Chapter Twelve: Benefit of the Doubt
October 20, 2552 1230 hours
Blade's Bunkhouse
UNSC Reserve Base Camp Hayes
North America
Laura was down in what she tended to call her 'workshop' when she heard someone knocking at the door of her bunkhouse. Damn! Who could that be? For the thousandth time she cursed the stubborn pride which had made her power down her AI friend, knowing that answering the door would be complicated. ONI didn't know about her 'workshop', so every time she went down there she had to loop the electronics. If she answered the door, she'd have to hack into the networks later and 'tailor' the recordings to fit. If Lorienna had still been online, she would have covered for her automatically. Maybe they'll just go away, she thought, then winced as the knocking got even louder. Whoever that it, they'd better have a damn good reason for dropping by, she fumed as she crept up from her workshop and to the front door.
"Nick! What a surprise! I wasn't expecting any company?"
"I figured you'd be getting lonely, so I thought I'd pop in for a visit. Interested in a walk?"
"One sec," Laura muttered as she busied herself at a computer terminal. In a few minutes, she stood up and nodded. "Let me grab a jacket and I'll be right there."
The two friends left the base relatively unopposed, since all Laura had to do was glare at any mouthy Marines to get them to shut up. Laura noticed where Nicole was leading her: the woods behind the base, a relatively quiet place where it was hard to be overheard. Must have something important on her mind, she mused.
"Why did you shut down Lorienna?" Nicole asked suddenly. The question stopped Laura dead in her tracks.
"How did you know?"
"Isn't it enough that I do?" Her friend gave her a hard look. "What the hell's gotten into you? You're becoming more paranoid every day, and a lot of it is baseless!"
"Baseless my ass, Nick," Laura replied softly, her quiet voice laced with anger. "Ackerson's getting desperate. Right after I powered Lorienna down, I got jumped by ODSTs when I was securing my bunk. Rookies, so they didn't know any better than to come at me in a small group. Plus, before I powered her down, she'd let one of them into my bunk. She wasn't armed, but who knows what might have happened if she had been?"
"Laura, if they're anything like you are, then they don't need a weapon to kill. She could have killed you any time when she was in there, and she didn't. Care to explain that away?" Nicole shook her head at her friend's silence. "Maybe you could try giving them the benefit of the doubt, or at least be civil in their company."
"And if they try something? What do I do then?" Laura challenged.
"Trust me, they won't. I've been listening, and I think you've confused them a bit. From the sounds of things, they're curious." Nicole smiled. "Besides, with a blade in your hand you can take on anyone and win, remember?"
"I try not to."
After she got back to the base, Laura thought long and hard about her actions over the past few weeks. Maybe I was wrong, but maybe not. How can I be sure? She couldn't know, but she knew there was one action she could correct. Swallowing her pride, Laura moved to the terminal, entering a passcode, password, and retina scan. The prompt for the voiceprint came up, and Laura smiled a little as she recited:
"United we stand, now and forever; E Pluribus Unum, out of many one."
"About damn time you came to your senses," her own voice came back at her, sharp and angry. Laura's smile widened.
"Nice to see you too, Lorienna."
Lorienna's slender form swirled into place beside her, waved a hand, and smirked.
"Cameras disabled. Feel free to do whatever."
"Ok, meet me downstairs. I could use your help on my latest 'project'."
Lorienna's eyes sparkled with laughter, and she giggled. "Being sneaky, are we?"
"Yep. Interested or no?"
"Right with you."
October 24, 2552 1525 hours
Gedeon Residence
North America
Laura had been up late for some time, hiding out in her 'workshop' while she worked on her latest project. On one of her missions, she'd gotten her hands on about twelve Covenant camouflage devices. She'd promptly given them to ONI when she'd returned, but had only given then ten of the devices. Two of them went down to her 'workshop' for research. Oh, if ONI knew what I'd done to that old bunker they'd have a fit, she thought with an evil grin on her face. That old bunker had proven itself to be quite useful: she mostly used it to work on the various gadgets she used for her missions, the toys she didn't want ONI to find out about. It also made a neat little hidey-hole, as Sergeant Johnson had found out for himself.
Perched in a tree in her mother's backyard, Laura grinned even wider. It had taken a lot of time, and a lot of sleepless nights, but she'd almost figured out the camouflage devices the Covenant used. Oddly enough, the technology seemed familiar, like she'd seen it somewhere before. No matter, I'll remember where I saw it later, she mused as she sat in the tree. She'd taken the generator apart, studied its workings, and had tried to improve on it. Now she was trying to test it, see if she could improve the cloak's duration. Nine minutes, she thought, just as her mother exited the house.
Dr. Gedeon looked around the apparently empty backyard, trying to find her daughter. They were supposed to have guests for dinner, and while some may not be the guests Laura would appreciate, she was still going to be there regardless.
"Laura Elizabeth! Oly Oly En Free!" she called. When no response came, she muttered under her breath, "Laura, where are you?"
"Right here." The reply came from out of nowhere, and there was no one who could have made it. A few seconds later, a smiling woman materialized in a maple tree behind the house, dropping down next to her mother and brushing little pieces of maple bark off her clothes.
"Rats, almost ten minutes. I still haven't got this thing figured out yet," she muttered, staring intently at a device on her wrist. Looking up, she gave her mother a lopsided grin. "What's up?"
"We're having guests for dinner tonight, so I need you to look presentable."
"That might be a challenge," Laura smirked. "We both know how good-looking I'm not. I'll do my best, though." Still smiling, she and her mother walked inside, unaware that they were being watched by Spartans. The Spartans were quite confused: what had Dr. Gedeon called, and why did it sound so much like their 'all clear' signal? And how had Blade managed to create a stealth generator?
Two hours later, General West and the four Spartans were walking up to the front of the house, and the general knocked politely. Dr. Gedeon opened the door and ushered him inside.
"General, come on in. Laura's putting the finishing touches to dinner and dessert, and I've decanted a bottle of cabernet sauvignon." As the Spartans followed the two, they noticed the simple, homey furnishings and the pictures on the walls. On the west wall of the main room, which shared with the kitchen, were four pictures: a family photo (similar to the one Linda had seen in Laura's bunkhouse), and individual photos of the three children. Laura's picture stood out, if only because of the cool look on her face—cool, but with something else that captivated the Master Chief, something he couldn't name. His reverie was interrupted by a timer going off loudly, then being suddenly cut off by somebody in the kitchen. There was a subsequent rattle and banging of dishes, and a cheery voice calling from the kitchen:
"Dinner's ready, if anyone wants it."
Dr. Gedeon led the way into the dining room, where a deceptively simple assortment of food was laid ready: some kind of meat dish in creamy tomato sauce, mixed vegetables, pasta, fresh-baked rolls, and a delectable-looking salad. Distracted by the spread, no one noticed the arrival of the 'assistant chef' until she'd placed a stick of butter on the table beside the rolls. Her hair was wound into a bun, and she was wearing a blue velveteen top, but it was definitely Laura. Glancing at her face, John swore he saw a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
"Well, Laura, I must say I'm quite pleased with the layout," Dr. Gedeon quipped, prompting her daughter to raise an eyebrow in amusement.
"Hey, you did most of the cooking, I just set it out. Anyways, I can't wait to get started."
"By all means, everyone help themselves." The Spartans were a little hesitant, until they noticed Laura take a portion of the tomato sauced dish: apparently it was made up of meatballs, of sorts. She carefully spooned two balls on top of a mound of pasta, dribbled a bit of sauce on top, and rounded off her plate with vegetables, a buttered roll, and a bowl of the salad next to her plate.
"Skimping, eh?" she smiled at West's comment, knowing she'd easily taken less than her share, and much less than she normally ate.
"I know what's coming for dessert, and I'm saving room. Of course I'm skimping. Besides, Hungarian meatballs are very rich." Her dark eyes sparkled as she noticed how little the Spartans had taken of the Hungarian meatballs. "Oh, come now, they're also very good. Now the rolls you might want to watch out for…" She grinned mischievously as Fred, who'd just taken a bite of his roll, paled even more than he already was.
"Not nice, Laurabeth, not nice," her mother frowned.
"Sorry, couldn't resist."
She carefully cut into her meatballs, and lifted a steaming forkful into her mouth. Chewing and swallowing, she smiled, a genuine smile the Spartans had never seen on her face before.
"As usual, Mom, cooked to perfection."
"Thank you, Laura. Care for a roll?" Laura's dark eyes sparkled with laughter at the look on Fred's face as she bit into the roll, smiled in satisfaction, and went on eating. Everyone got really silent after that, as they got down to the serious business of eating the solid, home-cooked meal. General West eventually pushed back his plate, and sighed in satisfaction.
"Well, Dr. Gedeon, I must say your cooking is definitely superb."
"Just wait until you see what Laura pulls out for dessert," the elderly doctor smiled. Laura rolled her eyes and disappeared into the kitchen. She re-emerged a moment later with an unusual-looking cake on a plate in one hand, and a pile of dessert plates in the other.
"It's not that good, Mom. It didn't even turn out the way it was supposed to, at any rate I'm not happy with it."
"What is it?" West asked as he looked at the cake; it was rounded and frosted with chocolate icing, and sprinkled on top with powdered sugar.
"A Yule Log cake. It's a traditional French Christmas dessert. Yes, I know it's not Christmas, but I made one anyway." Laura began cutting into the cake, and they saw it was a white cake, frosted on the inside with chocolate and rolled up to resemble a tree log. She put the first slice on a dessert plate and set it to the side, cutting another slice right after. After cutting seven slices, she set the knife down and gestured to the cake.
"Help yourselves," she said as she took a slice for herself and began eating.
The Spartans looked at each other, and each took a slice of cake and began eating. They were surprised by the taste; it was delicious, considering it had been baked by a military person. Clearly, Blade knew more than just combat techniques; if she had assisted in any way with the dinner, she could most definitely out-cook the kitchen staff on base, who never really served anything appetizing. Glancing down the table, they noticed Blade suddenly seemed uneasy, as if she remembered something she hadn't done that she should have.
"I should be going," she said quietly after a while.
"Why? There's no reason for you to leave so soon," Dr. Gedeon replied, puzzled by her daughter's statement.
"There's something I need to take care of, and it can't wait. Sorry to eat and run," she murmured and got up abruptly, leaving the table. A few moments later a door opened and closed as Laura left the house. Through a window, the Spartans saw her heading northeast, almost back towards the base, but not quite.
Having been caught on the hop when she'd seen the Spartans at dinner that night, Laura had managed to keep herself quiet. Nicole's words had come to mind: Maybe you could try giving them the benefit of the doubt, or at least be civil in their company. After trying to keep an open mind as her friend had suggested, she'd even surprised to see them both mildly interested at this new side of her life, and a bit surprised at her seemingly quicksilver attitude. Maybe that'll keep them guessing, she thought. I still don't trust them, but maybe they're not out to get me. Then again, with ONI, who knows? Her life had taken a turn for the confusing lately, and when she needed advice most she had no idea where to turn, except to her dear, departed grandmother. Bringing her mind back to the present, Laura focused on the headstone, and the tall candle flickering before the grave.
"Dr. Gedeon, why did she need to leave?" West asked.
"I'm not sure, unless…no, that can't be. She's long over that by now, she has to be." Something had apparently come to the doctor's mind, but she brushed it aside immediately, as if it was an impossibility.
"Dr. Gedeon?" West insisted. "What is it?"
"I just remembered today's date, General. It's…it was…her grandmother's birthday. Every time her birthday rolled around, Laura used to light a candle for her grandmother; I doubt she still does it anymore. Besides, she's long over that, at least she should be."
The Master Chief looked at Linda, who nodded and left the room. She headed in the general direction Laura had gone, and found herself heading towards a cemetery. Moving into the shadows, she scouted the area, eyes open, and noticed a soft glow nearby. Laura was sitting in front of a marble headstone, a lit candle in a tall glass sitting before her. She sat that way for hours until the candle finally went out. Linda could still see the candle, in spite of the darkness: it hadn't burned out at all. It was almost as though someone had blown it out, but how was that possible?
"Happy Birthday, Nana," Laura's voice came from the darkness, softer and sadder than she'd heard yet. She's never acted like this before, Linda thought to herself. I need to find out more about Blade, and I don't think it's going to be easy.
"I wish I could still have your advice the way I did when I was little," Laura was softly murmuring. "I wish you were still here, so I could at least talk to someone who understands. I miss you, Nana." With that, Laura picked up the candle and rose, a sigh of regret echoing through the night as she moved off towards Camp Hayes.
Laura had smiled a bit when she saw the candle go out. There were a number of reasons it could be explained logically, but she preferred to believe her grandmother was letting her know that everything would be okay. I miss you, Nana, I really do. With a sigh, she got up and headed back to her bunk. ONI was sending her out on another mission tomorrow, and she needed to gather her gear and rest a little before she shipped out. As she left the cemetery, Laura turned around. Was that…no, probably just a trick of the shadows. Besides, why would a Spartan be interested in a cemetery?