Fred-104 and what remained of the Spartans sans the Master Chief commandeered a maintenance bay on the Gettysburg after their meeting with the Captain concluded with everyone understanding that repairs to both ships and to their equipment were top priority. As much as he wanted to talk to Cassy and find out her role in all of this, he knew she was working on something just as important as the work he did on his MJOLNIR armor.
He had just finished patching up small holes in his armor when a ding sounded over the COMM speakers and Datamon appeared as a hologram on top of the tool box Kelly was rifling through.
"Both ships are secured from the Huragok," the small creature informed them without preamble. "I have taken the liberty to update the firewalls of your MJOLNIR systems to likewise repel any cyber attacks."
Grace was the only one still fully in her armor and confirmed what Datamon said with a nod.
"I have also done major updates to the armor of the Spartan that appeared earlier, and I must say that it is very odd that his systems were two decades out of date."
"Repeat that," said Fred, tilting his head and caught off guard by this. The Digimon quickly summarized what occurred in the medical bay on the Truth and Reconciliation over two hours earlier. "Has this Spartan be identified yet?"
"Sargent Johnson and five other Marines are escorting him up here as we speak. He claims his designation is Samuel-034 and the data in his armor confirms this."
Dead silence filled the room and all of them were more still than statues. He had to have heard the creature wrong. Sam was dead!
"Has Dr. Halsey been informed of this?" Fred asked, trying not to let his emotions betray him. He couldn't allow himself to get caught up in a delusion until it was proven without a shadow of a doubt that Sam had truly come back from the dead.
"Dr. Halsey is currently preparing to perform extensive surgery on Linda-058, so no she is not aware of this development.
"Regardless, Cassandra is ready to perform test runs on your armor. The sooner we ensure the safety of your armor's data, the faster repairs can be made on them with the help of the Huragok."
Fred had to remind himself that the Huragok he was speaking of were the floating, jellyfish-like aliens the UNSC had called Engineers. The aliens were damn useful in making repairs and upgrades, so it didn't surprise him that the crew were allowing theses creatures almost free range of both ships.
There was a flash of light at the COMM terminal near the bay door and Cassy appeared along with the hedgehog creature he'd seen with her during the earlier meeting. It had been months since he'd last seen her, but he still recognized her right away on the bridge and now he noticed some significant changes in her. Her raven hair, which had normally been kept at shoulder length, had grown a few inches and looked like a rat's nest. She had gone from nearly unhealthily thin to a healthier weight, replacing baby fat with a little more muscle probably due to her adventure with the crew, and her brown eyes showed a new weariness that showed she had experienced things no kid should have.
Her eyes locked onto Fred as he stepped away from his work station.
"FRED!" the child cried out, launching across the matinance bay and tackled Fred in a tight hug he returned. "You're okay!"
He held Cassy tight, hearing her choke up and trying to hold back tears in sheer relief. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she had gone through these past few weeks. All that mattered to him right now was that she was safe and alive.
Cassy had her uncle in a death grip as tears poured out despite her best to hold them back. She had never felt so relieved in her life. More of her family were alive, and they were really Spartans!
"Oh Cassy," her uncle said, continuing to hold her just as tight. "I'm glad you're okay!"
Cassy didn't let go, even when she noticed the other Spartans watching them and one of them removed their helmet. She immediately recognized Kelly, Grace and Will, and she sobbed even harder.
"Let it out, kiddo," Fred gently patted her back. "Just let it all out."
"We're glad to see you too, Cassy," Kelly said with a smile. Grace and Will also smiled, yet kept quiet. Her aunts and uncles didn't show much emotion often, and this current display showed Cassy they were relieved and happy to see her.
"Cassandra," Datamon's monotone voice got everyone's attention, but she didn't look over to him, "considering how much information you need to exchange with your uncles and aunts, and your current emotional state, I will take over the test runs from here." She didn't need to see him to know he had disappeared from the room.
Fred picked her up, walked a few steps, gently placed her on a crate and he sat down next to her as her other aunts and uncles found places to get comfortable on with Herissmon hopping up next to her. Immediately she relaxed, took a deep breath and told them everything starting from her escape from Reach with Herissmon's help (after a brief introduction between him and the Spartans). She left nothing out and they didn't interrupt her once. Her aunts and uncles always made time to listen to her when they visited, and the same held true here; she never got the same from her adoptive parents or was yelled at for complaining even when she was dealing with a nasty bully at school and needed advice on how to deal with the jerk. Her aunts and uncles-her Spartan family-never yelled at her, never made her feel small or a burden, and were always her solid rock when things got tough enough for her to break.
Once she was done, Fred crushed her in another hug and the others asked their questions one at a time.
"So, you can hack into any network system?" asked Will.
"Mostly yes, unless I can't slip by it's security measures," she answered truthfully.
"Is it dangerous for you to do your form of hacking?" Cassy expected this question to come from Fred, but Grace the Pyromaniac beat him to it. "I know the Halo's network was so bad it nearly...killed you, but normally?"
"Normally Digimon aren't so feral that they can't tell friend from foe, but I can still run into trouble if I'm not careful." This got Fred to hold her tighter.
"But she's got me and the rest of our friends to back her up," Herissmon chimed in with a smile. Kelly reached over and patted the little monster's head.
"Have you had any problems with the crew, Cassy?" Kelly asked next. "Anyone being mean or...?"
"No, everyone I've interacted with have been polite to me so far."
"Well, Major Silva was strict about keeping you out of harm's way," her partner added, "but all the adults are trying to keep us safe and away from the action."
"Good," Fred said. "I'm glad they took care of you."
"The cooks try to over feed me at meal times," she told them and they chuckled. "Private Madrigal took good care of me when she was still alive."
Fred stroked her messy hair and asked, "What happened to your hair? It's a mess!"
"I've been trying to keep it unknotted, but with everything going on..." she tried to comb some tangles out with her fingers.
"Want me to cut your hair?" Grace asked, pulling out her knife.
"Yes please." As her aunt worked on the rat's nest, Cassy answered the rest of their questions regarding her Digimon team, their time on Halo, and how she was coping with everything that happened. Once they got the full picture of what she experienced with the Pillar of Autumn's crew, they started asking about her life before the fall of Reach, but that reminded her of the questions she had for them.
She didn't get to ask as Grace had finished her work. Cassy reached up and felt her new chin bob style and smiled.
"Thank you, Aunt Grace," she thanked her aunt with a broad smile and genuinely happy to have short hair again. Her adopted parents stopped taking her to get her hair cut months ago; they wanted to turn the tomboy into a 'proper lady'.
It was then the bay door opened and Sargent Johnson stepped inside with the Spartan from earlier. Her aunts and uncles stood up and stepped forward, Fred motioning Cassy to remain seated by holding his hand up behind him.
"If you need anything..." Johnson said, leaving the offer open to the Spartans.
"Cortana will call you," said Fred, dismissing the Marine Sargent. Once the man had left and the door closed shut behind him, Fred stepped toward the unknown Spartan. "Is it really you?"
The Spartan removed his helmet, revealing a young face with very few scars and a buzz cut. Cassy was surprised to see how young this man was, and she was also confused by the current interaction between him and the rest of the group.
"Fred? Is that really you?" the man asked, stunned by something. "The...the crew say it's 2555. Have I...?"
Fred laid a hand on the man's shoulder gently. "You've been dead for thirty years, Sam. We held a funeral for you after the Covenant ship blew up."
Sam? As in Sam the hero that went down with a Covenant ship? Cassy and Herissmon exchanged looks, remembering the stories they heard of Sam from her family. He had died a hero well before she was born, but his death had had left a huge impact on the men and women he left behind. Sam was the main reason why Fred and the rest of her Spartan family were so protective of her and always made sure she was prepared for whatever situation she faced. Heck, John even said he made sure his team always had med kits and extra supplies before they went on missions as a result of losing Sam all those years ago.
"So," Sam looked over to Cassy, "is she-"
"Cassy, come on over here," Fred interrupted his brother-in-arms, turning and motioning her to join them. She hoped off the crate with Herissmon and walked over to Fred.
"Uh..." Sam blinked several times, staring at Herissmon and clearly wondering if he was hallucinating.
"You're not going crazy, Sam," Kelly spoke up. "He's real."
"Sam, this is Cassandra and her partner Herissmon," Fred made the introductions. "Cassy, Herissmon, this is Samuel-034."