Greetings from the Land of Slow Internet! I'm back with a new chapter, full of flashbacks and reunions, and Blade. Feel free to critique--feedback is much appreciated, flames will result in chaos.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo.

Chapter Five: Reunions, Of Sorts

Forerunner Ship Alaya's Hope

Zeta Doradus System

April 3, 2558

Kelly watched the strange woman as she hit Fred in the shoulder. It was plain that he had allowed the contact, but why? A closer look revealed a spark in the other woman's dark eyes, a very familiar spark that she hadn't seen in about thirty years.

"Did you lose something?" The other girl looked at her, dark eyes both surprised and alert. It was the face of someone who'd been tricked before, but looked out of place on a twelve-year-old civilian girl.

"Actually, I was looking for pinecones for my grandma," she replied in a tone of false innocence. She was clever, really, in guessing that Kelly was smarter than most kids. "She hasn't been feeling very well lately, and I thought they would cheer her up. She's always had a thing for pinecones, ever since I can remember; my brother and I used to go on walks and bring some back for her to add to her collection." The girlish chatter was extremely irritating, and Kelly found herself annoyed. No doubt the girl would have kept going if it hadn't been for the sound of four angry Marines approaching. She watched as the odd civilian stiffened and shoved her behind a tree.

"Probably ONI, stay put until I get rid of them," she hissed urgently, a spark in her eyes that changed her entire demeanor.

The girl had been a visitor to Reach, or something, Kelly wasn't sure which. What she did know was that the mysterious civilian seemed…well…she acted like one of them. And like this Blade woman standing in front of her, she'd had dark hair and dark eyes...unless the girl had grown up. If she had, she'd probably look exactly like this, Kelly realized.

"You're lucky I've mellowed out recently," she was saying, her eyes betraying how pleased she really was to see them. The glittering brown gaze landed on her suddenly, and after a moment's hesitation she spoke. "Kelly?"

That clinched the memory: the girl and this Blade were the same person. "I would've thought you'd forgotten," she replied quietly.

"Hardly. You were the only good thing I remember from that trip. What happened to you? Where'd you wind up after Reach?"

Kelly noticed Fred was about to reply when she heard a gasp from Arisaya and Arnyris, who finally got a good look at the newcomer.

--

Arnyris scowled at the strange woman conversing with the others in the rapid chatter he barely understood: these outsiders had played a neat trick on them, but the human woman was not Alaya. Her looks were almost an exact copy, but even his eyes could see the differences.

"Arisaya, do not be deceived," he whispered urgently. "She is not Alaya, the newcomers seek to outwit us."

"But how then could they know of Alaya or our history? Even Dr. Hal-see and her friends did not, not until they came to us." The two Forerunners stopped when Blade caught them in a knowing stare; she seemed to know exactly what they had said, though she did not know their language.

"I see we have a lot of catching up to do, starting with Alaya's descendant. I assume she is such?" At Fred's nod she smiled, her gaze landing on Arnyris and his warriors. "Oh yes, definitely a lot of catching up to do."

"You will learn nothing from us, stranger," Arnyris growled in his own language; the woman attempted to move past him, but he blocked her path and shoved her away.

Moments later he found himself on the floor, a heavy weight on his back and his arm twisted to the side. A low voice whispered in his ear, "Do not do this again if you value your life."

--

Arisaya watched in surprise when the woman called Blade bested Arnyris. Not only had she done so speedily, she had used a combat move that had not been used since Alaya's time, a move that only a few of the finest warriors could replicate. It was not possible, yet there Arnyris lay before her, pinned to the deck by the stranger's own body.

Do not do this again if you value your life. She had barely heard the whisper, but it rang clearly in her ears nonetheless. Even more, it was spoken in her own language. How is this possible?

--

Laura frowned as she regarded the warrior beneath her. Rash, especially for a youngster. He's gotten too cocky for his own good. Apparently he saw her as a threat, in spite of Fred and the others. Granted, he couldn't have known she'd look exactly like someone from his histories, but that gave him no reason to attack her.

"Let him go, Laura," she heard Fred say; his tone almost had the force of an order.

"He threw the first punch," she replied as she let the young man get up; she smirked as she watched him rub his arm.

"Arnyris didn't mean too much harm, and he doesn't know about you." Laura met Fred's hard look with one of her own.

"Which is why I didn't do much damage, only enough for him to realize what he's dealing with." A few whispers echoed around the bay, which she promptly ignored; there had been worse sent her way, and no doubt there would be worse waiting for her back home.

An elderly woman moved forward, one she recognized from her frequent hacks into ONI's database: Dr. Catherine Halsey, the mind behind the Spartan project. Life and years of secrecy had aged her greatly, but she still had that aura of authority Laura remembered from nearly thirty years before.

As soon as she stepped off the ramp, Laura noticed a woman in plain, business-type clothes approach.

"Are you Laura?" When she nodded, the woman smiled warmly. "I'm Dr. Halsey."

"I've heard of you, Dr. Halsey. Every time Mom and Dad's superiors come by, they whisper your name when they think I can't hear. I have good ears, better than they'd think." She grinned mischievously.

"I'm sure you do. Would you like me to show you where you're going to be staying for your visit?"

"I thought I'd be staying with my mom." Her dark eyes narrowed, and she was immediately suspicious; while it seemed an innocent enough statement, something about it was…off.

"Wouldn't you rather stay with someone your age?" Laura's suspicions grew: ONI never allowed for any social interactions when she was on a military base, and there was no reason for them to stop now. Play dumb, Laura, she reminded herself silently.

"Their parents probably wouldn't like it too much. Besides, I'd rather spend as much time with my mom as I can; sometimes we both get so busy we can't see each other." Dr. Halsey smiled at the cryptic response, seeming almost satisfied by her answer.

"Very well, Laura. I'll take you to the quarters we've set up for you and your mom."

Apparently Dr. Halsey didn't recognize her at all, though, judging by the expression on her face.

"Are you a SPARTAN-II?"

--

Dr. Halsey found herself surprised by the younger woman in front of her: her face was almost an exact duplicate to Arisaya, the young scientist she'd befriended, and a perfect image of the ancient Forerunner scientist Alaya. It was obvious to her, and possibly to the others, that she was a Spartan. Yet for the life of her Dr. Halsey couldn't place her on Reach, even if there was something familiar about her.

"Are you a SPARTAN-II?" she asked, and the woman Fred had called alternately Blade and Laura glanced at her; something flickered in her eyes for a moment, but was replaced with a cool look.

"In a manner of speaking, Dr. Halsey." Laura/Blade tensed almost imperceptibly, as if in recognition of a potential threat.

"Then how come we didn't ever see you on Reach?" Chief Mendez asked from behind them; it was the first he'd spoken through this entire exchange.

"You did, for about two weeks, then they shipped me back to Earth. I'm not surprised you don't remember me, I wasn't one of 'your' trainees." A bitter smirk crossed the woman's features. "I daresay you'll remember an incident involving four Marines and a late-night ambush, though. Especially you, Chief Mendez, since you handled the accusations."

Incident? Dr. Halsey had to think for a moment, then she remembered:

Dr. Halsey entered the room, followed Chief Mendez and four Marines that had filed an incident report. The young girl they'd come to see had apparently just finished dressing; she turned in surprise and began slowly backing towards the window.

"Well, Laura, you've certainly put these Marines in a very bad mood." Dr. Halsey's tone was even, but she could see the girl didn't trust it one bit. It was obvious to the doctor that she had secrets she wanted to keep, but obviously knew lying wouldn't help her. After a millisecond of thinking, the girl spoke harshly.

"They had it coming, attacking me without provocation. Besides, why should I care how they feel, when no one here has even given a thought to my feelings? Since I came here I've only had one person besides my mom tell me the truth: everyone else has been lying to me from Day One, and I've had enough!" Dr. Halsey couldn't blame her for being angry, and was quite impressed by her outburst, but didn't show it; Mendez and the others just stared at her.

"You say they attacked you first?" Mendez asked; thank goodness the man had some sense in him.

"Yes, twice. Once two days ago, and once last night. Both times I had done nothing to warrant such treatment, and both times I tried to tell the truth and was rebuffed. Now, could someone please explain to me why this kind of behavior is allowed, especially when directed at visitors?" The girl was getting impatient, and annoyed, something that wasn't often seen in a Spartan trainee. Glancing about the room while she formulated her reply, Dr. Halsey noticed the bag of pinecones on the floor next to the child's sleeping bag.

"Where did these come from?" she asked, picking them up and noticing the note. 'From Kelly', it read.

"Why do you ask?" came the sharp reply as she snatched the bag back, spilling some of the pinecones on the floor in the process.

"Just curious. I imagine these took you a while to collect."

"It didn't help that these guys decided to use me as a punching bag while I was collecting them last night in the woods," the girl snapped. Plainly she was still suspicious and angry, and was hiding the fact that Kelly was somehow involved in last night's activities. Why would she do that, though? Dr. Halsey was prevented from asking further questions by the sound of someone walking through the door behind them.

"What is going on here?" It was the doctor that had arrived from Earth, this young girl's mother, if Dr. Halsey wasn't mistaken. As the twelve-year-old girl saw them turn away, she quickly took advantage of the opportunity and slipped out the door, stealthily escaping to somewhere on base.

The incident itself was clear enough, but Dr. Halsey had a hard time placing the girl, and this mysterious Blade clearly wasn't going to say more on the subject. Rather, she turned back to a man in a captain's uniform, regarding him with a somewhat arrogant look.

"I'll need to send a report back to HighCom, with your permission of course."

"Of course, ma'am," the man replied coolly. "Will you be remaining onboard the Aquilae?"

Dr. Halsey noted an almost imperceptible tension in the younger woman's figure. Nothing much, just a tightening of the shoulders and back, but enough for sharp eyes to see annoyance and nervousness.

"No, Captain, I'll be returning here if possible. There's a lot to learn, and only a little time before we get back to Earth." She looked over to John briefly, but the doctor noticed the silent communication that passed between the two. I wonder what that was all about.

"The Master Chief will also be remaining here, I'll just collect a few things and send that transmission. You'll not have a thing to worry about after that." She strode off to the Pelican, followed by the other officer. Dr. Halsey couldn't help but notice the relieved look on the captain's face.

--

John shook his head as he watched Laura walk away, the faintest of smiles on his face.

"Care to explain what her deal is, Chief?" Kelly asked behind him. "She didn't seem too happy with that guy."

His faint smile disappeared to be replaced with a grim look. "That captain was ready to open fire on you as soon as you came out of that portal. All he could think of was that the Covenant were coming back, and the two of them got into a minor shouting match because of it."

Fred chuckled. "Knowing her, I'm surprised it was only a minor shouting match. You sure she didn't pull a knife on him?"

"She's changed a bit over the past four years," John answered, trying not to reveal too much. No matter how badly he wanted to tell them everything that had happened, he knew it would be best to wait until Laura was ready; she didn't quite trust them as much as he did, for reasons even he wasn't quite sure of.

"John, I've never known you to be this evasive when answering a question," Dr. Halsey commented, prompting an eyebrow from John's old mentor, Mendez.

"I don't have all the answers, Doctor. And the answers I do have were given in confidence, so I can't tell them to anyone."

"I see," was Dr. Halsey's only comment, though John wondered exactly how much she did see. With Dr. Halsey, it was hard to tell.

--

One hour and two duffle bags later, Laura stepped off a new Pelican and watched the dropship depart; as soon as it was clear she picked up one bag and handed it to the Master Chief.

"Ugh, thank goodness I'm off the Aquilae. That captain was beginning to annoy me." The comment brought a muffled snort of laughter, and she turned her gaze to Fred, who had an uncharacteristic grin plastered all over his face.

"Careful, kids, it's not safe to annoy this particular Spartan," he said to the S-IIIs standing nearby. "Usually someone winds up wounded when Blade gets annoyed."

Brown eyes narrowed into unreadable slits, but Laura's tone of voice spoke volumes. "I do have a name, Spartan," she spat, her emphasis on the word Spartan noticeable, as was the venom in her voice. You'd think they of all people would know how much I hate the name Blade, she thought irritably.

John watched the interchange, ready in case trouble broke out. He saw a flicker of regret in Fred's face when the other Spartan realized his error: they all knew she hated her codename, but sometimes forgot and used it to tease her. Normally it didn't bother her this much though…something's wrong, otherwise why would she take offense to something that normally wouldn't bother her?

"Sorry, Laura, I forgot," Fred's voice broke into his thoughts, and he watched as Laura waved his apology away.

"It's okay, kid, I shouldn't have snapped like that. Maybe I'm just tired." She shrugged, a smirk gracing her lips. Shouldering her duffel bag, she cocked her head at the group of Spartans and their comrades.

"Mind giving us a tour?"