Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Hunter and Soldier. Enjoy the 6800-word chapter. I don't own Halo, Microsoft, and 343 do.
(2525, September 13th, Reach 6:30 PM)
Gram collapsed against the bulkhead as his enhanced body finally gave out. He grunted as Cal slowly moved towards him.
"His injuries must have given out." Gram heard before he frowned.
(Reach, years ago)
Gram was too focused on dealing with the marines as he heard what to do next. He hadn't the proper idea, but he was cutting as of now. There was a lot more to their contest. If anything? Cal was fighting the snipers off before she returned her attention to the others while it was all over.
She sniped the others, focusing for now on the rest of the group. There was a lot more to handle and something else seemed to be over the move.
"Gram, how's the rest of the team?" Cal questioned to which Gram was busy fighting the others, unloading a burst of gunfire into the bush.
"They are focusing fire on pinning us down. I don't know where the others are… They went to get the dropship." Gram stated before he hummed, looking around as she did so.
There was interest in how this fight was going to go. The move was just too more before now. What it seemed to be was more and more soldiers, there were too many soldiers on the line in their damn way. She hadn't the ability to focus before now and there were now a lot more soldiers to fight off.
Still? if anything else? She had something else on her mind, something else she could focus upon. There were a lot more soldiers in the way and if he knew Cal? She had handled the problem.
"Gram, can you hold them off for 2 minutes? I'll be down then and we can head them off." Cal stated to which Gram chuckled.
"If by 'hold them off,' you mean 'take care of what I can?' Then yeah, I can do that for now… Can't I?" Gram added with a hum.
Gram watched as Cal tilted his head before this was over with it all. She hadn't yet done it before now. There was something else before it came down to it.
Something else bugged him, but he wouldn't let it define him the way it had before. There was so much more to do anyway and he was too unsure of what to do next.
She watched as her comrade slowly started to look down at the ground, prepared for his next maneuver. There was a lot more she had to do, for now, she had a lot more orders to issue, and soldiers to command, perhaps there was something else. There was a lot more to mentally unpack. She had yet to find out what to handle next.
She raised her rifle and looked down at the fields where everyone else was going. It hadn't yet seemed to question before now. She fired a single round which took down another of the marines and allowed the others to move upwards with impunity. This had to end before now. This was going to end sooner or later for now.
He leaped down, looking at the marines ahead, there was something else, for now, a lot more interesting work for them to pose a threat… And one which he wouldn't back down for now. There was a lot more to question when it came down to it.
He raised his rifle and opened fire on the first marine, taking them down with several darts as Gram rolled forward, gripping another and wrestling them downwards. They slammed into a tree hard enough to crack it and threw the child to the ground.
Gram rolled along the ground, looking at the marine and wiping the blood from his lip. Cal watched and looked at the others. Gram was always too stubborn, even if it ended with getting him killed. He'd never surrender in combat.
She fired a shot that passed a centimeter over his ear and slammed into the chest of a marine behind him. the soldier collapsed as his partner blinked in shock which allowed Gram to tackle him into the tree, taking him out of the fight.
"Nice one." Gram said as he wiped the blood off his split lip.
"Don't act so reckless, there's a lot more of them up ahead," Cal stated to which Gram hummed, looking around as he did so.
"I know… And they're already aware we're here… They always pull this trick, remember? It's what we deal with all the time." Gram stated which made Cal sigh.
That wasn't a lie and it was something that Gram hated to no end at the moment, he'd end it all today for better or for worse. Even if it got them into trouble for now. It had to end some way.
Gram didn't know if there were more patrols. Tango always sent more soldiers when he checked. It was like the entire corps hated them, and wanted them to fail. The Spartan children didn't exactly care what obstacles they had to focus upon, only did he know what was coming after them.
Gram looked at Cal and nodded before slowly stepping out of cover. There were enough marines to attack and Gram wanted to draw their fire. The sooner they fell? The sooner he and the others could handle mop up against them which was something he knew all too well.
(Present day)
Gram awoke on a Pelican. An old one, one that had been in the docking bay. There was a groan as he looked for now. He questioned before he turned to look around. Gram rolled his eyes mentally at this with annoyance.
There was a group of marines who checked on the Supersoldier as he slowly climbed to his feet, looking around now for any answers and gaining none for now.
"Roger, the ship was totaled, no chance of salvage. Databanks were trashed and self-destruct was set and carried out. There is no trace of the ship down here." Cal reported over the radio. "We get it done and then come back. We are en route already." Cal reported as Gram climbed to his feet, he didn't know what else was going on.
He rubbed at his temples and questioned what to do next. There was a lot more to question as of now. There was a lot more before he hummed to himself and climbed up to the upper ledge.
He rubbed at his temples, looking around as he sighed, questioning what else for now. There was something before now.
He hadn't the proper idea for now. There was a focus for now on more pressing concerns like what was going on. he looked around at all the soldiers gathered around them. He had so many questions like where they were and if the mission had been completed.
"Hey, sleeping beauty, glad you made it," Solomon said as Gram turned to him. "Cal hauled you onto one of the Pelicans we had and got everything ready. We're headed back to UNSC space now… Along with whoever else we could. A few more UNSC Pelicans are lifting off. But we don't know who's friendly and who's trying to hitch a ride." Gram heard as he rubbed at his temples, looking around at everyone and everything around him.
Gram fell silent as he questioned what was going on and what was going to come next. They had beat the mission then. That meant they were getting home and they'd have another one sometime soon.
Still? if they had it all done? They had it all done. There was nothing else here for them and she knew it. The only real question was if they had escaped properly or with help.
There was more to this than they were told about now. there was so much more they could have done for now. It didn't seem at all if they had more to question for now. It didn't seem as if there was more to focus on before he questioned for now.
Still? if he knew? Well, there was probably not going to be anything at any time to do. Gram sighed and slowly looked up before he glanced down at the planet below.
"So, it's done?" Gram questioned before he hummed before he sighed, looking around as he tilted his head.
"Yes, we're headed back to the Leviathan for now?" Gram questioned before he sighed to himself. "Great, I don't know what else to do next… And my damn head feels like a bell." Gram said as he shook his head before he hummed, looking around.
He didn't know for now. There was something else upon his mind as of the second. He sighed, tilting his head, questioning what else may or may not happen for now.
He didn't do more than tilted his head before he questioned what else he could have done, there was a lot more to focus on for now. Did he hope that back on the Leviathan? He'd be hoping that the Admiral was ok, someone that didn't at all seems as if he was more upon the line, more than he could handle.
Yet? That was why they existed, that was why they were frontline soldiers… It was why Spartans existed, to do the work others couldn't. it was what made them Spartans and it was why they were so damn good before now.
Still? they couldn't exactly handle missions like this, not easily. He knew more than anything when it came down to it. He yawned before he questioned before he hummed as of now. There was more to focus on as of now.
He sighed, looking up at the ceiling before he hummed to himself while he questioned what the Admiral would want. This was something else entirely. The young spartan was
There was a lot more to question enough upon for now. He sighed and tilted his head as he felt himself as he sighed before he yawned to himself. There was more on the mind, and there would always be more there. Life was always odd for Spartans, questioning what else would come, what to expect, to hope for if they'd be sent on a suicide mission daily.
It was always something new, always and it made his mind boggle, his brain swishing around in his brain. He didn't entirely know what else would be coming as of now.
He sighed, rubbing at his temples before looking down at the ground. There was always an angle, always something they wanted, controlled, and demanded of them. There was always more, always more cutting through the gunk and smoke and garbage.
He didn't want to believe such things and how often he was able to have relaxed. This was an argument he didn't believe would have gotten them anywhere to have begun with and would continue to have been where he didn't wish them to have been in the first place.
They had more and more upon which he could have handled such a thing, how badly this could have gotten when all of it was said and done. He didn't know, but he had wanted to get somewhere decent and have gotten it all aboard the proper channels.
He glanced at Cal. He had a lot more to question when it was all done when all was said and done. He hadn't the proper idea, such a thing. He didn't know what was going to have happened, but he did know when it came down to it.
He wasn't going to have gotten to this part of the problem. He had a few ideas in his mind. Ones which bothered him, but not to the degree he had wished to have done. Not nearly where he wished it was, but he had gotten it to a degree.
There was more here than he had wished. A lot more. Something was banging around inside his head. There were a lot worse things he could have been doing. It wasn't something he didn't know or didn't want to have gotten so far along the line. It hadn't been anywhere near when he wished to have gotten there. Such problems had been there for now. it had gotten to their choice.
"What's the next mission?" Cal stated to which there was silence. "We need to talk to Admiral Stanforth. We need some answers or else we're going to be left behind." Cal to which there was a few seconds of silence once more.
"Where's the exfil route then? We need to get out of here." Gram stated to which there was a brilliant flash of light and a vessel appeared from the depths.
"Pelicans? This is UNSC New York. We're en route to pick you all up…. Stand by." They heard as the group of Spartans shared a look.
"Guess we get our VIP treatment." Gram said as Cal keyed in the landing codes. "We need to go. There will be covenant warships closing in on our position." Gram said as he looked around.
They weren't a lie. They had more to have done before this. A lot more to have gotten when it was all said and done. Yep. They had a lot more to have done… And the Spartans couldn't have waited for now. Not now and not later. Nope, they weren't going to have gotten anywhere anytime soon. Such problems were rarely easily solved.
Gram gripped his injured arm and sighed before he realized he'd have to reset it sooner or later. He gripped the limb and tugged; teeth gritted under the arm as the limb fixed itself.
"Damn it, I hate this." Gram said before he cracked his fingers and looked before he looked up at the ceiling.
He hadn't a proper idea before he got to such a thing. He didn't know what to have a lot more on his mind. He didn't know what to have gotten what to do next. He clicked his fingers, looking up at the sky. He hadn't the proper idea of what to have done. Yet? There was more to this
"We need to get going." Cal heard as Gram looked at the soldier.
There was far too much, far too much on the mind… Such a thing hadn't yet gotten where he could understand it for now. He was tired, far more tired when it came down to it. Gram hummed, closing his eyes under his helmet as the craft made for the warship.
"Gram, how's your arm? I had to drag you onto the Pelican." Cal stated before it had been done and dusted.
There was a lot more to question. He didn't know what the problem was for now. He questioned what it was for now. He had yet to have questioned for the time being. He didn't know what the problem had been. He didn't know what had gotten to that degree. He hadn't yet seemed to have gotten when there was more on his mind.
He was too prepared for the worst. He hadn't a problem. He knew while he seemed to be reading the room.
Cal looked at him as Solomon took his place as the pilot. He probably seemed to pull into the rest of the pelican. He was all too well aware of the fact that they had been pushed to their edges.
(Years ago, Reach)
Cal often seemed to glance around the rest of the range. There was so much more on this place than had been told. She often looked at the massive hulking trees which constantly seemed to dwarf her. She heard before she looked around and noticed that Gram had emerged from the shadows, looking at her, too unsure of what to have gotten to such a place when it was all done and dusted.
He was prepared to have asked her some more questions before he seemed to have prepared to get something off the ground. This place often seemed odd the more and more time they spent there. Even if they had gotten to a state where this was such a problem… It hadn't yet bothered him, but it did seem to constantly catch him off guard the more and more time he spent in this place.
He hadn't yet gotten to the point of his mind. There was just too much on his mind. He was too bored to have gotten to this question when it was over for now… It had to be over sometime soon, even if it tired him.
He didn't know what was coming next. He didn't want to have been a problem to everyone and everyone. He fell silent for a moment, too curious to have on his mind… And worse? He didn't know what the hell was going on.
"If we're going to handle this? We need to smother it quickly. Such problems are just going to be nipped in the bud later." Cal said before Gram nodded. "Gram? Why is it you want to head out into the forest so deep? That's what this is all about, isn't it? You want to explore, don't you? Get all done and dusted in the meantime then head back?" Cal stated as Gram frowned, himself too tired to have been so easy.
"Sometimes I just want to go hunting, Cal. We don't get to stretch our legs easily. We both know how these things tend to go." Gram stated to which Cal hummed.
"We could and probably are going to get in trouble trying to get there, you know. They don't want us anywhere near the tree line." Cal said to which Gram shook his head. "You know they want us all here when things come down to the wire tomorrow… Anything else and we're not going to be able to relax for a week." Cal added to which Gram would have minded for now.
There was just too much more on the fact of how odd this would have been. Yes, just how odd this was to be. There were a lot worse things they could do if they could have caught them… He knew damn well what would have happened if he caught onto them.
Well? If they meant so well to have found to have gotten anywhere where it seemed to have gotten somewhere special.
He slid down the hill and started to slowly walk towards the forest with Cal following with a sigh. She secured her rifle to her back as the two children began to hike through the wilderness of reach.
"Why is it always the forest you pick? There's a lot of places we can go, there were a lot of problems." Cal stated to Gram before he shook his head. "There's a lot of places that we're going to look forward to, you know… Lots of places after Reach, Gram." Cal said as Gram hummed, rubbing at his eyes as he did so.
"Because to me? This place is more home than you think." Gram said before he chuckled. "Plus? You leave out all the Moa that we run into and those giant monster things, I forget what the hell they're called again. The one chief Mendez wanted us to deal with? I don't know what the hell they were called." Gram said while he rubbed at his temples.
He didn't know what it'd be a cool thing before he sighed to himself. He tilted his head to the side while he sighed and found it to be too odd, far too odd to have done much if anything.
There was far too much to have to do next for now and he couldn't fathom it for the time being. if anything? All he damn well knew was that this was odd.
"You think there's going to be a war after this one? I don't know why else they have us." Gram said to which he sighed and looked around with a problem.
"I don't know, all I know is that this is going to be problematic," Cal said before she sighed.
"Doesn't mean it will be easy. We have work to do apparently and they're going to be odd." Gram stated before he sighed before he clicked his jaw.
(Present Day)
Gram and Cal walked outwards as Gram held his damn arm. He could feel the pain from before still lancing over his body. They should have given him one last check as they looked around.
"Spartans? We will be meeting with Admiral Stanforth in 2 hours. I've prepared temporary rooms for you all and will be busy if you need me… Ensign? Escort the survivors to the medical bay please." They heard from a Lieutenant as they all shared looks around, too interested in what to do next.
"Guess we're done here." Gram stated as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Cal? Are we off the clock yet?" Gram questioned to which Cal sighed and waved them off for now.
"Are we going to be, ok?" One of the marines asked to which Gram rolled his eyes.
"Yes." Gram said before Cal motioned the others towards their room. "You know there's a few times where I don't know what the hell is going on." Gram stated to which Cal shook her head to the side.
"I think that's the point," Cal said while he shook his head. "Silver Team, form up. We need to get prepared for a debriefing." Cal ordered as the others simply looked at her with interest.
"We're dealing with one problem at a time, ma'am. I think it's just a weird way of dealing with it." Gram stated as he clicked his jaw shut. "I think I need to head to the medical bay soon as well, I feel like a truck ran me over." Gram stated to which Cal rolled her eyes.
"Your about as subtle as a truck, Gram," Solomon stated to which Gram held up a finger towards him. "See? Subtle to the end of days. Like a Covenant Cruiser trying to nuke and destroy everything into ash and fire." Solomon stated to which there was a sigh and he looked downwards.
"Least I'm alive." Gram stated to which Solomon fell silent, unable to talk to it.
There was a lot more to have to think over today and they knew it. Gram drummed his fingers on his armor as he looked around to have to focus on the stars. They had a lot more amusing problems when it comes down to it and both of them were aware of how small Reach was compared to the rest of the galaxy. They had more on the brain than it should have been possible to have and yet all it did was drive them crazy.
(Present day)
The Spartans slowly marched through to a barren room that seemed to have been made as if it was to store a Warthog rather than three supersoldiers who could throw a tank halfway across the battlefield.
The three slowly entered the room which was sealed behind them, a trio of the same bunks which had greeted them on the UNSC destroyers was present as was a small kitchen and a restroom. The door locked behind them, separating the trio from the rest of the ship.
Gram was the first to pry his helmet off before placing it on the counter and then sat in his bunk as Cal removed hers and set it aside before walking up to him.
"I'm going to report to the captain if that's ok with you," Solomon stated to which Cal nodded. "I'm going to ask if Arty is out of the med bay yet," Solomon added which was given another nod.
The Spartan backed out the door as Gram took a seat at his bunk while he turned to Gram who sat at the other corner of it. He slowly brought his hands up to her chest plate before Cal nodded and he took it off while she did the same to his, both started to place the armor on the counter.
"Your arm got hurt again, I think that hammer hitting so close must have flared up some bad wounds from before," Cal said while she motioned for him to turn so, she could remove his back armor as the two started to remove their armor.
"Maybe, but I don't know what the hell happened, Cal. One minute was fine, the next I was fine, the next damn minute I was tired and wounded." Gram said to which he sighed before he shook his head.
He knew more than Cal that something about the mission was off. It was just making him more and more annoyed that something was constantly throwing before he shook his head before he remembered her backplate and motioned for her to turn around.
Both of them slowly placed their armor in a suitcase which they had been provided what had to do next before when it came down to it. She hadn't the proper idea for now when it was all over.
Cal ducked into the bathroom to change into a fresh pair of her clothes. She didn't know what was coming, but she did know for a fact that they had such problems on their minds to consider. They didn't know what was coming when it came down to it at the end of the day.
Cal was silent as he shook his head before he sighed to himself. She didn't know what to have done when it came down to it… They had so much work to do, so much that couldn't have been easy on his mind, they had more to have to question.
(Years ago, Reach.)
Cal was always curious about the stars, about where they had come from. It had been one thing to constantly question their origins, but it had been another to have seen it that way overnight.
Cal watched as Gram looked upwards as well. He felt his eyes narrow, his eyes transfixed on what to have done which meant that more and more he was curious as to how this was going to come down to it.
There was a lot more they hadn't learned, that he had been uneasy, thrown off. Cal rested a hand on his shoulder as he glanced at her, unsure of what to say to the Spartan who had been in charge of the team and who had been in charge for a reason.
"You think there are more Spartans besides us? In space I mean, there are more planets they can take us to and we know this isn't going to be the last part of training, not that easy when it came down to it." Gram said before he sighed and shook his head.
He didn't know what to have said as he clicked his tongue and looked around. His eyes were always wandering, always curious and she knew better than he that the Spartan was simply trying to get better when it came down to it.
"If there were more of us? They'd tell us, Dr. Halsey always tells us. She's not very good at lying, Gram." Cal said to which the smaller Spartan fell silent.
"She's good enough." Cal heard as she shook her head. "Hey, Cal? You have that rifle on your back all the time, do you ever use it for something?" Gram stated and questioned before he sighed.
"Sometimes. I like to use it to shoot the targets we have set up in the valley. Halsey knows about them, though. There are cameras… Or was." Cal said with a knowing smirk as she did so, it was clear she didn't know any better or didn't wish to have to focus.
She watched as Gram simply smirked. Both Spartans knew the other. They knew what the other would want and how to sate them, find it buried deep down… Down within the depths of hell over and over and over again.
They hadn't yet seemed to have focused yet upon the current path. They were all too much eager to have gotten off this planet and it hurt them more and more until it'd cut them to the quick, to the bone if so be.
Halsey was the thing that both brought them together and tore them to pieces all the damn same. It was just part of life that they had been in this spic and span to the end of the damn days when all of it was said and done.
Cal didn't at all understand what Gram did when it all came to shove when it came down to it. There was a lot more to their little story when it came down to it, this wasn't going to be something he could have easily dealt with either. They were soldiers, some of the most elite ones in the UNSC, their roles wouldn't just falter, nor would they collapse upon closer inspection.
It was clear more or less that both Spartans had been thrown into the deep end of life. Cal looked at Gram who was busy cracking his fingers and looking around, confused and utterly baffled as to how this could have gone for now. it was still something he'd yet to drift around during the day.
"Are you going to be ok, Gram?" Cal questioned to which she had gotten a hum before she sighed to herself. "We need to get back to camp sooner or later," Cal stated to which Gram sighed and then rubbed at his head before looking at her, curiously interested as of the time before he questioned what to do next.
It wasn't going to have been a lot more problematic when it came down to it. he sighed and rubbed at his eyes before he slowly started to look up into the sky, so full of stars that it seemed as if they'd fall downwards upon them.
Cal sighed and then crossed her arms across her hulking chest as he questioned what to do next before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before he leaned on the wall. It hadn't yet seemed to have smirked to herself.
Cal rubbed at her side before she questioned what to do next before he tilted her head.
(Present time)
Gram seemed to find more and more time to have to focus upon when he thought about it for now. The II was silent, focused, and entirely prepared for whatever was going to have to come next. It was clear to them that a lot more power and authority went into trying to handle the war. They hadn't even tried to scratch the surface of what they were capable of and yet it had bothered him to the end of the day. it was too much, far too much for his mind to handle before the day ended.
His thoughts turned to Stanforth. The man had been willing to do something devious for now, something devious that he couldn't at all understand or fathom. It wasn't like he was an officer so being the commander of a portion of the UNSC navy was not at all something he had felt comfortable doing at the end of the day.
Perhaps he just wasn't meant to be an officer. He didn't exactly get bothered by it which to him meant their problems weren't over yet. Yet when all of it was said and done at the end of the day. it was clear on his face what the fate of people who stood in his way was. It was clear to him that more and more such problems only served to start a grander purpose, one which he could try and handle properly if he pushed himself to his limits at the end of the day.
Cal was not here for him to think of it all. She wasn't here to see it all come crashing down on his head anytime soon. If anything? These problems weren't something random that he could easily challenge.
"How many soldiers are going down before they're defeated?" he heard as he turned to see Cal who looked out the window alongside him as he questioned what else was to be done and how else this would have been.
Perhaps it was to be something else as Cal yawned before she sat down on a crate next to himself before she sighed before she tilted her head. She started looking out the window before she looked at him.
It wasn't to be easy as the two Spartans looked out the window as she questioned what to tell him. It was odd on her mind at the time and that didn't at all seem to change.
She wasn't used to being so far from the front in a manner like this. It made her feel a lot more on the run as if she were vulnerable to a degree as of now.
"This isn't going to be easy for now," Cal stated while she rubbed at her arms and she sighed. "There's a lot more war to do, you know," Cal said to which Gram hummed as she tilted her head to the side.
"We aren't going to be able to do stuff like this as often when it comes to it. I don't know what the next war is going to bring." Cal stated to which Gram could only roll his eyes, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Cal, we don't even damn well if we're going to make it through this one," Gram added, crossing his arms under his chest as Cal crossed her legs under her. "Hell, I think we're lucky to see it end anytime soon. Anything else and all of us would be dead before now. All of this? It'd be a nice little thought… But we're Spartans, there's a lot of fighting we're going to need to get out of the way before now. This will be a very long time which we don't have as well, Spartans live on borrowed time for every single moment of our lives." Gram stated for the moment.
It wasn't a lie in her mind as she understood for now. it wasn't going to be easy to end this war anytime soon, the fact they'd be fighting for possibly another war. Nothing seemed to slow the Covenant down and all that came with it. Well, this wouldn't end anytime soon. There was no small way to end it, no manner in which they could just walk away as saints and heroes. No, if anything? Spartans would no doubt be condemned as a mistake or a last resort measure, not the soldiers who had stood between hell and extinction. Perhaps it was for the best.
"Space means a lot more covenant to shoot, so many places they can hide and only so many places they can be in." Gram stated before he rubbed at his temples.
Cal nodded, simply quiet as she turned to look out into the vast vacuum of space. It was clear more and more their issues did not at all end with the Covenant. If the UNSC survived the war? The civil one would resume, and years of boiling tensions and hatred on both sides would explode once more as it was to be clear they'd need to clear a path and it would be all too glorious for now.
Cal crossed her legs under her as Gram sighed and rolled his eyes. All of it was clear more and more war would come to them sooner or later. The longer the UNSC stuck out through the war? The more Gram continued to ponder if they would win or lose, it wasn't so much a matter of how long they could last but of how it would go and how often it would end today.
It would need to end some other time today; it'd always end like that as it was meant to end sometime soon. Now? All of the ideas on his mind needed to end and it'd continue to end a certain way. There was all too much on the lines and yet? All of it was said and done.
"Are you going to be, ok?" Cal questioned to which Gram hummed.
"I don't know if I'm going to be ok, Cal. The covenant is still on the march, we're still at war, and the rest of the galaxy seems to be as well." Gram stated as he questioned what needed to be done to win this game anytime soon.
The covenant didn't seem to accept conventional war which meant they'd need to be more and more creative. That was entirely why Spartans were at the forefront of the UNSC military. It was simply a matter of how far they'd go for it to sink in, such measures would only ensure more and more that the UNSC could exist.
Perhaps the Covenant found it annoying that they did not at all die anytime soon. The UNSC had proven itself and it was clear more and more they could stand toe to toe with the covenant on the ground at the very least. That small spark of defiance told him all he needed to about such a thing.
Cal slugged him in the shoulder, bringing his thoughts back to her as he pondered just what he could do to try and end it quickly and decisively. Perhaps such issues would get in the way and he was just unable to see it… But it needed to be explained and properly addressed either way or such. It was a very odd way to try conduct for not.
It was something that seemed more and more of an issue then it came down to it. There were a lot more problems that had to be addressed anyway. Cal sighed and tapped a finger on Gram's leg before she watched him look over at her.
It was clear more and more problems had arisen for now. Cal and Gram shared a look at one another before finally deciding to speak a second later.
"You kept thinking about the stars the entire time we were at camp. Did you see this entire thing coming?" Cal asked as Gram shook his head and looked down at her.
"No. I just didn't think this was going to happen. Not anytime soon at least, I just don't know what's going to happen if we aren't fast enough." Gram stated to which she nodded. "There's got to be something that stops the covenant. Bullets, bombs, maybe a big sword? I don't see us winning this by killing more of them since they keep coming and we don't have a way to oppose it." Gram stated as Cal fell silent, utterly at odds with what went onward next.
It was clear another war would not fix this. War would not fix it at all and yet they had to carry on the fight for those who would continue to defend the UNSC and its ideals, they had a game to play and it seemed as if the stakes would only increase each second, they were in it… A horrid thing but something they could win with the right.
It was so much of amusement for now… It was a lot odd for now and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, preparing for more, and looked downwards and questioned more and more ideas for the future.
(The present)
Cal crossed her arms over her chest and sighed to herself, yawning to herself and looking before looking to Gram, frowning to herself. Cal seemed to look out into the vacuum, almost expecting more ships to come, expecting problems from the void to come outwards and to them.
"Are you going to be ready for the next mission? I don't know what to expect before now and yet part of me thinks it will be another smash and grab." Cal stated before she crossed her arms and looked to the side and sighed to herself.
"Don't know, Admiral always seems to want to shake things up, you know… Problems always just pop up, don't they?" Gram stated before putting his hands on his legs.
"Maybe, but we need to be ready for any single type of war. I don't know to be honest." Gram stated before looking down. "We need to get going though." Gram stated before sighing to himself.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be in 900-6500 words and will show more of Cal and Gram talking and bonding more and setting up their next mission and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!