Beta Gabriel

Late 2552

The roaring of gigantic waves crashing down on nearby shores was a common sound for most Marines, and Corporal Fei Meilan was no exception. Most of her experience with beaches, however, did not come from amphibious assaults, but from the training she'd gone through to become an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. Even that represented only a small part of her experience compared to the lavish vacations that she'd gone on as a teenager, funded in no small part by her uncle, the CFO of Sinoviet Heavy Engineering.

Neither had really prepared her for the realities of taking part in an amphibious battle.

Beta Gabriel was among the wettest of Humanity's remaining colonies, the parts that weren't covered by massive oceans being smothered beneath dense rainforests. As such, even though she and the rest of the 109th hadn't actually attacked the Brute-held position from the sea, they honestly might as well have. Between dense rivers and deceptively deep puddles, the combined Marine and ODST force had suffered just as many setbacks from the water as they had from the enemy.

The battle itself was a refreshingly controlled affair, once the Humans had managed to work around the water. The Brute pack that they'd been sent to hunt down had been composed of exhausted, wounded aliens, and the majority of them had been killed on the first day alone. Sadly, none of the hostages that they'd been hoping to rescue still lived, although Fei had personally made her peace with their deaths days ago.

That was simply the reality of the war that they fought, even when they won, it came at a cost. And even then, it felt as though the cost simply had not been worth it.

With the aliens dead, they wouldn't be staying at Beta Gabriel for much longer, and for very good reason. With Reach reduced to little more than smoke and cinders, it simply didn't make any sense for the 109th to stay on a planet where there was nobody who needed protection. The rumors amidst her brothers and sisters in arms were that they were going back to Earth, and Fei saw little reason to doubt them. It was inevitable, the Covenant would be coming for Earth… for her home.

She heard her boyfriend approaching before she saw him, Jia's heavy footfalls being distinct even among their peers in the soggy mud. He silently sat down on the crate next to her, sniper rifle in hand, no doubt following a similarly melancholic line of thought to her own.

And that simply wouldn't do.

"Hey," Fei prompted him, putting as much energy into her voice as she could muster. "Something on your mind?"

Jai turned to face her, and even with his visor polarized, she could easily imagine his sunken eyes and brow furrowed with concern. "We're going to Earth."

It was the way he said it that made it meaningful, with deliberation and a notable lack of excitement. Both of them had been born on Earth, and they'd both talked ad-nauseum about wanting to go home… but neither of them had wanted it to be like this.

"I can think of worse places to go," Fei replied. There was a hint of hollowness to her words, despite her best efforts, but it seemed to go thankfully unnoticed. "I'm certainly looking forward to introducing you to my father."

That seemed to get Jia shaken out of his darker thoughts a bit, and he gave a small, hearty chuckle. "I thought you liked having me around, and now you're trying to kill me?"

Without hesitation, she reached an arm out and took hold of one of his hands. As she did so, she depolarized her visor, and gave him a reassuring smile. "You know I wouldn't let that happen… You're going to get along great, I already know it."

He returned the gesture and held her hand firmly, nodding along to her words as he depolarized his own visor. "What was it that you said he did? Military industry, right?"

"Weapons manufacturing for Sinoviet, with my uncle," Fei reminded him. While she had told him in the past, they must've either been too inebriated or distracted with… other things, for him to remember. "Most of my family works for them."

"Weapons manufacturing?" Jia rhetorically asked, shifting the sniper rifle in his hands somewhat as he spoke. "I don't suppose he could get me a replacement for this old thing?"

Fei chuckled, already knowing that with the kind of weapons her family kept, Jai's disappointment was inevitable. "Not unless you're looking to kill a Brute with an ancient Mauser. Might get you an Obrez if you ask nicely."

Jia shifted his head somewhat, as though considering it, before shaking his head. "On second thought, maybe mine's not so bad…"

"That's the spirit," Fei said, before gesturing towards the battle rifle resting beside her. "It hits a lot harder than mine does."

"Yours doesn't weigh so damn much." Jia pointedly replied, although the expression on his face made it clear that he wasn't truly frustrated.

Fei raised an eyebrow and gave him a mockingly unimpressed look. "Oh please, we both know you can carry me just fine, let alone a gun."

She took great satisfaction at the small blush that made its way onto his cheeks. "That's different! It's not like I'm carrying you halfway across this muddy rock…"

"Maybe I wouldn't mind if you did," Fei teasingly replied, laughing outright as his face got that little bit more red. "I think we've got a few more hours before-"

She was cut off mid-sentence by the report of a trench whistle from one of the officers, followed by barking orders. "Marines! We are leaving! Army pukes are having a hard time keeping themselves from falling over on Earth! They're calling us to help 'em out! Pack your bags and be at the landing zone in fifteen minutes!"

Immediately they and the rest of their squad leapt up and began to gather their things, but not before Jia shot one final glance at Fei. "Same closet on deck three tonight?"

She only answered back with a coy wink, and had to fight a laugh as he began to pack ever-so-slightly faster. Although she was undeniably still nervous about what was to come at their next station… at least now she had something to look forward to.

Funny that, she remarked to herself. Earlier that day she'd been contemplating the horror that was the Covenant knocking down Earth's door. The loss of everything. But somehow, even this little thing of planning for the future. Introducing her boyfriend to her father was enough to lift the gloom. Even if only for a moment.