1420 Hours, July 27, 2551 (Military Calendar) /

Planet Ballast, Kennewick System

The paddle dipped smoothly into the water. The lake reflected the beautiful, wooded mountains that served as the backdrop to the picturesque scene. Birds sang in the trees while fish breached the surface of the lake.

Jacob Keyes loved camping. When Miranda was eleven years old, they started a tradition of spending the weekend of his birthday together somewhere outdoors every year. As the time dragged on and first he and then she was called up to active duty by the UNSC, their tradition had to become more flexible.

He studied his daughter as they paddled the canoe together through the reflective lake. She was beautiful, strong, and fierce. Everything he could have ever hoped for her to become and more. She had bounded through the ranks of the UNSC Navy - something he was very proud of, and very concerned about.

A tension had grown between them. As the years dragged on, the stress of the war began to overshadow everything - including the time they spent together. The past two hours spent rowing across the lake had passed in silence, but Jacob could feel the pressure building between them like it was a tidal wave just waiting to crest.

"Have you ever been to Ballast before?" Miranda asked idly, dipping her paddle back into the water to help propel them forward.

"No," he answered quickly, startled out of his thoughts. "I heard that it was a good vacation spot, and it was a good middle ground between our stations."

Miranda nodded along as he spoke. "It's beautiful."

The conversation trailed back off into silence, broken only by the sounds of nature around them. Jacob desperately wanted to say something - to find the proper words that could fix what was between them. But nothing came to mind. And so they paddled on in silence.

It wasn't actually a mystery, what had come between them. Good officers were in short supply these days, and those who were worth their weight were being transferred to the front in increasing numbers. The call had come down for both of the Keyes' mere weeks ago - they were being summoned to battle.

Try as he might to ignore the fact, this weekend could well be the last moments they ever had to spend together.

"I've been looking forward to this since last year," he said finally, anguishing over the idea of losing the last few hours he could ever have with his daughter in awkward silence.

Miranda turned and gave him a soft smile over her shoulder. "I have too," she said. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. She turned her attention forward again, safely guiding their canoe through the placid waters.

Jacob reached out and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. She tensed for just a moment under his touch, then relaxed and leaned into it. "I don't want to waste this time," he finally said, forcing himself to be candid.

"I don't either," Miranda said, looking at him guiltily and lifting a hand to place it heavily on top of his. "I just don't know how to shake this feeling. With the war going at the rate that it is . . .who knows when we'll see each other again? If we'll ever see each other again?"

Jacob searched for an answer, but found nothing. In truth, there was no guarantee that they'd ever see each other again. He knew that just as well as she did - that was precisely why he was having as hard a time finding the right words as she was. There were no 'right words.'

Still, when his daughter looked at him there was hope in her eyes. She still trusted him to know what to do, what to say . . . how to make things right. He felt completely inadequate in the face of such trust, but he hoped he never saw the day when he lost it.

"If you knew this was the last time we saw each other, what would you say?"

Miranda's eyebrows furrowed in thought. Such a simple question at the face of it, but so complicated in its depth. They rowed on for several long moments spent in perfect silence as she thought.

"I'd tell you I am proud of you," she finally said, her voice thoughtful. "I'm proud of our family. Proud to be known as your daughter." She stared at the water for a while before asking, "What would you say?"

Now it was Jacob's turn to think. He thought of everything that he could possibly tell her - that she was the most brilliant woman he'd ever met, including her mother. That she was the boldest tactician he'd ever taught. That he was so proud of the woman she had become.

"Being your father is the single greatest honor a man could ever have," he said. "No matter where you are, and no matter what happens to us, I will always be with you."

She reached back and took hold of his hand. "I love you, Dad," she whispered, blinking tears away from her eyes.

"I love you too," he answered.

When it came time to part ways once again, tears filled Jacob Keyes' eyes. He embraced his daughter and demanded that she write to him whenever possible. She did the same. They laughed about the memories they had, and they clung tightly to each other before separating.

Finally, they parted each other with a gift - the gift of knowing that nothing had been left unsaid. And with that, they could both face whatever the future had in store with confidence.