Author's Note: Well well well, we reach chapter 8. Sorry for the wait, long story short, I got bored from franchise burnout, but TLOU revival from the TV show and PC release has brought something back. Last chapter we had Daisy expose herself, reluctantly and with warning, to a few other than Major Collins. Bigger forces are at play are on the horizon. A very short, very fast horizon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or The Last of Us as they belong to Microsoft/343 Industries and Naughty Dog.
"Quotes."
Thoughts
"Radio Messages and/or Reading"
Boston Quarantine Zone
August 11th, 0834 Hours, 2033
The early morning was unusually quiet except for a faint hum. Most of the civilian and military personnel within the Boston Quarantine Zone couldn't hear it, but it was there, buzzing in the distant background. One member, however, caught it. A young, six foot four, blue eyed, blonde haired, and incredibly fit officer took particular note of this strange sound. Furrowing her brow, her hand met her sidearm as she stood up from her desk and made her way outside. Taking a moment, she held a hand close to her ear to maximize the frequency of the sound waves. Straining her augmentations, this hum was distant, but every second it seemed to grow closer.
She remained calm, as she had been always trained to do for uncertain scenarios. This, however, was anything but uncertain. Heading to a catwalk built above the front gate, it provided enough clearance for her to see outside the perimeter. Her augmented eyes could see it clearly, even in the bright, early morning sunrise. Riding bumper to bumper was a convoy with several light and heavily armored vehicles. She smiled to herself. Finally, they're here. She thought in a relieved tone.
"About damn time they showed up." A voice said from behind her, a pair of binoculars glued to his face. "Now we can actually focus on retaking this goddamn country. When we finally see what's happened to the Air Force, hoping they're still alive, we'll go city by city, clearing out each of these disgusting nests of traitors and infected. What we failed to do twenty years ago will not happen again." Collins said, bringing the binoculars down. "But let's revel in a victory for once."
"One miracle after another. First me and now you're getting reinforcements. You must feel like the luckiest man on Earth." Daisy joked with a smirk.
"Damn right Lieutenant. In less than two weeks, we've had more success than the last eight months combined. At any moment, we could have been taken out without anyone noticing, it's a good thing we took care of most of the local cell a few years back." Collins agreed. "We've tried intercepting any messages from Hamilton, but all we've gotten so far is static and bullshit. We're hoping it's just their comms array because if it isn't… well god rest their souls."
"One mission at a time, sir. Let's not overextend ourselves just as we're getting back on our feet." Daisy advised with caution. "We should take a week or two to fully reorganize. Once we're no longer in a weak position, that's when I say we head out."
"Read my mind Lieutenant. But the thought that everything could go belly - up in a moment still lingers. It's a worry I've had to deal with for so long that it's embedded itself in my head. You said it yourself that you've fought against overwhelming odds and pulled off the impossible, how exactly did you do it? Barring your superpowers." Collins inquired. "I've been doing this for twenty years and every step of the way we just kept losing. Up until your arrival, morale was nearly shattered, civil unrest, while manageable, was getting out of control again with the recent Firefly attacks, and supplies were running low."
"I've always treated it like this. Pay attention to what's ahead of you. Those behind you have your back and are the eyes in the back of your head. If you can't rely on the backing of those behind you, nor on the ability of those around you, you're not getting anywhere. Even as Spartans, we weren't invincible, I'm living proof of that; no worrying about the if's, and's, or but's." She said, providing some insight for the Major.
"I've known that the entire time, I just needed to hear it from someone other than myself." Collins sighed a breath of relief. "Now let's stop focusing on all this doom and gloom and be happy for once in our lives." He said, completely flipping his tone.
As the convoy closed in on and eventually stopped at the perimeter gate, four individuals stepped out of the lead HMMWV. Three of them appeared to be infantrymen of some kind, whatever unit they were a part of Daisy had no idea. What she could discern about them, however, were their radically different patches on their shoulders containing a red arrowhead with a knife embroidered in the middle.
The fourth among them was, in contrast, a woman wearing a beret pinned with a singular silver oak leaf. Her clothing appeared cleaner than the others, like it had been washed the day before. She stood as straight at an unaugmented human could and hair pulled straight back into a tight bun. If looks could kill, Daisy swore she would've died when their eyes met.
"Ma'am, could I get some I.D.?" One of the gate guards asked the officer.
"Perkins." She said simply.
Without a word, one of the members of the security team pulled out his card and handed it to the guard. Daisy saw the man's eyes go wide as he quickly looked over the card before handing it back to the soldier who gave it to him.
"Have a nice day ma'am. And welcome to the Boston Quarantine Zone." He greeted her with sweat building up on a furrowed brow.
The alarms for the central gate began to blare all around the entrance to the quarantine zone. As the massive steel gates opened, the convoy of what counted to be a mixture of thirty or so vehicles slowly passed through the concrete bulkhead.
Daisy felt a light flick on her shoulder. "C'mon Lieutenant. I've got a few words with the Colonel and you're most of them." Collins said, making his way down.
Daisy followed, keeping a close eye on the convoy and each of its member vehicles. Making their way to the front vehicles, Collins and Daisy, alongside a small entourage, stood at rest as the Lieutenant Colonel stepped out of her HMMWV.
"Colonel on deck!" Major Collins shouted loud enough to ring off the cluttered buildings. In unison, most of the nearby Marines clicked their heels and stood at attention.
The Colonel, who Daisy spotted her name as Cassanova, looked around and inspected the nearby troops, her gaze fixating on one after the other until it finally settled on a particular outlier. "At ease." She said, relaxing a little. "Major Collins, been a long time."
"So it has. We've got quite the agenda to discuss ma'am. I'd prefer we have this talk in my office." Collins suggested.
"Lead the way." The Colonel responded, now flanked by a trio of masked soldiers.
The journey to the command center was both busy and quick. Marines and Soldiers were offloading large amounts of needed rations, weapons, and spare parts while making way for the single most important group in the quarantine zone. Breaking through the chaos of the street and finally arriving at the command center, when walking through its halls, everyone from pencil pushers to security stood as still as stones.
Arriving at his office, Lieutenant Colonel Cassanova told her men to wait outside. Once the door clicked shut, she pulled off her beret and ran a hand over her tightly pulled hair.
"Kat, long time no see." Collins opened with.
"Likewise Frank, likewise. It's good to see you're not dead, thought the Fireflies would've torn you apart by now." Kat joked. "I take it this is your new friend?" She asked with a raised brow, scanning Daisy up and down.
"Eh, we're hunting down what pockets are left after we shattered their cell a while back. And yeah, she's the one I mentioned to Colonel Mackenzie. Her super soldier business is the real deal." Collins briefly explained.
"Really now? Well, count me intrigued. What's your name Marine?" Lieutenant Colonel Cassanova asked.
"Petty Off —- errr Lieutenant Sierra - 023 Daisy Ann Spencer."
"I've never heard a designation like that before. But if you're some future space super soldier, I want you to prove it." Cassanova challenged.
"Ma'am?" Daisy and Collins asked in unison.
"Command has its doubts, and rightfully so. Frank, when you told us about having a super soldier like Captain America at your disposal, we all thought it was complete bullshit brought on by hysteria. So I need to see it with my own two eyes." She explained. "I want you to take my sidearm."
Before she could even move to unholster it, the previously still giant of a woman moved so fast she barely registered as a blur. In a flash, she found her sidearm holster not only empty, but the weapon itself and its magazine sitting comfortably in the chair next to her. Lieutenant Colonel Cassanova just sat there speechless and utterly taken aback at the speed in which she was disarmed. "I… err.. ok." She stammered.
"Would you like me to do something else ma'am? I can spar, run, pull a vehicle, you name it." Daisy suggested, looking like she hadn't even moved from her place.
Cassanova struggled to find her words. "Some simple weights and exercise training will be fine. How much do you think you can lift Lieutenant?"
"Easily? Around half a ton. Fifteen hundred if I want a challenge." Daisy casually shrugged, guesstimating her range.
The shock of her initial experiment was wearing off and a more curious look spread onto the Lieutenant Colonel's face. "Show me."
Daisy wiped the sweat from her brow. If it were anyone else, they would have certainly broken, but Daisy barely cared as more weight was added to her barbell. The officers gym had been easily cleared out due in part to walking in with the two highest ranks by her side. Without hesitation, she immediately piled on eight hundred pounds of weight and easily lifted it above her chest thanks to her augmentations. Continuously adding weight by the hundred, she showed the Lieutenant Colonel that she was far from an ordinary woman. Finding now that around twelve hundred was her limit before actually having to actively work, with her maximum coming out to nearly eighteen hundred pounds.
After setting the barbell back on its wrack, Daisy sat up and took a deep breath. As the small amount of sweat she had accumulated on her body trickled down her exposed arms and back, she stretched her freshly fine tuned muscles to help ease the little soreness that had wracked up. As she stretched her arms upward, she could have sworn she was being checked out by her newly arrived commanding officer.
To say Cassanova was invested would be an understatement. Each rep she was making notes on Daisy's current weight, ease of lift, muscle tension, signs of fatigue. Handing the notepad off to Collins, she exchanged it for a bottle of water and passed it to Daisy who took a half bottle gulp. "Alright Lieutenant, that's quite the impressive display. So what's your story? What're these augmentations, why'd you get them, and how did you end up in this shithole?" Cassanova asked, her southern accent trailing a few emphasized words.
"Long story short, they give me heightened senses, unbreakable bones, and unmatched strength through muscle density." Daisy began to explain, pulling up her sleeves and revealing some of the surgical scars. "The Office of Naval Intelligence decided to kidnap me and a bunch of others at six years old to become their pet project, and at the head of it was a bitch of a woman named Dr. Catherine Halsey. I tried running away, was retaken, and low and behold, I became a super soldier. As for how I got here, a coalition of aliens called The Covenant decided to wage genocidal war on humanity." Her voice quivered. "I didn't last two years."
Cassanova turned to Collins with a confused look. "Well it isn't the shittiest thing I've ever heard, but I'm not fully sold. There've been athletes who have lifted heavy weights before."
Daisy squinted her eyes in frustration. Grabbing hold of a nearby barbell, she folded the solid steel like it was a pretzel before hanging it back on the wrack like a coat hanger. "There, ma'am, is that enough to prove that I'm the real deal?" Daisy asked, almost barking at the Lieutenant Colonel.
Cassanova's face slowly shifted from pure shock to careful thought before the full state of realization hammered itself between her eyes; her face scrunched in disgust. While the military did teach children to become soldiers, they are orphaned by the environment they lived in. Kidnapping a child and pumping them full of drugs made her throw up in her mouth. And even then, to find out Aliens exist and that they only want to wipe out humanity internally terrified her, even more so that they killed one of an apparent handful of super soldiers.
Cassanova felt a hand on her shoulder. "Colonel, if you want the full story, I've got it on file stashed away in my office. Spencer's been through hell and back, let's give her some time to relax. We have to plan on moving forward with combat operations. And the longer we wait, the more distance the Fireflies put between us and the girl." He said, turning his attention to the Spartan. "You go ahead and take a little down time. I'm already thinking of a task for your Raiders. I'll contact you once I'm ready, keep your radio close." He said, heading to his office with Cassanova in tow.
Now by herself, Daisy decided to check in on her men. The walk to their personalized bunks was short, but the mood in the air felt optimistic. The depleting reserves of supplies had been stocked up, tired Marines had been replaced with alert soldiers, and everyone moved just that little bit faster. Upon arriving at her subordinates' bunks, the smell of sweat lingering in the air hit her nostrils as soon as she entered. The sounds of a sparring match rang through the halls; intrigued, she followed them. Entering the makeshift training room, she saw Rose and Martinez going at it, with Rose just barely ducking to avoid a blow from the stronger Marine.
The other Raiders surrounded them and cheered on their favored member, none of them noticing their commanding officer standing in the doorway. Rose then proceeded to spring up and catch Martinez off guard square in the jaw, tumbling him back, but failing to knock him off his feet. Retaliating, he feigned a punch to her abdomen that she uselessly blocked before feeling a sharp pain in her jaw and the softened mat touching her sweat covered back. Heavy pants came from the Corporal who waved a hand in defeat. In the midst of picking her sorry ass off the ground, Rose finally spotted Daisy looming by the door.
"Commander.. on deck!" She said through heavy breaths, bringing her gloved hand into a salute with the rest quickly following suit.
"At ease." Daisy nonchalantly said. "Raiders, find a seat. I don't know where you've been these last few hours, but if you've been living under a rock then you would know that the Army has arrived." She paused for a moment, noting their smiles and sighs of relief. "With a resupply of almost every needed material, we're planning on conducting our next phase of operations here in the immediate future. Right now, we have two main objectives, reconnect with the Hamilton Air Force base and catch up to the Fireflies escorting a priority one V.I.P. Major Collins and Colonel Cassanova are currently planning on our next move, so rest up to be ready to move in the next couple of hours. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am." The five of them replied.
Arguably the worst part about being an officer was the paperwork. Sitting at the desk in her one room apartment, she was filing reports, sorting through potential Raider recruits, and overall having to direct some of her time to being a pencil pusher. A light breeze bristled its way through her room due to her window now just being a series of nailed up boards. As she put the file away for one Gunnery Sergeant Sheryl, she took a moment to stretch her cramping hand.
"God I miss being just an action girl." Daisy mumbled to no one in particular. "The days when I was pointed where to go and told which group of Covvies fuck up, but if these are my duties," she paused, taking a moment to sharpen her pencil which was still a surreal experience. "Then fuck it they'll get done too." She chuckled to herself. "I wonder how the others are doing, hopefully Sam and I are the only ones dead. Jorge, Callista… John. Please be safe." Sighing, she let each of her brothers and sisters' faces flash in her mind before the sound of her radio crackling to life brought her back to reality.
"Raider Actual, this is Eagles Nest, over."
"Loud and clear Eagle Nest, over."
"Raider Actual, Ops center ASAP, over."
"Wilco, over."
"Roger, out."
In barely a minute, Daisy had strapped on her equipment and made her way back to where her journey here began. On the way, she passed by familiar and not - so - familiar faces. For each Marine she crossed paths with, they nodded and side stepped out of her way, but when it came to the lingering soldiers of the Army, they would more often than not pull off to the side and salute her rank, a motion she just waved off. Once more arriving at her home away from home, the first signs of difference were the trio of the Lieutenant Colonel's special forces entourage standing guard. Letting her into the room, Daisy found her commanding officers standing over a map of the continental United States examining possible routes heading both east and west. As the door clicked shut, Daisy stood high at attention, drawing the eye of Major Collins.
Looking up from the map, Collins smiled at the young officer. "Ah Spencer, good that you finally arrived. To make this quick, you and your Raiders are being deployed as pathfinders and route markers along this route here." Collins briefly explained, pointing to a long, continuous blue line leading west of Boston. "The Fireflies have a few weeks head start on us and we cannot afford to lose more. Intel from some of our regretful P.O.W's have pointed us in the direction of Salt Lake City, Utah, as the headquarters of Firefly operations."
"Our QZ in Denver has been steadfastly holding, but is suffering from lack of reinforcements much like yourselves so long as that highway remains out of our control." Cassanova piped up, explaining the western situation. "We'll be providing you an MRAP and armored transport with enough supplies to last the roughly month long trip. Your primary objective is to secure a safe path for the Army to follow once we find out what happened to the Hamilton base in the Hartford QZ. Your secondary objectives include finding that immune girl and retrieving her before reaching and holding position at Denver. Are we understood?" Cassanova asked with a brow raised and stern look on her face.
Daisy nodded. "Affirmative ma'am. Spartans are the tip of the spear. We build the roads and the Army paves it."
"Spartans? Is that what you were called? Fitting name." Cassanova responded with a respectful nod. "So, any questions?"
"No ma'am."
Cassanova waved Daisy. "Otherwise, dismissed. You're to set off at 18:00 tonight, we can't wait any longer. Good luck Lieutenant."
"Haven't you heard ma'am? We Spartans make our own luck." Daisy quipped.
A smirk ran along both senior officers' faces. "So it would seem." Collins remarked.
Boston Quarantine Zone
August 11th, 1754 Hours, 2033
A pair of armored vehicles lay dormant near the gate of the Boston Quarantine Zone, last minute checks and double checks over spare supplies like food, fuel, rations, parts, and ammunition. Anything found to be lacking was hurriedly retrieved, crates and cans filling the armored transport truck to the brim. As the gate alarm blared and warning lights began flashing, the six Raiders loaded into their vehicles. Four sat in the MRAP, including Rose, Daisy, Hammers, and Martinez with Martinez in the gunner position while the remaining two, Butcher and Spikes, had the truck.
Once the large steel gate opened, the engines of both vehicles roared to life and began rolling forward. Standing on the catwalk above was Major Collins and Lieutenant Colonel Cassanova, watching their ace - in - the - hole leave the comforts of the Boston command structure.
A simple message crackled through their vehicle radios. "Godspeed to you Raiders. Eagles Nest, out."
Passing through the outer perimeter gate, a cheer came from Martinez's gunner's hatch. "This is it! It's our time to save the motherfucking world!"
A round of cheers sounded from the men and women standing guard. Their voices were filled with a level of optimism not seen in years, and to Daisy, hearing it made a smile form on her lips.
Stepping on the gas, Rose pulled away from their longtime home and began heading west. "So ma'am, how does it feel to once again be a hero?" Martinez asked, almost shouting from his position.
"I can't say it feels good. There's already enough dead heroes, we don't need any more. Right now, let's focus on getting out of the city without drawing a horde down on top of us." Daisy responded with some enthusiasm in her voice. Rolling down the window, Daisy rested her head on the door, letting her short, puffy blonde hair blow in the breeze. Her sapphire blue eyes watched as the sunset provided an unnatural beauty to the dead city; in its own creepy, apocalyptic way.
"Beautiful isn't it? Shame it's overlooking ruins." Rose piped up. "Too bad many of the older folks who have stories of the old world are dead, dying, or too busy with other priorities."
"When we catch up to those smugglers, I'm sure we can ask them all we want. They looked old enough to be my parents. What were their names anyways?" Hammers curiously asked, glancing at each of his colleagues.
"Joel Miller and Theresa Servopoulos, ages fifty one and forty six respectively, original residents of Austin, Texas and Detroit, Michigan. The girl with them was Ellie Williams, orphan, age fourteen, recent AWOL trainee." Daisy briskly identified them.
"Do you think the remaining Fireflies in the zone bugged out after breaking them out? I mean we haven't had anything happen since the breakout and last attack the day after you arrived ma'am." Hammers asked, curiosity in his voice about the recent lack of activity.
"Can't really say Corporal. If I had to guess, after they had to break their own ace - in - the - hole out, they made a mass exodus from right under our noses." Daisy theorized, trying to piece the Fireflies side together. "If that's the case, if and when we catch up, we might be facing a decently sized force. We'd have to take them by surprise, hit them hard and fast."
"We're coming up on the tunnel. I'm real glad we cleared this thing because if we had to go around, it'd certainly be annoying." Rose suddenly remarked as she passed through the tunnel entrance leading the squad to the heart of Boston.
"Let's give the guys manning the station checkpoint a heads up." Daisy said, reaching for the console mounted radio of the MRAP. "Break break, this is Raider Actual to FOB Omega, how copy? Over."
". . ."
"I say again, this is Raider Actual to FOB Omega, how copy? Over."
"Raider Actual, this is FOB Omega, go ahead, over."
"Good to hear from you Omega. If you haven't heard the news by now, my squad is moving out west to carve a path for the Army and we're going to be passing by your checkpoint so be ready to let us through. ETA three minutes, over."
"Understood Raider Actual. We'll have a welcome party ready. Out."
Hanging up the radio, Daisy looked at her three subordinates. "You know, I've been meaning to ask. Rose, Hammers, how long have you two known each other, alongside the rest of your old squad?"
Rose opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out as her brow raised in concentrated thought. Hammers leaned against the hard metal cabin and started counting on his fingers. "It's something like three, maybe four years? We both come from the Pittsburgh Zone, but only got to personally know each other when the rebels and Hunters were starting to fuck up everything for us. In the end, we were a pair among the many who had to abandon the QZ after we lost full site control. We were transferred to Sergeant Butcher's squad as replacements and have been with him for about a year now. And then we met you; luckiest day of our lives."
"Say, ma'am, why did you choose our squad alongside Martinez and Spikes? We're not the most competent nor confident lea—" Rose tried asking.
"C'mon Jess, I'm right here." Martinez interrupted from the gunner seat.
"Frank you're a big boy, suck it up." Rose retorted.
"Lieutenant—" He groaned.
"The Corporal's got a point, and a valid question." Daisy said. "I chose Gunnery Sergeant Butcher's squad because, frankly, I didn't know anyone else at the time. As for Private's Spikes and Martinez, it's because they both had above average scores in a physical ability that I was aware of." Daisy simply explained.
"There has to be more to that than just being a total stranger to Boston." Hammers retorded.
"Major Collins promoted me to an officer the same day I debriefed him. I asked him about Butcher's squad and he informed me about each of you; Jeremy Butcher, Jessica Rose, Michael Hammer, Tyler Park. Considering his ranks were being depleted every other day, he said that you guys were one of the best jack - of - all - trades squads he had at his disposal. Once he put me in charge of rebuilding MARSOC's first unit, you guys were some of the few left in the zone who had more than a few year's experience." She further explained in greater detail. "Don't feel flattered, that's an order."
"Aye ma'am." The three of them responded.
"Checkpoints coming up. It seems they want something." Jessica (Rose) said, looking at the gathering of a dozen or so Marines at the gate. Coming to a stop, both vehicles went through the standard procedure of identification, and as the gate was lifted, a round of applause and cheers came from the gathered group.
Speeding off from the station, it was smooth sailing from now on. At least that was the plan.
Driving towards the edge of the city, Raider squad expected the cleared roads to extend all the way toward I - 90. That was until Rose slammed on the breaks with Butcher just barely stopping mere feet away from them.
"You're fucking shitting me. Those assholes barricaded the damn highway!" Martinez exclaimed, royally pissed off that his break came to an end.
"Stay here, I'll take care of it." Daisy setting, stepping out of the MRAP. Taking a closer look, the barricade was a mixture of broken cars zig - zagged in such a way that they interlocked, creating a barrier that was clearly meant to be ramming proof. "But you assholes didn't account for a Spartan now did you?" Daisy muttered to herself with a smirk.
Cracking her knuckles, she bent down and grabbed the underbelly of the first vehicle. Pushing up using her legs, she struggled, but was just able to lift it off the ground and toss it to the side. Taking a deep breath, she heard the cheers of her subordinates. Looking back, she saw them hanging outside of the vehicles cheering her on, obviously in love with her capabilities.
Giving them a thumbs up, she proceeded into the next car that stood in their way. Tossing it aside, she moved from car to car, removing their annoying, yet effective, presence from the road. After around fifteen minutes and making sure there was a sufficient enough gap for the Army's heavy vehicles to travel through, she returned to her seat in the MRAP.
"Holy shit ma'am. You are an absolute MONSTER." Martinez declared happily.
"Yeah ma'am. I can't think of anyone that could've pulled off a feat like that. You are a pure brute of strength." Rose complimented.
Daisy raised a hand. "I'd prefer you not call me that; a brute, it's insulting." She informed them.
"Yes ma'am. Sorry." Rose apologized, turning away from her Lieutenant out of embarrassment.
"It's fine, you didn't know. Let's go ahead and get out of this city and save this goddamn planet." Daisy said with some oomph in her voice.
Setting off, Raider squad left the crumbling ruins of Boston behind. As the sun finally set over the horizon, the most important city in the world grew dark. Two weeks ago, it was a city cut off and threatened with ruin. And two weeks ago, it found its salvation.
Author's Notes: And there's chapter 8! Again, sorry it took so long for me to get interested enough to write this. But now we get to see what's lying in wait for Daisy outside of Boston.