Vanguard
Chapter 14
"Preparations"
[UNSC Vanguard, slipstream space]
[Two days later]
Longarm was in the hangar bay replacing the Sabre's igniting coupling, he's been in the hangar repairing vehicles from the crash on Saleucami while salvaging from any craft that was beyond saving. He was underneath the craft as he climbed his way back out and sat up grabbing the tablet next to him and take a look at the fighter's diagnostics, everything seemed to be in order for now.
He starts standing back up on his feet when he asks "Percival, where's Ahsoka? I haven't seen her since I left the cafeteria."
The AI responded "She is currently washing herself in the shower room, deck nine."
"Thank you Percival, I don't need the details" the SPARTAN responded.
"I understand, all things considered she is very curious about us, not just you and I, I mean humanity and our war with the Covenant. She even asked about things that were considered highly confidential, including a certain program you're familiar with."
Longarm was looking down at the tablet checking on the other space craft asks "What did you say about it."
"Nothing that would compromise its secrecy, I simply misinformed her about the candidates stating that you were an orbital drop shock trooper that volunteered for the program. Permission to speak freely?"
"Percival it's been you and me for the last few years, what's on your mind?"
The AI hesitated for a moment to speak his piece until he finally said "Sooner or later she is going to find out about the SPARTAN Program and what it did to you and the others, when that day comes what will you say?"
The SPARTAN-ll stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment, it's true that Ahsoka will eventually find out the truth about the SPARTAN-ll Program and he won't have the slightest clue as to what she'll do afterwards, he needed an answer when the day comes and said with honesty "I don't know . . ."
"Well when you do, please let me know . . ."
Longarm nodded "Will do."
On deck nine, Ahsoka had just finished showering and came out of the shower room when she asks "Hey Percy you there?"
It took a couple of seconds before the AI answered "Yes I am here, I was speaking with Longarm down in the hangar after he brought the Sabre to optimal functionality."
"That's good to hear, hey can you show me the way to the hangar? That's the only place I haven't been to that isn't restricted."
"Of course . . . start heading towards the bow."
Ahsoka began making her way as Percival instructs when he asks "Might I ask you something?"
"Sure Percy, what is it?"
"That's it, Percy, why do you call me that? Not to sound offended I'm just curious."
"I come up with nicknames with those I can call a friend."
"Can you give me some examples?"
"Sure, I used to call my former master, Anakin Skywalker, Sky Guy. His astromech droid, R2-D2, occasionally called Artooey."
"And so you call me Percy . . . even when my formal designation is Percival."
"That's right, you got the idea" Tano said with a gentle smile.
"I see . . . and what of Longarm?"
Tano hadn't really thought about the SPARTAN but she eventually says "I think Longarm fits him perfectly. On the topic of names, what's Longarm's real name?"
The AI responded with slight delay "I am not at liberty to say, only he can tell you his real name when he feels the time is right."
She then asks with curiosity "Ok . . . so what can you tell me about him during this war with the Covenant?"
"Well he was very reclusive around the other SPARTANs except for a few, Jorge-052 and a Rose-077, but he's an excellent soldier on the field when he works alone or with those he can truly trust."
Ahsoka reaches for one her pouches on her waist and pulls out a photo of Longarm and the larger SPARTAN with a heavy machine gun, she holds up the photo to a camera next to her and asks "Which one is this?"
Percival took a second to examine the photo and answer "That would be Jorge-052, heavy weapons specialists."
"So these two had been through quite a alot together . . ."
"All the way since Arcadia near the beginning of the war."
"What happened on Arcadia?"
"It's the usual just like every other human colony world, the Covenant attacked and began killing everyone that wasn't their own. SPARTAN-121 and SPARTAN-052 were there along with SPARTAN Red Team to engage the initial waves of invaders, eventually Red Team departed to secure several evacuation shuttles while Longarm and Jorge went about searching for any survivors and eliminating any hostiles they came across. Luckily the Covenant were pushed out of the system and the two were redeployed separately elsewhere. The Covenant would return to Arcadia eighteen years later and glassed the planet killing whoever decided to remain there."
Ahsoka held the photo in her hands looking down at Jorge and his bearded smile and asks "Where's Jorge now?"
Precival states "We don't know currently but our latest records before the incident states he was stationed on our fortress world of Reach with SPARTAN Noble Team. That was little over five years ago, that's when we arrived here."
Ahsoka went silent for a moment taking a turn towards an elevator shaft before she asks "Have you ever thought about returning back to your own galaxy, finish the fight there?"
"We have, and we worked hard to try and achieve those goals. But as time passes on we began to realize that there was no going home for us. There were too many variables that posed a great danger to the ship, it was certain suicide."
Ahsoka eventually came across the elevator shaft that just opened up revealing a mechanical lift inside where she steps inside and Percival began lowering the lift, she says "So you guys are stuck here with no one to help you."
"Wrong" Percival said with some hope in his voice "We're stuck here but at least we have you with us. I greatly appreciate it and I'm sure Longarm does as well."
"Yeah, I guess I'm glad I met Longarm back on Coruscant when I did. I don't know where I would be right now if I hadn't."
"So it's safe to say that if it weren't for either of us, we wouldn't be right here at this moment right now."
"Yeah . . . I guess we're all lucky."
The lift came to a stop and the bulkhead hatch opens in front of her showing a short tunnel leading to another hatch to the hangar, she begins to walk through the corridor when she finally asks "So what does Longarm think about me?"
Percival seemed confused when he asks "What do you mean by that? Surely you understand that his augmentations limits him from having any sexual—"
She quickly stops him "No! I don't mean anything like that! I mean does he see me as a good friend or someone he can rely on?"
"Well . . . I really don't have a say in that matter. Personally I trust you if that helps."
Tano eventually reaches the door and stops before asking "Thanks Percy, um not to go in a completely different direction from our subject, but seeing that you're an AI inside a ship loaded with cameras around every corner, you can see just about anything that happens in and out of the ship right?"
"That is correct . . . are you concerned about something?" Percival asks not sure where Ahsoka was going with this.
"Is it UNSC regulation to have cameras installed in the shower rooms?"
"Well . . ." the AI states while rather stumped by a question such as this "For security measures all rooms are monitored . . . but in terms of video there is no cameras inside the shower rooms."
The togruta sighed in relief saying "Thanks Percy, that's all I really wanted to know."
"I didn't know Jedi could be so . . ." the AI stopped for a moment thinking of the right word before saying "Self-conscious of themselves."
"Well I am a woman right?" Tano says trying to make a point.
"True . . . I suppose there is that. To me you just seemed to be the . . . um" the AI stops himself from saying anything more.
"To be the what Percy?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing . . . I was going to say something but now I refuse to do so."
She crosses her arms "You were going to say the careless type weren't you?"
"No . . . more like the carefree type."
"Right . . ." she said rolling her eyes and step towards the door.
Ahsoka proceeds to walk through the hatch when it opened and found herself standing on top of a raised catwalk overlooking the hangar floor below, she looked around to notice the LAAT gunship settled next to a large green craft which is presumed to be a dropship on the port side of the hangar. On the starboard side he sees two smaller black sleek aircrafts with no visible cockpit, Longarm currently working on them, and a much larger dark grey angular space craft but was smaller than the gunship, she could assume that was the Sabre. She starts walking towards the starboard side where she finds a set of steps leading down to the floor and makes her way to Longarm who was currently working on the wiring of one of the black sleek aircraft.
"Hey Longarm" she says with calm.
The SPARTAN glanced behind him to see her there and said "Hey, can you go to the front of the UCAV and kneel down in front of the optical package, it looks like a set of cameras."
"Sure" Tano says before walking to the front of the craft and kneels down where she finds a set of camera lens glowing red and following her every movement where she asks "Now what?"
He responds "Now just move your hand left and right, tell me if the optics follows it."
She does as she is told and starts moving her right hand back and forth watching the optical package follow it back and forth as expected, she then said "Yeah it's following my hand."
"Ok good" he says as he puts a black panel back over the exposed circuits and sealed the opening shut.
Ahsoka stands back up and steps over next to the SPARTAN when she says "It reminds me a lot of those droid fighters."
"You can say that these are the same thing, but we don't call them droids, just drones."
"What's the difference?"
"There isn't any" Longarm says as he gestures her to follow him towards the Sabre Starfighter.
"So this is your only fighter?" Ahsoka asks when they stopped next to it.
The SPARTAN rolls over a ladder set next to the cockpit and began climbing up to it stating "Yeah. Originally designed for orbital defense, these fighters were supposed to be able to better compete with the more advanced Seraph Starfighters the Covenant used against us."
Ahsoka steps over next to the craft and laid her hand on the titanium plating and asks "What's it go for weapons?"
"Two M1024 30mm MLA autocannons as primary and two missile racks located in the wings, each carrying Medusa-class homing missiles."
"Engines?"
"One thruster on each wing pus two more in the fuselage."
Ahsoka watches the SPARTAN enter the front seat before she climbs up the stairs and look inside the cockpit of the UNSC fighter, switches and levers decorated the entire set up, Longarm was checking the flight systems making sure everything would run smoothly.
He turns his head around to see her looking inside the two seater cockpit and said "Go ahead and take the other seat, get a feel for it."
Tano shrugs and climbs into the back seat behind the SPARTAN and asks "So what am I in charge of?"
"You'll be my avionics operator, working with radar and navigation."
"So I'm pretty much your eyes and navigator . . . that sounds like fun" she says sarcastically.
He turns his head around asking "You want to fly this thing against a swarm of droid fighters?"
She sighs ". . . what do you want me to do back here?"
"There's an onboard tutorial system, use that to familiarize yourself with the other equipment. There's a button on the dashboard to your left, it should be blinking right now."
Ahsoka looks to her left and found a blinking yellow button, she presses it in which a female voice then spoke with a calm tone "Welcome and thank you for using the YSS-1000 Sabre Starfighter Tutorial Program, you may call me Cierra."
"Hi . . . Cierra . . ." Tano says unsure of what to think about the tutorial program.
"Greetings . . . You are currently positioned in the auxiliary pilot seat where you will be in charge of monitoring the onboard radar guidance systems and navigational arrays. Are you ready to begin?"
She takes a look over Longarm's shoulder seeing him pressing various buttons and flipping switches before answering "Yes Cierra."
"Splendid!" the voice said cheerfully "We will begin with familiarizing yourself with each console and their purpose."
[An hour later]
"Thank you for using the YSS-1000 Sabre Starfighter Tutorial Program. You have now completed the program and are now ready to fight for Earth and all her colonies" Cierra said before switching herself off until she was needed again.
Ahsoka sat back in her seat and let out a sigh of boredom and relief, she then looks over to see Longarm now standing on the hangar floor looking down at a data pad in his hands and said "Please don't make me do that again . . ."
The SPARTAN chuckled "You think the co-pilot tutorial was bad, guess what I had to go through as the main pilot."
The togruta started climbing her way out of the cockpit and when she got onto the floor she asks "So what's this 'Earth' Cierra mentioned?"
Longarm finishes up whatever he was doing on the pad and sat it down on a small rolling table tray next to him before saying "Earth, it's the cradle world of humanity. And one of our best secrets we kept from the Covenant for over two decades" he then seemed somewhat distracted and distraught as he says "Well . . . all for we know now the Covenant found it and burned every inch of it to glass . . ."
Ahsoka sensed his fear and anger swell up again, she steps next to the SPARTAN and said "You don't know that . . ."
He stood there for a moment looking down at himself before saying "You're right I don't . . . and I guess we never will . . ."
She then lays her right hand on his left shoulder pad and said "Look, the only thing you can do right now is help Obi-wan with the shipyard we're heading to. Maybe then we can figure out a way to get you back home and fighting the Covenant once again."
"Yeah maybe . . . but what about you?" he asks.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what will you do if we leave? You have family right?"
"Honestly I don't know where my family is . . . maybe, I can come with you."
Longarm looks over at her and asks "You're being serious right?"
"Honestly I wish I wasn't . . . but I don't think I have anything else here, in this galaxy, maybe it's time to start a new life elsewhere."
The SPARTAN then turned his attention from himself and Earth onto Ahsoka when he turns and place his two large gloved hands on the young togruta's shoulders saying "Ahsoka, trust me when I say this, you do not want to do that."
Tano started to become confused "What? What do you mean? I can help you win your war."
"I know you can but you don't know what you have until its gone. Trust me when I say it has happened to me when I was little. If there was a chance for Percival and I to go home then we'll do it but only because we know what's at stake, our home and our people, but you still have something here. You just don't know it yet."
Ahsoka had never seen this side of Longarm before, sensitive about another's life and understanding what it means to lose something, she backs away saying "Alright . . . I understand . . . I never thought SPARTANs can be so . . ." she tries to think of a word but nothing came to mind.
He states "Thoughtful of others?"
"Yeah . . ."
The two fell silent for several moments before Longarm calls out "Percival, how much longer before we reach the shipyard?"
The AI responded "Within the next twenty four hours. I recommend you two get your rest and prepare for combat when the time comes."
Ahsoka and Longarm nodded to that and started making their way to the lift that will take them back up to deck five where their living quarters was placed. The two didn't say another word to each other as they made their way back and get the rest they need before the critical battle ahead.
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