Chapter Fourteen: A New Purpose

I inhaled sharply against my pillow the next morning as a sudden shrill sound filled our quarters. It took a moment for my sleep-muddled brain to recognize it as my datapad chiming. I went into action fast if a bit clumsily, groping around the small nightstand for the device. It came squealing into my hands and I answered it on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Hello. Is this Major Cooper?" a familiar voice with a faint Spanish accent replied.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper," I corrected, pulling up the sheets around my chest with my free hand. I'd realized while I'd sat up that I was naked underneath the covers. Not that it mattered for a call since it was audio-only, but still. "I told you that the last time we spoke, Laraza. What do you want?"

I felt Willis stir beside me then, but he was either still asleep or not alert enough yet to notice I was on a call. In the meantime, I strained to hear the rebel leader/town mayor's words over the bad planet-to-ship connection.

"I wanted to let you know that I looked at the data chip you gave me a week ago. I have watched the video as well."

"And?"

He released a sigh. "It is a problem, like you said."

That was as close to a "You were right" as I was ever going to get out of him. I took it for what it was and nodded to myself.

"Okay. Does that mean you've rethought what I said that day? About extending the truce?"

"Yes, Colonel. I am willing now to discuss terms."

"Well, you already know what I want, Mr. Laraza. What're your conditions?"

The mayor chuckled. "Mine are always the same as well, Cooper. When the threat on our city and planet is gone, we want you gone as well. That includes your troops and your ships. Both of them."

"And in return you'll let my Marines land on the mainland again? We can set up a temporary operations base on the coast and count on your men's support if we need it?"

"It is not what I would personally wish to agree to, but circumstances dictate that I do not act rashly in this case. Yes."

I shifted a little. "All right. You've got yourself a deal, then." My voice hardened then as I felt the bandaged wound on my left arm – where the bullet had grazed me – start to throb. "But Laraza, one thing."

"Please, tell me."

"If I come out with so much as another scratch on the mainland, and I suspect that it's you, all bets are off this time. Permanently. We'll pack up and leave, and you'll get what you want. The UNSC will be out of your hair. But it also means that you and your people will be left to handle what's on Qamar Island on your own, without our aid. We'll just sit back and watch from our ships to see what you're able to do in response. The same goes if any of my Marines are harmed. Do we have an understanding?"

It was a bluff. Even as supreme ground commander, I didn't have the authority to completely call off our mission here on Khan. But I hoped if I played hardball with the mayor now, he'd think twice about ordering someone to take another shot at me – or anyone else who wore the uniform.

His response came after a long moment's silence. "I…understand, Colonel. I shall…ensure that my men do not act of their own accord and put our truce in peril."

'Act of their own accord' my ass, I thought to myself. Aloud, though, I said, "Good. Then if that's all, I've got other business to attend to now. My Marines will be returning to Redwood Falls soon. I hope you'll alert your people of our renewed pact before then."

"Of course. All shall be ready for your arrival."

"It'd better be, Laraza. Cooper out."

I hung up then and sat there for a moment, letting out a long sigh as I rubbed at my temple. For the life of me I couldn't comprehend why Mayor Laraza had to be such a difficult man to deal with. It was good that we'd been able to come to an agreement again, but getting there was always like pulling teeth. I was starting to see why Hayden had preferred a no-holds-barred approach with the locals when I noticed Willis blink up at me from his pillow.

"Who was that?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Mayor Javier Laraza, asshole extraordinaire," I answered irritably, settling myself back down on the bunk but keeping my datapad in hand. I checked the time on it and groaned. It was just after 0500. "See, this is why I don't get any sleep. The guy's up at all hours and always assumes everyone else is, too."

Willis chuckled then and moved in closer to wrap his arms around me, giving me a deep kiss as a pleasant morning greeting. "And here I thought it was me who kept you from getting much sleep last night."

I smirked as I kissed him back. "There's that, but I meant…nevermind."

"I know. I'm just teasing, Coop."

It became apparent very quickly that we were headed back in that direction, but despite the early hour, this morning I knew I couldn't spare the time. Now that I'd finally gotten the truce I wanted with Laraza's men, I needed to start getting our own groundside affairs in order. The sooner I could get things established on the surface, the sooner I could start getting the scientists off-loaded and begin dealing with our ever-precarious alien problem.

It was hard to muster up the self-control to convey this to my husband, however. I ran my free hand over his short hair as I kissed him, then forced myself to pull back before things got too heated again.

"What?" Willis asked.

"No time, sorry," I replied, sitting up again as I brought my datapad up and started typing a message. "Laraza just agreed to an extension of the truce so I've got to work fast now. We need to prepare the Marines and supplies from the Excalibur for departure to the surface, and I need to check in with Harris and Warfield to see if things are clear for the scientists to land." I spared him a quick glance. "You've got work to do, too."

"I do?"

I nodded, returning my attention to the message. "Yup. You're going to go see your CO Major Collins and ask if she can spare an extra squadron to help ferry things down. Tell her it's just temporary this time. I don't want to pull Victor or Kilo off their stations in case the Prometheans or Storm attack again before we get back."

My husband let out a loud sigh of resignation. "All right." Then he turned over, facing away from me now, and mumbled, "Sometimes I hate that we got promoted again, Cooper."

I smiled faintly as I finished typing the message, then placed a hand on his bare shoulder and leaned down to kiss his hair. "Sometimes I do, too. But this is what we signed up for, honey."

With that I got out of bed, quickly pulled on my underclothes, then stole Willis's T-shirt and put that on, too. After that I fished out a pair of my PT shorts from the closet, shimmied into them, and grabbed a towel.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower and then I'll be back to get dressed," I said. "We've got a briefing with Major Brewer and both spooks in half an hour at 0530. I just sent them a message. You should do the same or you won't have time to talk to Collins beforehand."

Willis sighed again as he finally sat up himself and pulled back the sheets. "Right."

I picked up his boxers off the floor and tossed them at him with a mischievous grin. "Remember not to leave in your birthday suit."

My husband smiled, too, but didn't say anything as he pulled them on. Then he started rummaging in the closet himself for another shirt to wear. In the meantime, I passed our small desk on my way out and noticed my two pill bottles sitting there. I slung my towel over one shoulder and stopped to take my meds, then took a swig of water from my canteen to wash them down.

I was busy frowning at the ones I took for the nightmares when Willis closed the closet door and saw me, his own smile fading.

"How many of those do you have left, Natalie?"

"Enough for two more weeks I think. Maybe three."

Willis nodded. "I'll try to shower fast so I can see about talking to the Excalibur's doc, too. I'm sure he's got some stored somewhere." He placed a hand around the back of my head then and gently pressed his lips above my eyebrow. "It'll be okay, honey, like I said. Don't worry about it."

As usual, I wished I could be as confident as my husband that everything would work out. For now, though, I had plenty of other things on my plate to take care of. So I pushed the thought aside in my mind and walked out.

I met back up with Willis in the hallway once we were both showered and dressed and handed him a cup of coffee and an energy bar, the stand-in meal for when we were in a pinch. He took his drink in stride like I did, swallowed a hot sip, and looked over at me.

"Thanks, Coop. I really needed this."

"No problem. I figured you might. I can't be the only one who thanks God every day for caffeine."

Willis chuckled. "Nope. I'll see you at the briefing, honey. Gotta go catch Collins and the doc now, if I can."

"Hop to it, Major," I teased.

"Yes, ma'am," my husband responded with a grin.

Once he disappeared around a corner, I continued making my way toward our meeting place fast, hoping to get there in time to catch Hayden before she arrived. I felt awful putting her into gear at a time like this, so I needed to find out if she felt up to the task. Even spooks were entitled to a brief period of mourning, although I had to admit that her presence on the ground would be a big help now that I was splitting my forces. I guess I'd just have to see what she thought.

I finally reached the room with ten minutes to spare. No one was there yet. Reluctantly, I shoved my energy bar into the cargo pocket of my fatigues to eat later and rushed to down the rest of my coffee before people showed up. After that I set my datapad on the table, turning it on as I waited. I pressed a button and had it project two different maps side-by-side: one of mainland Khan near the city of Redwood Falls, and another of the island. Both displays had just popped up when Lieutenant Commander Courtney Hayden filed in.

Her appearance was impeccable this morning; you never would have guessed from looking at her that she'd been through any emotional turmoil the previous day. We went through the usual routine of saluting, and then she relaxed, standing quiet and still on the other side of the table in her black battledress uniform.

I wished I could think of something comforting to say to my friend, but I knew that ultimately nothing would change what had happened to Oliver. So I decided on something simple instead.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

Hayden rubbed at her eyes. "I'm…not really sure, actually. I think I went through a million emotions at once yesterday. I even got mad at Oliver for being dead, for letting himself get killed and leaving me and our boys like this." She glanced at the table then, still not meeting my gaze. "Now, I've finally settled on empty. I'm hoping the mission will change that."

"Courtney, you don't have to – "

"Yes, I do. And I want to, Cooper. Really. Anything's better than sitting around sulking and brooding and crying over this. I'd rather have something to do, you know? Keep my mind off it."

That, at least, I understood perfectly well. I didn't say it out loud, but I'd felt the same myself when my second pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage during the War. Everyone had thought that I wouldn't want to do anything after I'd lost Willis's and my baby, that I'd just shut down and shut myself out. In a way I had for a while, emotionally at least, the same way Hayden's wife had now. But I hadn't given up my company command. I took it back once I was able and well enough physically to do it, and I'd relished having a purpose and something to focus on again other than the terrible, engulfing heartache.

In some ways, I now thought my work had actually helped me heal some. I'd never really recovered fully from the blow, but Willis and Gabe and my Marines – and eventually the twins, too, once they were born – had given me enough of a push to get through it.

I thought about somehow trying to convey this all to Courtney but found that the words wouldn't come. I'd always been loath to mention the loss, so I said nothing, only nodding my head in silent agreement.

Major Dani Brewer appeared through the hatch then, saving either of us from more uncomfortable conversation.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper, ma'am," she said, saluting.

I saluted back briefly. "Welcome, Major Brewer. At ease."

Navy Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd came in shortly after, followed lastly by my husband. I folded my arms across my chest and began as soon as they were all inside, huddled around the opposite side of the table.

"Good morning, everyone," I said. "I apologize for assembling you all so early, but I got a very interesting datapad call from Mayor Laraza about thirty minutes ago. The locals decided they're finally ready to play ball, so this is it." I tapped my datapad then, making sure the conference link to Majors Harris and Warfield dirtside was working as well. "Majors, how's the connection down there?"

"A little unsteady, ma'am, but I can hear you," Harris answered.

"Same, Colonel," Warfield added.

"Good. So here's the skinny: I'm going to go ahead and set up a staging area on the mainland, per my agreement with the rebels. It'll be on the coast, about ten klicks outside of Redwood Falls. We'll bring down Major Brewer's reinforcement battalion to remain on standby there and be ready to deploy to the island when we need them, or to eventually relieve the 904th or the Eighth if things are quiet. In the case of the latter, we'll rotate the units in and out one battalion at a time.

"It won't be a permanent outpost like Columbia was, but we should get the basics like a field hospital and a mess tent set up over there for immediate use. Major Harris?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Pull Alpha Company off the lines and tell them to gear up. We'll need some engineers to construct things for us on the mainland and get started on putting up some amenities."

"Got it, Colonel."

"Major Hawk?"

"Ma'am," Willis said in front of me.

I looked over at him. "What's the status on the extra flock of birds? Do we have them?"

"That's affirmative, Colonel. I just got the go-ahead from Major Collins. Cobra Squadron is ready."

"Excellent. Then Hawk, I want you to coordinate with Cobra's leader on shuttling down troops and supplies from the Excalibur to the surface. We're also going to need transport for A Company from Qamar to the mainland."

Willis nodded. "Understood, ma'am."

"Lieutenant Lloyd, you and I will return to the island shortly along with Major Hawk, as soon as preparations have been made," I said. "Lieutenant Commander Hayden will go down with Major Brewer and her Marines to keep an eye on things around the Falls. Specifically, I want a set of eyes and ears on the mainland to keep tabs on the locals – namely Laraza. Make sure they keep their end of the bargain and don't cause trouble for us while we're down there."

Hayden nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

I stepped back and glanced at the holographic maps hovering over the table then. "All right, that leaves just one more thing. Warfield, Harris, how are your sectors of the island looking? Are we clear to bring in the scientists yet?"

"It's been quiet for a while down here, Colonel," Harris responded. "Even by the ruins. I'd say we're good to go, ma'am. Ready as we'll ever be, anyway."

"Cole?"

"The 904th's perimeter is green," he said tersely.

I raised an eyebrow at his tone but said nothing. I'd deal with the major once I was back on the surface.

"Okay," I said then, unfolding my arms and bracing my hands against the edge of the table instead. "Then this mission's a go, everyone. We'll get the scientists out to Qamar as well, and let's see what they turn up."