suppose I'll grow used to this sort of casual show of affection eventually, but right now it's still very new. I'm not entirely sure how to react to it.
I can feel Rho laughing in the back of my mind, cracking a joke about me being a love struck teenager. I ignore her. I can't help that I have no experience in this. I think it's natural for me to be nervous.
I realize a bit too late that I haven't moved a single muscle since he hugged me. I lift up my arm and carefully return the embrace. I hear his helmet tap against mine as he leans his head over and for a moment I wish we weren't in armor so I could really feel him. Then Gold and Nick and Tinu begin walking into the ship and we separate, like nothing happened. I make my way to the cockpit while Wash takes the copilot's seat. It's less than a minute before we take off.
I start to notice something's off when we enter the planet's atmosphere.
Most of the project Imbalance bases are on uninhabitable planets or built into asteroids. This planet not only has a breathable atmosphere, but appears to be inhabited. Or at least, it was at one time. We're over what appears to be a large city, and as we descend I begin to see that it's a ruin. Plasma damage is still visible on the sides of what buildings haven't collapsed, and a layer of plant life covers the charred remains of the rest. Despite the bluish green layer of growth, the architecture is easily recognizable as human in design. This used to be a colony, and based on the time it's been abandoned, and the type of destruction, it isn't difficult to guess what happened. This was the site of a Covenant attack, most likely from early in the war.
We pass over the main city and eventually end up over a large house. Mansion might be a better word. I see mom's ship in a large field nearby and land us next to it.
"Why would mom be here?" Nick muses as we file out of the ship. From the ground, it's clear this house has taken some damage as well. There's a large hole in one wall, and many plasma burns along the front. Despite the damage, I recognize it.
"This is her home," I say, surprised by the revelation. "She had a picture of it in her lab." I remember the picture well. I used to stare at it to distract myself from the needles draining away vile after vile of blood when I was a kid. There was the front of this house, though without the obvious battle damage, and three smiling people; a man, a boy, and a woman so happy she was barely recognizable as Dr. Han.
"Let's move," I say, pushing the memories aside. I don't want to think that she was happy once, or that there may have been a time when she was somewhat normal. She chose what she is now. She chose what she did to us. I won't give her my sympathy.
We line up on either side of the front door. Wash kicks it in and we file through, stopping just inside to scan for danger. There's nothing. I wave for us to keep moving. We search each room on each floor, but aside from old furniture and crumbling walls, we find nothing.
"She has to be here," Gold reasons when we're all standing in the foyer once again. "It's her own house, and her ship is right outside. Where else would she be?"
I nod in silent agreement. We have to be missing something. It's just a matter of seeing it. I begin searching for anything out of place; anything that doesn't fit the dilapidated, dust covered house around us. I see two coats hanging near the door. Tinu makes a comment on their style being outdated, but I see the dust. They haven't moved since the attack.
I move into the next room. It's large, with chairs that I'm sure were once designed to look welcoming all pointed at a long powered-down holo-screen. Here I see footprints, slight scuffs in the otherwise unbroken layer of dust. I follow them to a blank wall. It looks like all the others, aside from the perfect, door sized rectangle of clean paint. I touch my finger to the wall experimentally and the hologram fades, revealing a metal door and a terminal.
"I'll get that," Rho volunteers. I pull off my helmet and quickly plug her into the computer. After a moment she appears above the console and makes a confused hum. "It doesn't appear to be locked," she says, looking up at me with her head tilted questioningly.
"Is it a trap?" Wash asks, edging up beside me.
Rho shrugs. "Normally I'd say that's almost certain, but this place doesn't look like it has any defenses. I think it's just an old lab, from before Dr. Han started working for the UNSC."
"We should still be careful," I say, removing her from the console and once again plugging her into my own head. There's a moment's delay before she's synced, and then we move.
The door opens to reveal a long, narrow stairwell. Gold asks to lead the way, fading out of sight the moment he starts climbing down. I follow behind him, listening to make sure I don't walk into his cloaked form. Wash is close behind me, and I can practically feel the tense caution he carries himself with. Nick and Tinu stay a few feet back from us, Tinu climbing backward to make sure nothing is following us.
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I hear a faint tapping sound. I hold up a hand and signal for Tinu and Nick to wait for us here. I'm not sure where Gold is. I know he's moved ahead, but I've lost track of him. I'll have to trust that he'll be where I need him if anything happens.
The room is very wide, with an abnormally low ceiling. It somehow lends to the feeling of being underground. There are neat rows of work tables, each with identical sets of equipment, each in pristine condition. I can tell just by looking that everything is set to mom's standards. Microscopes are at just the right height for her to not need to stoop, stools are just far enough from counters for her to slip into without bumping her knees or needing to move closer, and every petri dish, vial, and scalpel is placed close enough for her to reach without standing. It reminds me of the labs at our first base. Mom always held an appearance of perfect grace that could only come from an environment perfectly catered to herself.
I see her at the end of the room, sitting at a worktable near what appears to be an emergency exit. Her foot kicks in an even rhythm, toe knocking into the side of the table as she stares at some readings on a holo-pad. The moment I set foot in the room she looks up. For the first time in my life, she actually looks surprised.
"I didn't think you knew about this place," Dr. Han says, slowly lowering the holo-pad onto the table. "Not even Leonard knew. How did you?"
"We didn't," I admit, gesturing for Wash to circle around to her side in case she tries to escape. "Yttri left a tracker on your ship."
"So this is it, then. I suppose I cannot escape my creations after all." There's so much defeat in her voice that part of me thinks she's sincerely given up, but I don't allow myself to believe it. She always has a plan, or some sort of trick. I know she'll at least try to escape.
She slowly pushes to her feet and I tense, waiting for her to run. I barely have time to acknowledge her eyes flicking to meet mine before she's turning. I take a lunging step forward, hand reaching out to try to grab her even though she's still across the room. I don't get a chance to get any closer, though. Just as she's fully turned away from me and begins to run, she stops, suddenly, like she's hit a wall, and crumples to the ground. Gold fades into view standing over her.
"Hello, mom," he says, the smile visible in his voice. "Did you miss me?" He reaches an armored hand down and she flinches away, but he only grabs her arm and drags her to her feet. "Don't try to run. It doesn't suit you."
I jog over to meet him, arriving at his side at the same time Wash does. "So, that's it?" Wash asks, looking around like he expects soldiers to begin pouring out of the walls.
"Not everything has a big climactic end," Tinu says when we meet up with her. "Sometimes missions go exactly according to plan and nothing complicated happens."
Wash continues to glance around suspiciously, though it soon becomes clear nothing is going to happen. "Is it weird that nothing going wrong is what seems suspicious to me?"
Nick slaps a hand on his shoulder and I imagine he's grinning. "Don't worry. If it means that much to you, maybe the Covenant will pick a fight when we try to turn her in."
Wash laughs gently as we reach the ship. "No, I think I can live without that," he decides. I smile and go back to the front of the ship, ready to take us back home.