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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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"Baked Kinship"

May 15 2528 - Hour 1143

MAJ Serin Celik

Aboard the UNSC Roman Blue, En Route for Installation-04

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c

Pxtreon: P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

A Promotion and a Tough Task.

At this point, Serin was quite sure that this was a common matter for anyone involved in this war and beyond. The notion that their battle-ready units were being deployed in a scenario outside of the Covenant's reach was somewhat frustrating, but she had weeks to shed away that personal disappointment.

After all, this job was far from simple despite lacking the odds of an active combat situation if things go the right way. The Halos were installations that they had learned of a while ago. Like Log had said, those were 'too risky' for humanity to approach but-

"Politicians gonna do politics."

The simple comment may not mean much without context, but Serin had grown familiar with the fact that, once the war was over, politics would find a way to mess stuff that should be easy to handle- this situation was pretty much it. She understood the civilian need to colonize planets that hadn't been glassed, but for these people to seek that in the installations where a parasite that exterminated one of the most intelligent species in the whole galaxy was being contained... it felt quite stupid.

And everyone in Balmung, the Spartan program and even the most common grunt aboard the Roman Blue considered a stupid idea. Much to her relief, however, this risky move had been 'deflected'. Instead of the Installations, the nearby planets will be surveyed while the Installations shall be monitored by planned stations to be built by their orbit.

So, first stop was Installation-04. It was the closest, and the one with a process of containment that was confirmed to still be intact. With that in mind, the 'Sutton Expedition' was fitted with fresh blood and new rookies to create a new experience to establish a loyal Colonial Militia. These troops were once stationed in long-lost worlds, so it would be reasonable to have them dispatched into an active 'operation' without setting them against the Covenant.

The Expedition was fitted with a relatively 'light' formation as the Fleet at their disposal couldn't take too much strength off the Main Strike Force under Cole. Despite that, the entire organization would be handled by 'colonization specialists' dispatched by the UEG. It was the first time a group of the former civilian government was allowed to take part to this sort of incursions, but it was also true that it was needed due to the goal being solely limited by the civilian affairs.

So... Technically speaking, the hard work was over. Maybe. Serin doubted that the war was done with them, and they definitely were not done with the war either. Except now, she could expect potential retirement after this is over. She had made it with many others she cared for and...

It was time to focus on the main goal now that the Covenant were breaking and bruising.

Serin had long envisioned this moment, but she felt the shivers just imaginging the pure chaos that was going to be that battlefield. Sif was into it, she was into it, that alien commander yanking Log to talk at the hospital was into it and... was Alba into it?

Despite how attentive Serin had been, it was difficult to tell if the tall and grumpy Brute was really into her boss.

Regardless of suspicions, Serin knew the battle up ahead was going to be rough and that she had to... compromise. She couldn't beat Sif, and she wasn't sure how she was even meant to 'fight' her. Not only was Sif an AI but she had her cards well covered, and it was clear she was loving the competition as the digital entity knew she was several steps above them all.

It was so irking, and yet she was helping Serin so... that was going to be a weird alliance for sure. But, at the same time, she also knew not how to handle her two other troublesome opponents. Alba gave no sign of being interested beyond being relatively friendly with their commander, while Thela was... unapproachable. She had set herself up to be a rather fearsome foe alright and-

"You what?"

Grace looked extremely nervous all so suddenly. When her 'former sister' came knocking at her door, she thought the question of advice she had in mind to give Serin was one tied to training but... it was not. Fuck's sake it was not!

"It's not bad taste, right? I just wanted to make him a cake."

...

"You want to make a cake to your superior to-"

"To thank him for believing in me so much and helping me explore my full potential."

Her eyes. They were literally shining!

...

Serin couldn't believe it. One moment she thought she had mistaken Grace's own interest for Log, but it was clear she was also after him. After all, by going by the logic that all Spartans should be unable to fully manifest strong attractions due to their implants... the fact that Grace was still trying to play the shy schoolgirl with a crush was incredibly terrifying considering the pure amount of affection that was being withhold.

Despite that, Serin lacked the 'might' to tell her off. It wasn't even like she had anything against Grace at this point- it was like the annoying little sister that was trying to steal her potential boyfriend from her big sister.

"I guess we can make some. Together."

Grace beamed. "Together!"

This was also... another sore topic for Serin. With the War being close to being over, the chances of the Spartans being properly retired were quite slim. That's not to say that her boss wasn't going to fight for their sake but... that was going to be a war on its own. And one that Serin was quite going to fight on the side of her siblings.

"Sif, can you give us a cake's recipe?"

"Two Creampies ready to be served."

The joke went over Grace's head, but Serin was aware of the meaning of that due to the 'knowledge' Sif granted her in the last few years.

Goddammit Sif! I need to keep my eyes on the game, not rush for the grand finale just yet!

AN

More cakes, more Grace making her interest known and poor Serin being stuck between a rock (her many love rivals) and a harder place (Sif being a love ally and a shameless teaser as her mind had grown 'extremely organic' at this point).

This reminds me that I may have a 'replacement' for this story once I am done with it. It's currently in the Pxtreon, and it set in the Nintendoverse (starting in Metroid): 'The Cunning God of Cuddles' is a SI that replaces a certain 'Pirate Leader' in his Larval form- In a few words: Little Birdie fucks with Metroid Other M's plot and other games' stories for cuddles and headpats.