Chapter Five: Showtime
Groaning, Jessica rolled out of bed—literally. The jarring thud as she impacted on the deck brought her fully awake, and she scrambled to her feet looking for a fight. You're getting jittery, Hawkes, she chastised mentally when she realized she was alone. Shaking her head, brown hair flying in all directions, she walked to the closet looking for a uniform or somesuch that she could wear. Pausing as her fingers brushed the ONI uniform, she remembered the mission and grabbed a blacksuit.
This particular one was a special model, issued specifically for this mission: ONI's scientists had managed to increase the armor capacity in the polymers and loosen the fit to allow for increased mobility. The fabric also had some sort of refractive material woven in to disperse plasma shots, in an attempt to decrease fatalities from Covenant plasma weaponry; the dispersed energy would then provide power to the suits various functions, which now included a minor shield generator. All this was, of course, entirely theoretical: the suit had yet to be 'officially' tested. Simulator runs are all well and good, but it's time for some more practical work. And that's where I come in. Ackerson had made sure she would test the new suit; while it wasn't in the same category as Mjolnir armor, it would give her an edge in dealing with the Covenant that she ordinarily wouldn't have had.
Thinking about the Mjolnir armor brought her mind back to the Master Chief: why had he told her his name? Was this a sign of trust on his part? How could he trust her, especially since she had Ackerson on her side? No time for questions, Hawkes. You have a job to do. Shaking her head, she dressed, pulled her hair back, and exited the cabin.
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"Master Chief," a voice hailed him form across the hanger bay. John turned away from the small ship to find Hawkes striding toward him with a small duffel bag in her hand. Long legs clad all in black brought the woman nearer, and he had to force himself to focus. Somehow, she makes a blacksuit look good. The thought had barely passed through his head when he realized exactly what it had been.
"Careful, Chief, we still don't know if we can trust her," Cortana warned from inside his helmet.
"She's given us no reason not to," he replied, fighting the urge to say more in Hawkes' defense. He sensed Cortana thinking this over as Hawkes stopped next to them.
"Admiring the Shadowstalker?" Her voice is so pleasant to hear… focus, John! The Chief forced his unusual thoughts aside and answered the question. "I've never seen a fighter like this before."
"That's because it's not official yet. We get to test Shadow out. She's designed for planetary infiltration: a single person or a small group can land her on a planet's surface and get the job done. Shadow also has the same plating as one of ONI's prowlers—she's a stealth fighter."
"I saw the plans, but I had no idea they were this close to complete," Cortana's voice echoed from the Chief's external speakers; John sighed in mild annoyance while Hawkes' simply stood there.
"Colonel Ackerson had this one finished first and loaded onto the Athens almost as soon as it rolled off the line. She's barely a week old." Hawkes shouldered her bag and moved closer to the ramp. "Now then, shall we get going?"
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"Shadowstalker to Athens, we're ready to depart at any point in time."
"Roger that, Shadowstalker. Give 'em hell, and come back in one piece."
"Can't make any promises on that one, but I'll see what we can do." Jessica maneuvered the small fighter-like craft out of the Athens' hanger bay and through the various masses of Covenant craft. Keeping in mind the data brought in from the scout ships, she steered the little craft through the more deserted areas of the Covenant patrols. This is a little creepy she thought as a Phantom-class dropship passed right behind them.
"Would you prefer me to take over?" Cortana asked pointedly; even inside the Chief's helmet she could tell the lieutenant was uneasy.
"If you can get in the ship's systems quickly, yes," Jessica replied, her voice thick with concentration. She barely noticed a green-armored hand when it slipped something into a data port, but knew exactly when Cortana took over the ships controls. "Thanks. I was never much of a pilot."
"You were doing a decent job from where we were sitting," Cortana replied as she materialized on the holopad at Jessica's elbow.
"I'll take your word for it," she muttered as she got out of the pilot's chair. Floating aft to the weapons locker, she retrieved her duffel bag and pushed off, returning to the chair. Spinning around with a grace the Chief could only envy, she positioned herself above the seat and pushed off from the ceiling, grabbed the arms of the chair, and awkwardly strapped herself in.
"How soon until we hit planetside?" John asked, his gravelly voice startling the lieutenant a bit.
"About ten minutes." Opening her duffel bag, Jessica pulled out a web-harness and a pair of holstered sub-machineguns. Strapping the SMGs to her hips, she buckled the harness around her waist and made sure the M6D sidearm was in working order. A small pouch with extra ammunition was slung over her shoulder. As she secured the web-harness, Jessica glanced up to see the Chief regarding her with what she assumed was curiosity.
"As I said before, Master Chief, I know how to handle a weapon. You won't need to baby-sit me overly much." She finished securing her weaponry and settled into her char as best she could.
"I have to ask, Lieutenant," Cortana voiced, "why ONI was concerned about our getting back if we have this fighter."
A trace of apprehension flickered across Jessica's face. "ONI probably figures that once the Covies find out we're planetside, they're probably going to look for a ship. And once they do, they'll destroy it and come looking for us."
"We can't allow them to gain access to our technology," John interjected. "The Cole Protocol—"
"Will be followed," Jessica interrupted. "I've got it all worked out, so there's no need to worry. Just stick to the mission briefs as best we can, get what we need, and then we'll worry about getting out."
The conversation was interrupted when the fighter entered the planet's atmosphere. Jessica held her breath, wondering if the simulations they'd run on this fighter would turn out to be true. After what seemed like an eternity, the small stealth ship had passed through the fiery gauntlet and landed in a secluded area. She moved to the weapons locker, grabbed a battle rifle, and glanced at the Chief.
"Showtime."