Halo - "Love at Long Range"
Location: Dorms, AMBER Base
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system
November 7th, 2548
2:30pm
"So before you bit my head off, I'm sorry I couldn't call you on your birthday itself."
"When have you ever known me to get angry? Heck, even I don't know when was the last time I got angry!"
In the room they shared, Jun and Celestina sat in front of their holographic screen, currently on video call with Emile who was currently part of Noble Team. "Yeah, you got a point there. Happy belated birthday, baby girl! Hope you ate lots of cake."
An amiable laugh escaped her. "I wish I could have! How's everything over there?" She asked as she peered over Jun's shoulder.
"Same old, same old. Stopped another Innie operation without any problems. Guess your birthday brought some luck. We got back last night."
"Glad you to see you in one piece," Jun said. "How is the rest of the team?"
"The boss is still the boss, Kat is still grumpy-lookin', the big man is still bigger than all of us and Thom is still a moron. So yeah. Nothing's changed."
Celestina had her beaming smile on now. "And my precious little psycho is still my precious little psycho?"
"And I am going to throw up." Jun was met with a light slap to his head.
"You're just jealous!" She said.
"Nope, don't think I am."
The corner of Emile's mouth curved into a smile at that. "You two act like you've never grown up, you know that?"
Celestina wrapped her arms around Jun's neck at that, her cheek close to his. "We're just a couple of kids then, aren't we?"
"Damn right!" And the two high-fived each other.
Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base
Chicago, Illinois, Earth
September 17th, 2552
8:55am
Celestina logged out of the system and the holographic screen disintegrated before her. She hung her head, struggling to keep her tears from falling, but to no avail.
Instead, she fell into her seat, feeling her heart shattering piece by piece. With whatever clearance she had, she looked through the Spartan program database, trying to find out what happened to her friends in Noble Team. She could not listen to rumors - she had to see it herself.
MIA. All of them. Including Emile.
And Jun.
Everybody knew what MIA meant when pertaining to the Spartans. So it looked like whatever she had heard, all of it was true.
Celestina shut her eyes tightly, lowered her head and began to sob.
Location: Trainer's Room, AMBER Base
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system
January 6th, 2549
8:12pm
"You're a dumbas, Rhon."
"Is that how you speak to your Lieutenant Commander, Celest?"
"I will if my Lieutenant Commander is going to be a dumbass!"
"Honestly, you sound like Ryan sometimes!"
"Well, since he's not here, I'll be glad to fulfill the role of the annoying concerned little brother," Celestina said humorlessly, crossing her arms over her chest. "What were you thinking, Rhonda? You shouldn't have taken on 3 Elites by yourself!"
Rhonda sighed epically, rolling her eyes. She was leaning against the bed, arms across her chest. "Celest, all other personnel were busy with the evacuation. I had to save that aircraft! Civies were still boarding it! I'd expect a few scratches."
"... That wrist blade almost pierced your heart."
"... Okay, so I was a little off my game."
After Celestina had successfully evacuated the civilians from the town of Hope, she received orders to return to AMBER base to investigate suspicious activity near the base. When nothing turned up, she headed back to the base, only to be told about Rhonda's injury. Ryan and Jun had moved on to other towns.
Celestina had decided to lecture her Lieutenant Commander. "I'm sure Ryan will be very concerned,"
"Concerned? Try 'panicking'." And the ladies shared a laugh.
A distant explosion halted their laughter and they exchanged looks of uncertainty and confusion.
"What the hell was that?"
It was followed by a long wailing scream that tore through the night. The sirens.
"We're under attack?" Rhonda struggled to push herself off the bed frame.
"All personnel: this is not a drill. Evacuate the base immediately. Repeat: this is not a drill."
"Oh fuck!" Celestina shot up from the chair to help Rhonda get off the bed. "Could be the Covenant. We gotta move, boss!"
"You don't have to tell me twice! We need to get everyone out of here!"
"Says you!" Celestina exclaimed as they exited the trainer's room. "You're leaving the base. I can take care of whatever's going on."
"Excuse me?" Rhonda sounded like she had been highly offended. "What makes you think I'm leaving the base?"
"You're injured, in case you haven't noticed! You're in no condition to fight!" Celestina was guiding her to the nearest exit so that her Lieutenant Commander could leave in a Warthog or Pelican that would be evacuating personnel.
Rhonda halted in her tracks, appalled. "Injured or not, I am not leaving my Lieutenant to fight alone! Let's go to our dorms and get our weapons."
"Rhonda-"
"We're a sniper team, Celest. I can assist you from a distance. But what I won't do is leave you alone."
Celestina grumbled her disapproval. "Fine. You're the boss, after all."
Rhonda smiled sweetly. "And you're my sister. I promise I'll be fine."