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 wasn't one to believe in superstitious crap nor would he ever argue about believing in it simply because of how stupid it was.
There was enough crap in the galaxy about religion and how the galaxy was being torn downwards at the end of the day, divided by the Covenant, and collapsed under a certain Great Journey.
But he'd admit one thing… This sort of insanity? This view? It was to die for and he couldn't admit seeing it wasn't to die for.
It was a nice little thing, something so easily odd and so unsure of what may or may not come next, there was a lot more to come and a lot more to do… But this?
Well, it was something to die for and that was all that would matter. They had been at war long enough for him to apricate the damn thing and it would be a very long time before he got to relax at the end of the time.
He had a lot more to think about with certain problems at the end of the day. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
He was reminded that he wasn't the only Spartan alive by a faint arm on his which made him look over at Cal, interested in what was on her mind which seemed to be something that could only be relaxed for now.
He didn't at all notice it at the end of the day. He was utterly dumbstruck and paralyzed by sheer awe.
(Years Ago, Reach)
Gram continued to look upwards into the sky as if he was utterly thrown off and utterly confused at the same time. Gram placed his hands behind his head and looked around, he was amused at least and utterly tired and confused on the other.
There was so much work to do and so little time at the end of the day, there was a lot more to try and do at the end of the day.
Still? Gram was nothing if confused and thrown off at the end of the day.
"There's a lot more to try and write down, you know. It won't be a lot to fathom." Cal stated before she started to drum her fingers on her knees.
She was tired more and more at the end of the day. She didn't even know what to try and do at the moment. He was too tired and more and he wouldn't get to relax about it.
The two Spartans looked upwards and into the vapid void of space as he slowly started to ponder. He was too silent, utterly so as he clicked his jaw, leaving them in the silence they were accustomed to.
The silence was deafening more and more to them yet he didn't at all want to relax, every nerve within him was making him all fired up.
"Are you ok?" Cal asked as Gram slowly started to drum on his legs before now. "Lot of things to deal with coming up, going to be leaving Reach one day. We both know what the doctors talk about us and we both know what will be happening next." Cal said before Gram hummed.
He was all too unsure of what to do next. Gram seemed to be able to relax, letting a breath of air he didn't know he was holding in at the end of the day as he clicked his teeth together and yawned, utterly unsure of what to try next.
They were unsure of what to do next and that rarely changed at the moment. All of it was bad, all of it hurt and all of it would be dealt with easily.
They all had problems to deal with, they just seemed to blend, dealing more and more damage to the natural order of all things.
Both Spartans shared a look, their eyes sparkling as Gram leaned onto his back and gazed upwards and into the sky. He was joined by Cal as she crossed her stocky long legs under her, she often forgot that she dwarfed most Spartans besides a few as far as she knew.
John and Jorge, both rivaled her in height but she knew more and more that they were all just soldiers within a giant orb.
She risked a glance at Gram who had fallen silent and yet he was tired, humming as he stared upwards into the stars.
"You thinking of something off-world when it comes to it? We're going to be shipping out sooner or later, it's not hard to think about it at the moment." Cal said before Gram shrugged.
"No, just wondering what it's like to be up there, looking down here, Cal," Gram stated before he let out a yawn. "There's a lot worse things than being stuck here. You think I want to go anywhere anytime soon?" Cal heard and shrugged.
She didn't know, didn't wish to know at the end of the day nor did she care. Such places like this were stained into her memory and she knew it.
"You just like the fact you met me here, Gram," Cal stated before Gram shrugged and looked down at the ground.
"Maybe, you don't know that, Cal," Gram said as he slowly started to think.
"I know you. You know me, you aren't the sentimental type at the moment… I still remember they beat the crap out of you for not giving me up." Cal said as Gram shrugged.
"Family doesn't give each other up at the end of the day," Gram stated before he clicked his tongue. "We watch each other's back and don't leave someone behind, that's how it's done." Gram said before he tapped on his knees.
Cal fell utterly silent, unsure of what to try and focus upon sorts of problems before smiling to herself.
Cal could only smile and drum her fingers on her knees before she sighed, they'd not be staying here for much longer at the end of the day.
All it did was remind him that they had a lot more to try and do at the second as of now. They had way too much to try and deal with their next job while he slowly started to try and understand at the end of the time being.
He slowly started to think about what to do next. She was too amused at the end of the day and it became harder and hardly handled.
Something else beyond their culture as he seemed to be utterly baffled by it all, thrown off and thrown off by it all.
There was just too much on the road to think more and more about what to try and do next.
It was all too horrid at the end of the day and yet Cal seemed to be more and more understanding of what to do next. They were always worried about it far too damn much for it to help.
The ideas at the end of the day became harder and harder and harder than it was more and more. He didn't at all know what would come harder and harder and harder to figure it out at the end of the day.
She didn't even want to know what would come next and she was scared of what might come down to it. They had a lot more work to figure it all out and even if not? Well, such was life and she knew more and more just what to try and focus on at the end of the day.
They had a lot more to deal with and yet they could not at all relent. He had a lot more on his mind as he looked at Cal, humming and raising an eyebrow.
"You're not usually this curious, what's bugging you?" Gram asked before he cracked his fingers.
"I'm not mad if that's what you think. There's a lot more to deal with at the end of the war, going to need to fix a lot more and I'm not at all sure at the moment what they're going to need, but I can tell it's a lot more interesting." Gram said before he sighed and cracked his fingers, looking down at the ground as he did so.
He knew more and more that whatever came from her lips would be terrifying at the end of the day. She was a very odd woman and yet she knew him best, she cut through their forces like a wave, destroying them all severely and utterly.
They had nothing else on their mind and so much more to deal with that it honestly became more and more harrowing.
Cal kicked back, leaning against Gram as the two Spartans hummed, eager to try and find a way to relax and not at all prepared for now.
She glanced at him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as she sighed.
"You're never dishonest. Spill, what's going on? You don't like doing things like this, what's bugging you? Something got to you or else you'd not be acting so off. I know something is wrong with you, gram. Don't lie and say it's nothing. It's about the mission, ain't it?" Cal asked as Gram sighed.
"That obvious I'm a bit down? You're sure you ain't magic or something because we could win the entire damn war if you were. Not a lie, it'd come in…" Gram said before he sighed and looked down at the ground.
"How the hell do we know what the plan is? How do we know where the hell the line is and what we're doing? We don't know anything, not about them, not before we lose something big and painful." Cal heard from Gram before she looked down to the ground as she did so.
Gram said nothing, simply more and more amused with it all more and more amused and too uneager to try and relax. This ended today, something far and far worse at the end of the day and something that neither could deal with easily, not when it came down to their pasts.
Both of them enjoyed today a lot more than they had any right to. It was all too much for Spartans or even anyone else at the moment and she knew it, she knew more and more that they had a lot more to figure out.
Something that could and would continue to get better as of now. This didn't end so easily, not without problems and not without pushback. Problems always tended to crop up like weeds in the garden that needed to be pruned again and again.
They were so obviously thrown off by everything and Cal? Cal knew Gram was hiding something by the time she grilled him.
"I don't like dealing with the fact we might be split up. All they do is try and split us up and I'm sick of it. really, sick at the moment and it's annoying, so annoying." Gram said before he sighed to himself.
"So, you are annoyed they want to split us up? Trust me, they're not doing that after all the staff you put in the hospital, Gram. Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez said it's impossible to do it anyway, not when they figure out, we're effective as a group." Cal said to which the Spartan blinked.
It wasn't a lie. Cal knew the others all over were nothing if bothered by it all. They wanted to split up the two but it was clear more and more that nothing else really distracted them.
The powers that be told the commanders of the project told themselves it was better not to try and make the two soldiers a pair and instead make them a single unit within the UNSC military and it was a far better idea than not.
Whatever was done next still made them a far better pair than alone. They had always been alone it seemed and now? They wanted to be a team; their combined efforts were without a doubt better than when separated.
Cal balled up her fists and set them behind her back, all too unsure and uncertain of everything. She didn't want to say something and ruin the moment nor would she. If anything?
She was all too amused by it all at the end of the day. something else and would always be another thing besides this.
This was all too amusing to her and she didn't entirely know what to figure out now as she considered her options for now.
It was all too much and it would continue to be so for the time being… All of it needed to end and it would sometime soon.
Cal looked upwards and into the depths of the stars as she seemed to fall silent, utterly so as she thought of what the hell to tell her friend.
It was so damn odd and relaxing to be here, on the planet where she was trained. She felt at ease and yet it bothered her again and again, to see such discourse and know it was hard to stop. Even if one saw the signs?
It dug its tendrils into the ground, reminding them of what to try and what not to do. She didn't even know for a second where they had been able to relax, to look around as of now.
It was more or less an odd little gem in the sand, something that didn't at all drip downwards onto the ground… No, it was an odd little memory, one where escape was impossible and nothing at all was real.
Gram tapped his fingers on his legs, a metallic melody coming from the metal as his hands tapped off the metallic roof under him.
He didn't even look her way for now. All of it seemed to be more and more inviting at the moment, unsure of what to do next.
(Current Day)
He hummed and looked at his shotgun, tapping the weapon as he placed it within his locker, unsure of what was coming next. What mission for the UNSC was next? Whom would they throw at them next? There was going to be more and more upon the line.
"Are you entirely sure there's nothing else they need from us on this mission?" Gram asked as he turned to look around at Cal who had stood next to him, leaning in the doorway. "We're probably getting sent after the Covenant next. All of it points to them being the bigger fish." Gram said before she turned to look downwards.
"Doesn't mean they're the ones we're hunting," Cal said, glancing at him before she looked down at the ground. "And I know something is bugging you, you're usually a lot less chatty when you're happy," Cal said as Gram frowned.
"I'm fine, ma'am." Gram said as he turned only to be greeted by Cal who slammed a hand into the locker next to him.
"Spill," Cal ordered as Gram crossed his arms and looked at the crumpled metal that slowly seemed to fall to the ground.
"I don't like being sent on missions where we have to ignore the people to get the job done. It isn't going to help morale or win us the war if we just treat soldiers like disposable relics." Gram said before Cal frowned.
"Orders are orders, Gram," Cal said as Gram shrugged.
"Their orders are to fight, and so are ours. Are we doing a bad thing by saving people who can keep fighting for the same thing we do? That wrong? It's all I'm thinking, we save people so they can keep doing what they got to do and we win all the same. It doesn't cost us anything but bullets to protect people like the other UNSC soldiers." Gram added to which she frowned at it.
All of it seemed to be more and more unsure and uncertain and looked downwards as of now. There was a lot more upon his mind for now and he knew it as did she.
The idea was something that he could and would continue to openly figure it for now. There was something else upon the mind of the Spartan as he looked at her before crossing his arms at her.
Cal seemed to look at him before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before it all seemed to end once more and more upon now as he looked at her once more and cracked his fingers.
Both of them shared a look, Cal looming over Gram who simply hummed, tapping his fingers on his biceps as the woman looked at him. He was well aware of what she could and would do, for now, he was all too aware of what to say.
"Are you ok?" Cal asked before Gram shrugged and looked down.
"No, really no. I'm not entirely sure I've been ok since this war started to be honest." Gram stated before he cracked a smile. "What about you? Are you ok? Because I'm more tired than anything and right now? I'd like to go back to my room." Gram said before he sighed.
All of it made him more and more uncertain of himself, of her, of them all. They were exhausted and worn down all the more by it all.
The mindless toil was taking a toll upon him, one which he didn't see himself figuring out or surpassing. All of it just drove him crazy as she tapped her fingers on the metal.
Both Spartans looked eyes and she could tell he was conflicted… Not by her, but simply, by the logic of their missions.
She knew damn well it was grinding down on them. Both of them suffered and chafed under the boot of the UNSC and both were skilled enough soldiers that they were often placed on the frontlines of combat.
She could also tell Gram wasn't at all uncomfortable about her, looking at her with the sheer interest she showed to him.
It was the idea of more soldiers suffering in a battle that bothered him… All of it told Cal that Gram still was trying to look out for the grunts on the front… Something she couldn't at all fault nor ignore and she was aware of why.
She sighed and signed at him in their language as Gram blinked, her fingers tracing shapes only he knew and she as well.
"I'm sorry that I'm tough on you, I'm just not sure what to say," Cal said to which he hummed.
"Just tell me if you think we're making a difference. We're fighting so much and nobody seems to care when it comes down to it all, all of it bothered them to a degree." Gram said as he sighed and shook his head, looking out the door.
He was so unsure of himself, so driven by an urge to fight beyond what he was and could be. He knew more and more that he had no real damn right to argue with his desires and goals when push came to shove.
Cal sighed and leaned away but pressed her other hand to the side of Gram, stopping him from running or stepping away. He didn't, he knew her more and more upon which it could make no sense.
"You trust me? Because I don't know for even a damn second." Cal said he smirked.
"Neither do I… We saved some lives and got the mission done. That's what matters to me." Gram said as he sighed and looked downwards at the ground.
"You were always stubborn and bullheaded," Cal said as Gram smirked.
"That's why you're my partner, someone has to sort out the crap in Silver Team." Gram said before he looked down.
"Are you talking to me or yourself?" Cal joked as Gram finally cracked a smile.
"Everyone, I'm just a bit thrown off, I guess," Gram stated before he looked down at the ground. "I'm not going on the next mission yet, docs said if I'm not passing out? I'm probably going to injure myself again and they don't want me to, not when it's a Spartan out on the frontlines." Gram said as he frowned.
"I hear that and I also hear 'but I'm going anyway'," Cal said, rapping her hands on the metal as she went.
"Spartans fight all the time, soldiers like us don't get to take it easy, not when we're able to." Gram said before he sighed and shook his head. "Why? Not allowed, Cal? You know I'm willing to die if I got to for the war." Cal heard as she sighed and glanced at him.
Gram's crimson eyes met hers and it was clear more and more that if anything? He was still as stubborn as when they had met years ago. There was no bile, no vitriol, no hate as she pressed herself lower toward him.
He showed no fear towards her, no fear towards anyone, and certainly not at his possible death. It was clear that he was still willing to die if she needed to before someone else died.
She sighed and only seemed to relent when it was clear that someone would and could would allow her a moment of clarity when it was allowed, for now, all of the moment crashing down on her for now.
Still? She knew she could and would need to keep going, for now, something that could and would allow them to relax, they could afford to do so for now and would be able to relax sooner or later when it came down to it.
There was a lot more to do and she could not afford to deal with it at the moment. This was only going to make something else at the moment, he managed to relax once more as he did so.
Yes, all of it seemed a lot nicer and nicer still, all of it cut into place. She didn't know how or why, but it did and that seemed to be odder and odder as of the time being.
Gram for his part did not fear Cal, he feared the fact she would see him as less important on the dime, it was a lot more of an odd little thing when it came done to it… A decision he doubted made sense.
"You're not being thrown out because of what happened but we can't go on missions if we're all out of mental health. You need to stay behind, wait for a chance to try and relax." Cal said as Gram frowned and looked down at it.
"All of it needs to end soon or else we aren't going to be able to relax, you know, nothing that we can't deal with easily," Cal said as Gram sighed and looked downwards, unable to say or do anything for now besides relax.
Gram was silent, utterly so as he processed her words. she wanted him to sit on the damn sidelines. It was as much a gut punch as she had envisioned it even as she put a hand on his shoulder.
Gram didn't want to be down in some damn doctor's office, he required being out in the field, able to fight and prosper.
(Years ago)
Gram looked down at the trees after a moment, not worried about his possible fate… No, only that it could and would be harder and harder to dwell upon now.
He didn't at all know what waited for the damn foreseeable future when it was all over. Both of them were able to deal with something that involved them for now.
The ideas dwelling within his mind with what to try and do, for now, a desire that couldn't at all play with his mind.
"You know… I'm the only one who doesn't question why you bring your damn rifle on top of the buildings. I get why you have it, but it's not exactly something you deal with easily." Cal heard as she sighed.
"I like the sense of… Security." Cal said to which Gram was silent.
He didn't dare argue. He knew, he knew well that she wasn't a scumbag and that she valued fighting in her way. It was part of why he wanted to keep fighting, it was the way it was purely because it was better… But being superior didn't mean that either liked it.
They were soldiers, dogs within the fight. They wanted to keep fighting but it was clear they were more than willing to try and keep the job done with very little to show for it.
All of it meant they'd be fighting tooth and nail to get the job done for now, to get where they were going to be. The ideas within their spinning heads around until something broke until it all came spinning down when it came down to it.
They had to be superior to this in several regions, a very hard way to deal with it for now. Perhaps it seemed to be odder and odder over time.
They didn't know what to try and do next, what to try and figure out. All of it mixed in a fine mess for now and it was so odd to end it.
She hummed and looked at Gram. He was silent, thrown off, unsure, and seemed to be figuring out, looking downwards at the ground, unsure of everything, of all maneuvers that could be mad as of now.
They had a lot on their plate. Maneuvers, missions, plans, goals… It hurt a lot not knowing.
(Present)
Gram hummed and looked at Cal while placing his magnum in his holster, the rounds for it sat in front of him. He had a lot more to try and understand for now what was going to happen.
They had so much more to discuss as Cal hummed, pulling something out that couldn't be dealt with or even comprehended.
"New mission next week, we're being asked to kill a Covenant VIP. Then we're being to be shuffled into the other teams, there's a lot more fighting the admiral needs us to do." Cal said as Gram hummed.
"Good," Gram said, placing the magnum to the side next to him. "We keep going, fight through them, kill the target then exfil on the nearest condor, Covenant won't even have enough time to register we get in? cut them down and get out." Gram said as Cal sighed.
"I told you you're spending a week in the medical bay. The doctors want to not end up in another medical bay anytime soon." Cal said as Gram sighed.
He nodded and looked down at the ground, prepared only for the worst. It wasn't a lie and he knew he had promised her if he broke it?
He'd be a damn idiot doing so nothing he did could persuade her of her choice. It was his, he had known it damn well and had made it knowing what was coming next. Every single little piece of life bothered him for now.
He submitted but it was all too damn clear he didn't want to. Cal climbed into the bunk facing the young spartan and looked him over for now.
"I get it, you don't want to be stuck in medical. Every damn spartan doesn't, every single one of us? We want to fight, see the enemy taken down and by Spartans, make sure that everything doesn't go exactly according to plan." Cal said before Gram hummed.
"I screwed up, I get it. I usually do that. There's a lot of times I screw up but that's part of my charm, you know." Gram said to which Cal snorted and looked down at the ground, there was a few seconds of silence, unsure and unable to say and do much.
She and he knew more and more that both of them as soldiers were driven by everything in the path ahead. It was clear from it all that they had been pushed down a notch as a result, a notch he could no longer follow for now.
Everything that didn't bend into place disturbed them for now. She hummed to herself before she sighed as the time being while she looked at the moment.
She would continue to defy what needed to end through it as she hummed to herself before.
They had something else as she hummed to herself, they had a lot more to see and otherwise to see and figure out as she hummed to herself once. They had a lot more to try and figure out as he hummed to herself before she had a lot more to try and figure out as of now.
They had a lot more to try and deal with before she clicked her tongue, ready to dance again among the stars above as they had always been there. She was all too prepared for it to end anytime soon.
She didn't know what to see and what to do as she hummed, looking down at the ground before now. Something before she hummed and looked downwards at the ground.
"They have a lot more to see and do, don't they? They have a lot more to see and talk about when it comes to it. We're always busy with something else, no time to relax, no time to study things, just fighting, hunting… And we're the caged animals sent out." Gram asked to which there was silence.
He didn't at all know her for now, didn't know anyone and anything. An idea that could and would continue to bother them for now, it just might bother a few people, but it wasn't going to be a lot more insane of a move than usual.
All it did was make it end properly, they had a lot more to understand. All of it seemed to be odder and odder to him at the moment, maybe because he didn't see it the same way she did but it bothered him a lot more than she thought.
Perhaps she did know and wanted him to be bothered, broken from it could odd for now, but this would be able to try and figure out as he hummed to himself.
They had a lot more to try and figure out as of now… This wouldn't be easily happening. He silently seemed to fall silent as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
He had a lot more to try and figure it all out, perhaps he found it out at the end of the day, Gram was silent, utterly able to try and figure something that could and would come to pass.
What else would he do when this all collapsed into the ground? What about it would end? This certainly wasn't going to bother him, he thrived on it at the end of the day… Something that made him hum, ready to scream.
"We keep going, even when it isn't ready? We keep going, the failure for it? We lose, and everyone loses… They won't allow themselves to lose properly and anything else will fall to pieces. Whatever doesn't kill us is going to bother us for now." Cal said to which Gram could only hum, looking downwards.
"They have a very big problem when it comes to telling us that," Gram said as he sighed and rubbed at his temples, ready to try and scream into the vapid void.
"If there's even a single thing I can talk about? It's how weird this is going to be… There are a lot of problems with it all, we know that." Gram said as he rubbed at his temples once more.
"We have to be better than whatever you think we are or else we won't win this war. Then we won't be able to relax," Gram said as he looked up at Cal who brushed some dirt off his face.
"Being better and fighting better isn't the same thing, you have to be willing to break rules to win, be superior to it all. Something small gets in the way then we all lose, then everyone loses and we can't have that at the moment." Cal said as Gram hummed.
He sighed and looked downwards at the ground, ready to try and cut through the static and noise, ready to see it through to the bitter end.
"Are you going to be ok or are we going to have to fight?" Cal asked, raising her eyebrow at the moment.
"Don't know, can't even trust my brain, for now, it all kinda blends after a few seconds," Leo said as he sighed, ready to see it all fall apart now.
He was ready to try and break it all apart at the moment, something that bothered them both.
They had a lot more to try and fight through for now again and again, unable to see it all end in one good piece for now. It had to end sooner or later than now.
He clicked his fingers, interested more in her than himself. he looked downwards at the ground, unsure of everything as he seemed to decide for now that he could relax as he hummed.
Perhaps he had to keep going for a good reason, perhaps it would need to end at the moment as he looked to the side. She sighed once more as she clicked her fingers and poked him on the forehead.
"We're Spartans, you know how we fight and you know how we are supposed to try and deal with it for now," Cal said as she smiled before she looked downwards at the ground.
"Perhaps there's a method to the manner for now." Cal heard as Gram slightly sighed and then looked to the side again.
"You should be well aware that whatever comes next? We're going to fight it together." Cal said as she sat closer to Gram. "We're Spartans, we've dealt with worse, you want to deal with worse… Yet you're fine heading downwards to another mission." Cal said, tapping on her feet as she did so.
"There's a lot of things I need to keep dealing with, this is always going to be one of them…. I want to be out there, helping people. I can't just ignore how I feel." Gram said as he sighed to himself once more.
He knew exactly how she felt about him at the end and exactly how this was going to work. She couldn't be blamed for it but he couldn't deal with it either. He had a lot of problems but her was not one of them, they had a LOT more to this, something that continued to bother him again and again.
He seemed to think more and more about what to see and do at the end of the day, something about it all cut deeper and deeper.
All of it seems to be something unreal, a measure of mercy… They had a LOT more to see and do at the time.
He was utterly unable to relax, unable to grasp it all as he clicked his tongue against the top of his head… They had a LOT MORE to try and abide by.
(Earlier days)
He was utterly thrown off, something about it all only seemed to keep relaxing as of now… More and more did it not need to relent… Yet? He was utterly tired, all the more unwilling to relent and all the more unsure and uncertain as he felt himself relax.
Yet? He was so utterly thrown off, so thrown for now that he just could manage to relax. This just seemed to keep bothering him and it never stopped, it never even slowed.
But that never stopped them, nothing ever did and that wouldn't at all change no matter what happened for now.
No, they had problems and problems would lead to answers again and again at the day's end.
They had a very large amount of mercy to see the end for now, all it did was swamp them, and drown them in an ocean they had no escape from at the end of the day, all of it just seemed to make it more and more tiring.
Cal sighed as she looked downwards at the ground. This was going to SUCK for now.
"We need to head to the bridge, Admiral Stanforth is going to tell us our next mission and where we're going… But I want you sent to get some proper rest when we can. Spartan or not? We can't keep operating on adrenaline alone." Cal said as she pulled him towards the edge of the bed.
He looked at her, knowing what was coming as a result before relaxing once more.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be showing more of Gram and Cal setting up the events of Legends. The next chapter will be 900-6500 words and will also be a bit delayed. Until then, Lighting Wolf is out!