Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo.
Chapter Eight: Burned
Hawkes started past him, so intent on getting them out of there that she completely missed the Jackal hiding in an alcove to her left. John saw the shot hit her right between her shoulder blades, and watched Hawkes stagger and fall against the wall. A few shots made short work of the alien, and he hurried over to the wall; the ONI operative was slumped over, biosigns moving erratically.
"Chief, get the hell out of here," she murmured.
"I don't leave a teammate behind." He moved to help her to her feet, but she slumped against him, limp and unmoving.
"Hawkes!"
----
John draped the unconscious ONI lieutenant over his shoulder as he departed the tower. Hawkes had taken a shot that would've killed most personnel, but there wasn't time to speculate on how she'd survived. They needed a place to regroup, and to wait for the UNSC.
"Cortana, is there anyplace we can hide?"
"According to seismic readings, there are a number of caves and tunnels in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, they're still a good distance away form here, and there's bound to be at least one patrol in our way."
"And we need to make sure Hawkes is all right," John finished. "Let me know if a patrol starts getting too close."
The Spartan stopped underneath a decent-sized tree, which would provide some cover from Covenant air units, and lowered the unconscious Hawkes to the ground. Using extreme care, since his armor amplified the smallest of movements, he undid part of the blacksuit, just enough to get at the wound on Hawkes' back. Surprisingly, there was only minor damage: what normally would have been blackened skin was merely blistered, similar to a third-degree burn.
"Cortana?"
"I see it, Chief," the AI replied, somewhat puzzled. "Unfortunately, I have no logical explanation, unless there's something about Hawkes that ONI didn't tell us."
About Hawkes, or about her gear, John thought, fingering the blacksuit lightly; even through his armors gauntlets the material felt…odd, almost thicker than normal.
A groan sounded underneath him, as Hawkes stirred and tried to sit up. He watched the lieutenant flinch from the pain, then scramble to cover herself.
"Don't move, Lieutenant. I need to take care of that plasma burn."
----
Jessica stared at the Chief, her eyes widening inside her helmet. Waking up to the pain had been unpleasant enough, but waking up to find herself partially naked in hostile territory was too much.
"Can't it wait until we get back to the UNSC?" she heard herself snap, wincing from her tone as much as a sudden bout of pain.
"We shouldn't wait. It could get infected if we do, and we don't know when the UNSC will arrive, if they ever do."
Unfortunately, he's right, Jessica thought sadly. She was uneasy with the thought of a man treating her, even though she'd had it done before—it wasn't something one got used to. Sighing, she lay back down and allowed the Chief to touch her. There was a cold sensation as she felt him apply some sort of ointment, and she couldn't help but shiver.
"Hurts?" Is that concern I hear in his voice? Hard to tell…
"No, just cold, mostly. It does sting though." He was rubbing the ointment into her back, and she was hard-pressed not to sigh in relief. It felt so good, lying there with a legend touching her, that she almost forgot they were in a war-zone. Almost.
"Almost done, then we can get out of here," the Chief muttered, shortly before she felt a sterile adhesive bandage cover the wound. As soon as she was able, Jessica sat up and redid her blacksuit, running one hand over the back of it as best she could. There was a slightly glassy feel to the threads where the plasma had hit, but other than that the suit was still in top shape. Good to know for now, she thought, before turning back to the Chief.
"Let's get out of here."
----
Cortana had led them to a series of caves, and the two of them sat in one corner, barely visible in the dim light of the caverns. Jessica fingered her captured plasma pistol with one hand, but her mind was wandering in every direction. Thank goodness the Chief's on the alert, she thought, right before her mind wandered in a new and highly dangerous path.
Her memory was a little hazy, only natural considering the shock from the plasma hit, but Jessica could clearly recall telling the Chief to go. She also recalled him saying he wouldn't leave her behind, a statement that could be considered grounds for insubordination. Why, then, would he take that risk? Unless he considered her a valuable part of the mission, which was highly unlikely, since he and Cortana could do as well if not better. So what was his reason?
Her back was hurting from the plasma burn; she shifted slightly, which only added to her discomfort.
"You alright?" The rasping voice startled her, and she jumped a little, only to gasp in pain.
"Please don't scare me like that," she whispered. In the faint light she saw the Chief shift a little closer, and felt an armored hand lean her forwards. "What are you doing?"
"Making sure you're not hurt any worse than you already are." Was his voice a bit gentler? Nah, probably just my imagination. Jessica felt his hand vanish for a moment, there was a hissing noise, and his hand returned to exploring her back. Only…there was something different about the feel…he took his gauntlet off! For a Spartan to part with any portion of his armor was practically unheard of, especially in a war-zone. Jessica wondered why he was taking such a risk, and for a brief moment indulged in the thought of the Master Chief caressing her, kissing her, loving her…snap out of it, Hawkes!
----
John wondered why he'd taken off his gauntlet: unless there was a valid reason for it, he was never out of his armor, it was a part of him. And yet, taking off that piece of armor had felt so…right. If there was one thing he'd been trained to do, it was to trust his feelings, and so he'd removed the gauntlet without question.
He resumed checking the ONI officer for injuries, and felt annoyed by the blacksuit covering her body. Wait, why am I feeling like that? It was as if he didn't want the woman…no, the lieutenant…wearing that particular item of clothing. It made no sense for him to feel that way, but some part of him did. Besides, that blacksuit probably saved her life…wait, how did it in the first place?
"Hawkes, when you were shot, you only escaped with minor injuries…" he began, but Hawkes nodded before he could finish.
"A new design we've been working on. There's some special conductive material woven into the suit's polymers to disperse plasma shots. In theory, the dispersed energy could go to a micro-generator that would power the minor functions in the suit, as well as a small shield generator that got added. The scientists also readjusted the design for increased mobility. We ran it through the simulator several times and got good results, so Colonel Ackerson decided to have me field-test it." She grinned ruefully and motioned toward her back. "Saved my hide back there, didn't it?"
John nodded, then removed his hand; he could see no other injuries, and there was no reason to leave it there, even though the thought of doing so pleased him a bit. "You're fine."
"I could've told you that, Chief," Hawkes murmured, her voice lower than it had been. Was she trying to keep quiet or was there some other factor? He could see her figure clearly in the dark: she was trembling a little, but in a way most people wouldn't have noticed
"Something wrong?"
----
Jessica was more than a little disappointed when the Chief removed his hand; there was something reassuring about its weight on her back, which was probably why she thought of being in his arms…ok, this is too much. As soon as I get back to Earth I'm resigning. She couldn't handle too much more time alone with the Spartan, otherwise she might find herself doing something that would compromise the mission.
She felt a little shaky, tremors that had nothing to do with the adrenaline rush from earlier. There really wasn't much she could do about it except wait it out, and hope the Chief didn't notice.
"Something wrong?" Ok, scratch that plan. Now what'll I tell him?
"Nothing, Master Chief, just adrenaline wearing off. I'll be fine in a moment." Fortunately for her, he seemed to believe her lie.
----
Inside the Chief's helmet, Cortana processed the AI equivalent of a resigned sigh. Those two were hopeless. Not that she could have done much even if she had a body and could talk to both of them, really. Humans can be so thick sometimes. There had been an obvious…chemistry was the word, she believed, right from the start. Yet those two were intent on ignoring it, which certainly couldn't be healthy. And once they got back to Earth, Hawkes would disappear, most likely on another infiltration op. Cortana reviewed the files Hawkes had sent her, as well as a few files she herself had hacked. She was an excellent operative, her records practically screamed that much, but her lack of discipline had gotten her demoted more than she'd been promoted. A perfect study in opposites, the perfect foil for the Chief. All those two really needed was a little incentive…Cortana processed the equivalent of a smile as an idea began to form in the back of her 'mind'.