There's no excuse for the delay this time. I just didn't get around to writing this. Sorry.
My eyes snap open and for a moment I wonder if the pod broke. I feel as though no time has passed since I sealed myself in. A quick glance at the clock above my head sets my mind at ease, though. I smile amusedly at myself. I never could get used to the feeling of instantaneous travel like that.
I hit the button to open my pod and climb out on shaky legs. A rough, shuddering shiver travels up my spine, and for an instant I feel like I'm still frozen down to my bones. It passes quickly, though, and I begin shaking out my limbs, regaining feeling in my chilled joints. Once I feel normal again I begin checking the other pods.
I smile when I see that Rho's set each of the other stasis units to thaw five minutes after mine. Sometimes she's less than subtle in telling me she wants to talk.
I yawn and stretch my arms as I walk up to the cockpit where I left her. She hasn't bothered to project her avatar with no one around to see it, but I'm sure I can feel her in the buzz and lights of the computers.
"Hey, Rho," I say, subconsciously adopting a whisper-like tone reserved for early mornings.
"Hey, sleepyhead," she responds, popping up over the console.
"How close are we?" I ask even as I drag my eyes to where our coordinates are displayed.
"Just outside scanner range," she says, moving to hover over the display. "And thanks to Yttri's last minute upgrades, we're fully cloaked. They won't see us."
I nod, paying more attention to her body language than her words. I'm not sure if she realizes it, but she keeps positioning herself in front of my eyes, ensuring I'll pay attention to her. "Any reason I'm up before the others?" I ask eventually, taking the bait.
"No reason," she shrugs, though the gesture seems forced.
"Rho," I say calmly, giving her a no-nonsense look.
She sighs and sits on the edge of the screen. "What's going to happen to me?" she asks eventually.
"What do you mean?" I ask, settling into the pilot's seat and holding out my hand for her. She flashes out of sight for a second before appearing in my palm.
"I'm an illegal AI fragment," she explains in a nearly helpless tone. "There's a reason Carolina and Epsilon are still on the run. The UNSC wants to contain and destroy the Alpha fragments." She tilts her head up, projected visor aimed at my face, as her voice turns pleading. "If the Covenant see me, they'll turn me in. The UNSC will kill me, Silver. I- I can't go down there." Her voice catches at the end, a sign of fear that I recognize well.
"Hey," I say comfortingly, cupping a hand behind her like I'm shielding a flame from the wind. "You know I won't let that happen," I continue, though I'm not sure yet how I'll prevent it. I look down at her guiltily. Somehow among everything that's been happening, I managed to overlook this. I've been so concerned with protecting the rest of my family that I forgot to consider Rho's safety, which I know is wrong. She's as much my sibling as anyone else back home.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" I ask, knowing this fear must have been weighing on her mind for months now.
"I didn't want you to cancel the mission," she whispers, staring at her glowing feet again. "It's the only way to help all of you. I couldn't let you give that up."
I smile down at her, reminded once again how similar she is to me. "We need a plan, then," I say. "You're right that we can't cancel the mission, but I can't let them hurt you either."
"Really?" she asks, looking up at me hopefully.
"Don't play like that," I chide jokingly. "You know you're part of this family too. Your safety is as much a priority as anyone else's."
"Thank you," she says suddenly, wrapping insubstantial arms around my thumb in an uncharacteristic display of affection. The action drives home even further how much this is bothering her.
"No problem," I say, pretending to pat the top of her head with my index finger. She looks at me with what I somehow sense is a fake glare and reaches up to shove my hand off. I grin as I pretend to be pushed away.
"Think you can wake the others early?" I request after a moment. "We're gonna need their help to plan this out."
"Don't bother," Wash says from behind us. "As usual, her sense of timing is impeccable," he adds, smiling at the AI.
"I'm just awesome like that," she says, floating up to his face level.
"Yes, you are," he agrees absently before turning his attention back to me.
"Thoughts?" I ask, knowing he overheard the majority of our talk. I glance past him for a moment, seeing Nick and Gold try to help Tucker through what I assume is his first stasis sickness. I'm glad my genes allow me to handle it with grace. Despite passing quickly, I've heard that a bad case can feel like you're dying.
Wash winces when he hears a retching sound from his teammate. "I have a plan, actually," he says, ignoring the moaned complaints drifting into the cockpit.
I raise my eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.
"They'll pull our records when we start the trial," Wash begins. "Double check who we are and our pasts. They'll know you held an AI, and they'll check of you still have it. They'll also know what happened with me and Epsilon, and that I'd never carry another AI. They won't bother to search me for one."
Rho flashes a bit when she realizes what he means. It takes me a moment to catch up.
"Wash," I say with surprise, reaching out for his hand. There's a lot I want to say, but I can see from his determined expression that he's already made up his mind. "You don't have to do this," I say. "We can find another way."
"I could stay here on the ship," Rho offers.
"They'll search the ship," Wash says. "And they'll search your base eventually. I'm the only one who they won't expect to hold an AI."
"Are you sure?" I ask. I know what Epsilon did to him, and the desperation it took for him to carry Alpha later on. This isn't an easy decision for him.
"There's no other option," he says simply. "And I can't leave you here to get caught," he adds, looking down at Rho. "Feel free to come up with another plan, but the offer's there."
I sigh and shake my head. "I can' think of anything else," I admit. "What do you think, Rho?"
"It's a good plan," she says. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asks, looking up at Wash.
"Don't worry about me," he says. "I trust you. Just… don't do anything crazy."
"Wouldn't dream of it," she says happily. "I'm plugged in over here," she continues, popping over to a data port in the corner. "Pull me whenever you're ready."
Wash nods, glancing at the port nervously.
"I'll go tell the others the plan," I say, resting my hand on his shoulder briefly as I pass. "Don't want Tucker telling everyone about our AI by accident," I joke.
"Right," Wash says with a strained laugh.
I step out of the cockpit, leaving him and Rho to talk if they need to. Tucker is finally climbing to his feet, with some help from Nick.
"I think I was poisoned," he whimpers.
"Stop being such a baby," Gold teases. "We need you ready to negotiate with your Sangheili buddies."
"I could just tell them to shoot you all," Tucker grumbles.
"Knock it off," I say semi-seriously. "We're almost at the end of this."
"Aside from the whole trial part," Nick interrupts.
"Yeah, aside from that," I agree, glaring at him. "But the important part is almost over. Let's try to not get at each other's throats."
"You're just no fun," Gold says with a grin.
PS, sorry for that lame ending there. :/