Chapter Thirty-One: Time Waits for No One

Doctor Kiev left us shortly after dropping the bombshell on my husband, leaving the two of us alone again in the room. I looked over at Willis to make sure he was okay, but for a long time, he didn't speak.

Taking a seat now in the small plastic chair beside the bed, I took his hand in both of mine and squeezed again. "Will - "

"Do you...know what this...means for me?" he asked with great effort before I could finish. Then he turned his gaze away from me for a moment to stare up at the ceiling. "Fuck, Natalie."

"Of course I know," I replied softly. "Why do you think I was so worried when I found out? But listen, I'm not so upset about it anymore."

"W-what? Why?"

"Because you're alive, Will. You woke up and survived this. So if you're keeping track, that means you've already proven them wrong once." I gave him a faint smile. "Prove 'em wrong again."

"I'm not...sure I...can."

"Maybe not now, but you will with time." I snorted. "Just look at what happened to me a couple months ago, or even Hayden during the war when he got shot in the damn head. You think either of us were supposed to come back from that? But that's not the point. The important thing is that we did."

That garnered me a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Coop...I'm not...like you. I can't just...take everything...like a tank and...bounce back."

Grinning, I leaned down and kissed him gently. "Sure you can. You're tougher than you think. And I'm a lot less tough than you think. You should've seen me the past week and a half while you've been out. I was moping around and beside myself since you crashed."

"Because you...love me."

"Yep." I touched my forehead to his. "I've been in love with you for fourteen years now, Mister. I'm not stopping anytime soon. So please, don't give up on yourself just yet."

"I'll...try."

I leaned back in my chair and stroked his hair reassuringly. "That's all it takes."

It was strange - in the past, Willis had always been the one to keep me going in dire straights, to tell me things were going to be okay. He'd always been the optimist. Being the calm, levelheaded one now was...different and new, to say the least. But as I looked down at him, I realized I felt truly serene for the first time in ages. And this despite the fact that I knew we both still had a hard road ahead - Willis with his recovery, me with the situation over on Qamar. But for right now, none of it mattered.

Because I had my husband back.

I didn't want to leave Willis's bedside for any reason, but regardless of what I would have liked, I knew I still had my duties to perform. That became abundantly and immediately clear to me when my datapad buzzed as I sat there next to him, watching him sleep once more thanks to his meds.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Cooper," I said. "Who is this?"

It was a slightly amused, deep voice that answered back. "Colonel, this is Captain Rhodes. Go outside and look up."

A grin started to spread across my face as I rose from the chair in silence so that I didn't wake my husband. After that, I carefully picked up my helmet and DMR from the floor close by. I didn't speak until I was out of the room.

"I think I have an idea of what I might find, sir," I finally responded. "How'd you know I'd be indoors?"

"Word travels fast, Colonel. I heard Major Hawk just regained consciousness this morning, so I knew that barring the arrival of a second enemy invasion force, that's where you'd be. I trust he's doing well?"

"Well as can be expected after what he went through, sir. I'm just very glad he's awake."

"As am I. I'm sure handling the invasion was tough on you even without the distraction. But you can tell me all about that once you're aboard."

I suddenly stopped in my tracks in the hallway. "Sir?"

"You've got another pilot down there, yes?"

"Affirmative, Captain."

Captain Rhodes released a sigh on the other end. "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut your reunion short, Cooper. I'm sorry to do it, but we need you up on the Ex ASAP. There's quite a lot to discuss."

I swallowed, trying not to sound too disappointed. "I understand, sir."

"Good. I'll want you up here in thirty minutes. Rhodes out."

Though I'd hated taking off without saying goodbye to Willis, I hadn't wanted to wake him, either - ironically, more sleep was what would help him heal faster. I figured he'd probably had enough already with all the days he'd spent in a coma, but Doctor Kiev had assured me earlier that rest was still the order of the day. So, ruefully, I boarded Heat's Pelican again and sat impatiently inside the troop bay as he flew us up.

I'd always been nervous in ships or aircraft of any kind, but this morning I had to admit that I barely even noticed. There was too much going on in my head at the moment for me to focus on the fact that I was in the air, a veritable fish in a barrel just waiting for the Storm ship that was still somewhere out here to blow us out of existence with the remainder of its Seraphs on board. But it didn't, and we soon touched down again inside the Excalibur's starboard hangar bay.

I piled out quickly as soon as we'd arrived. It wasn't long before I heard the sound of boots hitting the deck repeatedly behind me - Captain Heat jogging to catch up.

"Hey," he called out to me. "What's going on?"

I shrugged my shoulders, still laden with gear. "Damned if I know. All I know is that it sounded important - and it better be since I had to leave Will's side for it. Stay here with the bird."

"Yes, ma'am."

I could tell from his tone that he was none too happy to be left out, but that wasn't my concern at the moment. I walked through the Ex's bay until I reached one of the exit hatches, ducked through, then awkwardly found myself returning salutes down most of the corridor. I hadn't had to do that in weeks.

Just as I was beginning to find myself at a loss as to where I was supposed to go next, a rushed ensign came bounding over - a different aide than last time, I noted. This junior Naval officer was male, sporting short red hair that reminded me a little of Dean's.

"Colonel Cooper, ma'am! I apologize for being late. Captain Rhodes is expecting you, ma'am. Right this way."

Slightly amused, I followed the redheaded kid down the passageway and into what looked to be a large conference room of sorts - large for shipboard accommodations, anyway. I was surprised when I saw who was also inside - Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd and Major Dani Brewer.

Uh-oh was the first thought that came to mind. I thought Rhodes had found out about them and that I was in for a reprimand for not reporting it, but then I realized we had at least a couple dozen more pressing issues to deal with down on the surface. Something else was up.

I got salutes from both the spook and the 213th's commander as I walked in. Rhodes waved mine off and simply said, "Welcome, Colonel."

"Sir."

He heaved a sigh. "Now that you're all here, we have a number of things to deal with today." He smiled slightly, but it didn't last long. "For one, we're back, obviously. I realize the Ex's absence hurt quite a bit during the initial phase of the invasion, but I hope you can see why fleeing the scene was necessary. Not only to ensure us some kind of ride home once this is all over, but to make sure we had the supplies and armaments still intact and available for a time like this, when I'm sure you're in dire need of them."

I wanted to mention that we'd actually managed pretty well with the accord I'd come to with Laraza a couple weeks ago, but the truth was that we were beginning to run low on even those additional supplies now. And I wasn't about to go back and make a drunken idiot of myself on the mainland again to get more. One embarrassing evening was enough for me.

Meanwhile, the captain continued.

"I also wanted you all to know that I regret not being aboard the Affair when it went down. It should've been my duty but I was here at the time, meeting with the CO of the Ex, and it was just one of those damn awful coincidences. It's good for the mission that I survived, however, because now we can get things organized from the top again." He looked at me then. "Only way to do that is to know what exactly the situation on the ground has been since we left. Cooper, I yield the floor to you. Let's hear what you've got."

"Yes, sir." I nodded and folded my arms across my chest. "Things've been a little hectic since the Excalibur jumped. We had a pretty bad mess on our hands at first, with the Storm dropping in in force and not nearly as much backup as we should've had to counter everything that was thrown at us. The Marines fought well though, sir - both in the air and on the ground. Never gave up.

"We managed to get air superiority shortly after my husband was shot down; Collins led the team upstairs with Broadswords, and they were able to send what was left of the Seraphs up there packing. That freed them up to help us out more on the ground, and that, in turn, gave us a considerable advantage. We were able to gain the upper hand from there, but as you just mentioned, we were burning through ordnance and fuel for our wings pretty quick."

I paused and ran a hand through my hair, remembering what had happened only a week or two ago, but somehow, it already felt like eons had passed. "I knew that unless we wanted to get overrun by Storm troops again, we needed to get those supplies. So I went over to the mainland to talk to Mayor Laraza, and he agreed to help us out."

Rhodes quirked a small smirk. "That easy, huh?"

I smiled a little, too. "It took some persuasion, but we made it happen. After that things were going very well until the Prometheans showed up inside the ruins. We had the scientists down there already poking around, and the skirmish was rough. We were overwhelmed underground and had to take the fight topside. We also lost one of the brains, sir."

"That's regrettable. And now?"

I released a sigh. "And now, things've thankfully been stable for a while. We let the scientists recoup for a few days while we ensured the security of the area down below, and made further arrangements to make sure it was safe."

"How so?"

"I beefed up the guard, and had Captain Cooper's demo team rig the place as a last resort, sir. It was our only option left."

The senior Naval officer nodded. "I agree, Colonel. Continue."

"Now the scientists are back at it, and we're waiting to hear what else they may have found in there, if anything. In the meantime, my battalions on the ground have been helping to protect them, in addition to keeping the Storm in check and being available to curb anymore threats the Prometheans might pose."

The captain took a while to let it all sink in. Eventually, he glanced up at me again. "Very thorough assessment, Colonel. And great instincts. It sounds like you handled everything that was thrown at you well, just like I knew you would."

"Thank you, sir."

"Which brings me to my next point. Now that we're back in business, I was able to speak with Rear Admiral Dartmouth back on Earth. In recognition of your command, we're switching up your battalions' structure a little bit."

"Sir?"

"We decided to formally pull the 8th Engineer Battalion, the 904th Infantry Battalion, and the 213th Infantry Battalion together." He pulled out a unit patch from his breast pocket and handed it over to me face-up. "Colonel Cooper, consider yourself CO of the newly minted 52nd Regiment."

I was just about as blown away as when I'd been made a lieutenant colonel almost a month ago. Though I'd already been leading a regiment-sized unit since, formal recognition was unprecedented...and spectacular. "Wow, sir. Thank you. I don't know what else to say."

"How about 'Where the hell is my XO?'" he said with a grin. "That'd be my first question, as you're definitely going to need one."

I chuckled, too. "Yes, sir. That would help."

Much to my surprise, he turned over to the major in the room. "Brewer, I'd like you to do the honors. You're the senior battalion commander on the ground, and I can't think of anyone better suited to the job."

She looked just as taken aback as I'd been. She recovered quickly though and replied, "Thank you, sir."

Rhodes handed her the new patch as well, then returned to leaning back against the table behind him. "Well. Now that that's all worked out, Major Brewer, congratulations. You're dismissed."

"Sir!" Brewer gave a crisp salute, did an about face, and left the room. That meant it was only me, the spook, and Rhodes inside now. If Lloyd was happy for her, which I'm sure he was, not a bit of it showed in his expression. He was ONI all right.

My attention was diverted again when the captain spoke.

"There's a few more items I'd like to discuss with the two of you in private," he said. "Firstly, do either of you know where the Prometheans emerged from when they attacked?"

"No, sir," Caleb answered. "Sorry."

"Sir, I spoke with one of the scientists after the fight," I amended. "While we were down there surveying the progress, she'd told me they'd found five portals in the chamber - three inactive, two live. The two live portals are connected to Sanghelios and a place called Requiem, respectively." I glanced down at my boots, contemplating. "Beyond that, I don't know much about the mechanics, but she said it was possible they could have come out of one or even both. We were attacked en masse and it took Brewer's Marines and a Mantis to keep them at bay. So my bets, personally, are on them coming from two portals." This time I shrugged. "Then again, I don't know how or why they'd be tied to the Elites' homeworld, and I don't know anything about this Requiem yet, Captain."

Rhodes nodded, taking the information in stride - like not much of this was news to him. It made me curious, but I waited patiently for his reply.

"Well, that's another reason I brought the two of you up here this morning," he finally answered. Then he turned to the spook. "Lieutenant, go ahead and brief the colonel on Requiem."