Chapter Thirty-Six: Checkmate

1830 Hours, March 15, 2558. City of Redwood Falls, Planet Khan. "The Regroup," Outer Colonies. Day Twenty-Five of the Dawn of the Prometheans

I sat at the bar of Mayor Javier Laraza's nightclub on the mainland, trying not to stare longingly at the colorful selection of liquor behind the counter. I wanted a drink so bad my throat felt dry, even though I'd already downed most of the large glass of soda water I'd ordered. Twenty minutes later, my salivary glands were still going wild at the prospect of getting satisfied by alcohol. After my embarrassing showing last time, though, I wasn't about to repeat my mistake. I knew for a fact that after all that had occurred the past week and a half - and the momentous decision I'd had to make on Qamar - that once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop. So the best option was to keep myself in check before I began, no matter how difficult that might be.

Finally I caught a glimpse of Lieutenant Commander Courtney Hayden weaving her way through the crowd. It was early still so business hadn't quite picked up as much as I'd hoped for our meeting, but it was enough for our purposes. Hiding in plain sight and all that. I raised my glass at the ONI operative to indicate where I was, though I was pretty sure she'd seen me already without me even noticing. Spooks tended to do that.

"Cooper," she said, giving me a nod as she took a seat on the stool beside me. While I was conspicuous in my uniform - a fresh one for the occasion, not the ravaged one I'd been wearing in the battle for the past couple weeks - Hayden was dressed in civvies. Nothing flashy, but she blended in with the rest much better than I did. Her ONI fatigues would have drawn more attention to us than my battledress did, and I didn't want anyone knowing what she was.

"Hayden," I replied. I took another sip of water, still wishing for something stronger, then set the cup back down. "So? What have I missed around here while we've been busy dealing with Armageddon over on the island?"

"Not a whole lot, to be honest," she answered. "Laraza has apparently been focusing all his attentions on his establishment lately. The Marines at the staging camp haven't reported any issues for some time now."

I snorted. "I'm not sure if I should be grateful about that or worried."

"I think you've got quite enough on your plate for now. Let us worry about what's happening with the rebs. If something happens, I'll let you know."

I stared down into my glass. "Do you think that means Laraza will go for what we need?"

She shrugged. "Unfortunately I don't know the reason for the sudden loss of interest yet. I can't tell if he's too preoccupied with his business and political career to make a move, or if he's just as concerned about Khan's fate as the rest of us and wants to give you some breathing room to get that taken care of."

"Well, none of those were things he was too worried about before. That never stopped him in the past."

"True, but I think having you come to him for help twice already - three times, if you count today - might give him the impression that things are dire enough out there on Qamar to leave you alone."

"I guess I'll find out soon, huh?"

I finished off the last of the water then, still disappointed that it wasn't enough to take the edge off, even just a little. I finally caved and signalled the bartender to give me a single shot of whiskey.

"Close the tab," I told him, just so I wouldn't be tempted to get more.

The bartender, a very good-looking man about my age, flashed me a charming grin. "Not necessary, ma'am. All compliments of Mr. Laraza. He says he'll be ready for you in a few minutes."

"All right. Thanks."

As I watched him go, Hayden let out a short laugh beside me, something I hadn't heard from her since she'd arrived on-planet. I looked over at the spook and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Before your eyes fall out of your head looking at the bartender, how's Willis doing?"

My cheeks went a little red despite myself. I covered it up by finishing off my shot. "Much better, thank you very much. I went to see him before I came over here and left him with his brother and his best friend." I set the empty glass down when I was done and stared at my hands on the counter. "He still gripes a lot about not being able to fly, but physically he's well on his way to a full recovery."

"That's good to hear," Hayden said.

"Yeah. I'm very grateful for it."

"Couldn't ask for a better present on your thirty-first birthday, right?"

A small half-smile formed on my face and I scratched at the side of my head. "Definitely. Can you believe I forgot all about it until just now?"

"I believe it, Cooper. You've been running yourself ragged lately. If you want my advice, you could use an evening of downtime tonight. Keep yourself fresh for the fight."

"We'll see. There's still a lot to do out there on the island, Courtney."

"I know. But everything's riding on your shoulders now," she said, getting up slowly from her seat. "You should take care of yourself sometimes too so you can be at your best for your Marines." She gave a very subtle tilt of her blonde head then, showing me that Laraza was on his way. "Happy birthday, ma'am. I'll see you down the road."

"Yeah, thanks."

The lieutenant commander deftly disappeared then among the growing crowd, blending into the throng of people seamlessly. I was sure the rebel leader/town mayor never even saw she was there.

Always one for theatrics, Javier Laraza gave me a slight bow as he approached. "Lieutenant Colonel Cooper," he said. "Welcome back. I trust you find the service here adequate?"

"More than adequate, Mayor." I gave a self-depricating snort. "I'm just trying not make an idiot of myself again like I did last time. I apologize for that, by the way. I'm something of a functional alcoholic these days."

Laraza smiled wide, but I knew him well enough by now that I didn't fool myself into thinking it was out of friendliness or understanding. More like he was laughing at me than with me. He realized now that I had a pretty big crutch, and he was enjoying knowing I had a weakness he could exploit. "That is fine, Cooper. And more than understandable given the circumstances, I'm sure." He threw me a look. "How is the campaign on the island proceeding? Your husband's health has improved?"

"Yes to the last, which has lightened my mental load considerably. As for Qamar, things are...well, to be frank, shit's really hit the fan recently. We're deadlocked with the Remnant and Promethean forces right now. That's where I was hoping you and your men would come in to help."

"Ah. Always something with you, Colonel."

"Nothing that benefits me, I can assure you. This is for your own citizens, Laraza. Not to mention your business."

He heaved a sigh. "What has happened now?"

I absently twirled my empty shot glass around my fingers on the bar. Some were still a little sore from the fighting. The scrapes across my hands were all healed now, though. "I had to blow the ancient ruins on the island ten days ago. It's a long story, but it turns out that's where a handful of our Storm buddies were coming from, and where all the Prometheans were rushing out of."

The mayor gave me a curious glance. "How?"

"Portals. You had almost half a dozen of them right under your damn noses. I told you you should've cleaned up your backyard sooner."

Laraza's face went from perplexed to livid in an instant. "And I told you many weeks ago that we simply lacked the resources to do so."

"Lucky for you, we're here now. So your option is to help us again, or to try to tackle this on your own when we're gone. Your choice."

"Ah, yes? And how do I know you're not bluffing for free aid?"

I didn't bother replying right away. I just pulled my datapad out of the breast pocket of my uniform jacket, tapped on a couple of the icons, and brought up a high-resolution photo of what remained of the underground chamber. "Because I had to resort to this to make sure my three battalions of Marines weren't outnumbered and overrun by the enemy. And if we found ourselves in a tough spot, you can bet your ass your men and women would be fried in less time than it takes you to blink if they tried to contain what's on Qamar by themselves."

I let him chew on that for a moment before bringing in the kicker. "And Laraza?"

He looked over at me, his expression still an angry one.

"If we do this right, this could be it. With your help, and with the portals gone, we could get the Storm and Prometheans off of Khan for good."

"And then you would leave?"

"Like I've said before, that part's not up to me. But what I do know is that you can't afford this level of alien activity so close to your home."

He thought it over for several minutes, so long that I wondered if he might refuse - or have me kicked out of his club or shot again for even bringing it up. Eventually, though, I saw something shift in his features, and when he turned to me once more, he looked determined.

"There is something you should know then, Colonel, if we are to help."

"What's that?"

His not-so-friendly smile came back. "I believe you consider yourself to be a very sharp woman, Natalie Cooper. And in many respects, you are. Yet in this situation, you have not thought of everything."

I frowned. "How do you mean?"

Laraza pointed up at the ceiling. "The Remnant ship in space. How do you plan on eliminating it?"

"We have a ship of our own, Mr. Laraza. You know that."

"And yet you fail to attack it. Why?"

I didn't want to tell him it was because the Ex didn't have nearly as much firepower as the Suave Affair had, and the Affair was currently space debris. "Well, I told you earlier that our other ship didn't fare so well. Now we're a bit...hesitant to reengage with the only one we've got left."

"What if I told you we had one of our own?"

That piqued my interest, but I caught myself before I got too excited. I leaned forward against the counter and smirked. "I gotta hand it to you, Laraza. You're good. Almost made me believe that, but if you guys've got a boat in orbit of your own, we would've known about it the moment we showed up in-system."

"Not if it is a stealth ship."

"And how would you even have access to one?"

The rebel leader's smile never left his face. "You show your inexperience with galactic affairs - or should I say, matters not confined to the Inner Colonies," he replied. "The Jackal pirates out here do not trade only in arms and ordnance, Colonel. There are larger, more coveted war relics to be had, for the right price...or with the right persuasion."

"Okay. Say I take your word for it. Even if by some miracle both the UNSC and the Storm didn't detect it, I know you'd never let us borrow it."

"Borrow it, no. Aid in your efforts to rid our planet of extraterrestrial nuisances, perhaps."

"Yeah? And what's that going to cost us?"

"Your next permanent outpost on Khan. We do not want you government types interfering here again."

At least until the next time one of these aliens shows up, I thought to myself. To Laraza, I said, "I just might be able to arrange that. But you know that means that if anything like this ever happens in the future, we won't be here to back you up."

"I understand the risks, but I do not believe the Storm will return now that their holy site is gone. And above all, we want what was promised from the start - you Marines off our planet."

I thought it over for another minute, but really, there wasn't much to debate. If what Laraza was saying was true, and the rebels really did have their own stealth ship in orbit that had no doubt been customized by the pirates to be armed to the teeth, it might be the final push we needed to rid Qamar - and Khan - of the alien presence for good.

Finally, I took in a breath and nodded. "All right. Let me speak with the mission commander, and I'll let you know what he decides by tomorrow. We've got to send the message to the brass back on Earth so it could take a while, but I'm sure they'll be interested in the offer."

It was disconcerting, but the smile stayed plastered on the mayor's face. "Interest is not what matters here, Cooper. What I'm giving you is a great tool you could never hope to come up with on your own in time. I suggest you try to convince your superiors of its importance when you speak with them."