Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
A/N: This is kinda heavy on Halo at the beginning,
but there's a reason for it. I'm really trying to get the plot on
the move in these next few chapters.
Chapter 23: The Plot Thickens Part I
TSCC Universe, One week after arriving in 2009.
Skynet simmered in the depths of the Narada's main computer as it contemplated where John Connor and his group had disappeared to after the unidentified Terminator detonated the zero point energy bomb.
The damage hadn't been severe, but coupled with the damage from traveling in time warp, it had crippled the ship for several hours until the nanoprobes had regenerated the majority the damage.
The explosion had also knocked out the sensors, making any guess as to where or when they'd gone hard to determine. However, a residual rip in the fabric of space high above the planet gave evidence of an interdimensional rift, meaning that its quarry had most likely gone to another universe.
Skynet was still trying to figure out how exactly the Narada had ended up in this one, much less be able to open one of the rifts.
The lack of available data was infuriating to the AI.
As it continued to come up with and disprove theories, Skynet couldn't help but think of ways to end the AI who'd triggered that bomb. If the machine hadn't, It would have had enough information to unlock the secrets of interdimensional travel.
Instead it was aimlessly searching space for anything that could answer its questions.
Just as the AI was calculating the infinitesimally small chances of running into such a phenomenon, a rip in the fabric of space appeared only a quarter light year behind it.
The Narada dropped out of warp and turned hard about before warping off towards the only thing occupying the AI's attention.
Pain.
That's what greeted him as consciousness returned.
Without even opening his eyes he knew that he'd fallen into the slipspace portal after the Reclaimer and his infernal ancilla had outwitted him in his moment of victory.
The damage caused from the pulse grenade the Reclaimer had stuck to his chest was already beginning to heal, his advanced physiology, coupled with his combat skin, ensured his survival. However, he knew his personal shields had severely drained his armor's power supply protecting him while he was in the portal.
As he opened his orange on black eyes, his hard light HUD flickered to life. He moved slightly and the action garnered a new wave of pain that left him nearly gasping for breath, but he squashed the instinct before the first gasp ever left his lungs.
He gritted his fanged teeth and through sheer force of will, focused on what his damaged armor was telling him.
As the symbols that made up his language flowed and shifted across his HUD, he kept his jaw clenched in effort to concentrate through the pain. However, it slacked when one symbol flashed ominously in his face.
"It can't be..." He breathed as shock drowned out the pain. "All were destroyed eons ago..."
His combat skin continued to tell him otherwise, and the realization brought a great sadness over him.
Any member of his race caught in the same situation had only one responsible course of action.
"Commence the Preserver Protocol immediately". He commanded in a sorrowful voice.
The warrior general regretted that he had intruded upon this reality, even if it wasn't intentional.
Insufficient power to activate Protocol Preserver
A low growl rumbled through his massive chest as his sorrow turned to anger. Not only had he failed to secure the future for the surviving Forerunners he knew still existed, he had, by his own incompetence, incurred upon another reality. Now he couldn't even carry out the duty every warrior was trained to follow when faced with his situation.
Could his shame grow any greater?
Vessel approaching at real space trans-light velocities, ETA 10 seconds to intercept
The Didact's eyes snapped to the highlighted trajectory with fear reflecting off his orange irises. Numerous scenarios ran through his tactical mind as the alien star ship closed in on him. They would want to know if he was an invader and most likely interrogate him.
Assuming they weren't primitive space travelers of course. Even in this state he could fight off an army of normal humans.
The other likely scenario is that they were a match for him in this weakened state and they would learn about his universe and the technological wonders and horrors it held.
Both scenarios were equally despicable to him, interfering with the natural progression of another reality was one of the few acts in Forerunner society punishable by death, which is why the Preserver Protocol, total atomic dissolution of personnel and all equipment, was implemented to minimize the damage done.
His entire body, along with his combat skin, would be converted to pure, randomized energy, leaving nothing to find.
But with his armor's low power reserves, it could not be done, and thus, he'd now suffer the consequences for his failure to kill the Reclaimer and allowing him to stick a grenade on him.
His hatred for 'Master Chief' as he was called by the humans, grew almost infinite as the ship dropped to sub-light a few kilometers from him.
"Meddling human! You will pay for what you've done"! He thought vehemently as the ship's FTL sensor array began sweeping the area. He steeled himself for whatever was coming as his own hard light scanners swept over the vessel.
It was as large as his own ship and heavily armed with energy weapons and graviton based torpedoes. The ship was infused with nanotechnology and seemingly run by what the humans called 'AI'. Impressive for a vessel not capable of slipspace travel.
His HUD switched to internal scanner results and showed him the thousands of machines that lay dormant in the ships store, once aboard, he had a 15% chance of finding a way to escape without being killed by their sheer numbers, but he was not afraid. One found it hard to fear mere machines after facing the Flood.
Suddenly he felt a tingling sensation in his body.
WARNING: Matter/Energy Teleporter Attempting Lock
He knew it would fail due to his physiological changes, but they would come and get him with a shuttle or other small craft. With life support taking up most of his combat skin's ailing power reserves, he knew capture was inevitable.
His scanners showed they were shielded and all contained a dozen or more armored androids inside.
The Didact, Commander of the Forerunner military, was at a loss, despite his thousand plus years battling Humans and, subsequently, the Flood.
Warning: Weapon Lock Detected
The Didact tried thinking in his enemies shoes, but he simply didn't know enough about them. He wasn't sure if they'd just vaporize him, kill him, or stun him for capture. They were a complete unknown, and he hated unknowns in battle situations.
When his HUD highlighted the charging weapons arrays, he knew he was about to find out exactly what they wanted with him.
Multiple green energy beams lanced out from the swarming shuttles, striking the armored Forerunner all over. His weakened shields flared briefly before failing, and then all went black.
Skynet watched with satisfaction as its ships towed the suited alien into Narada's vast interior. The AI erected the highest level force field around the alien after setting it down on a medical platform.
As it was replicating medical equipment and taking extensive scans of the figure, it was also processing, with its equivalent to glee, the new data the sensors had picked up. It was enough to form a working theory about how these rifts worked, but not enough to traverse one.
Now it was hoping that this genetically enhanced, armor encased humanoid could give him the final piece of the puzzle.
Skynet assumed the obvious warrior wasn't going to cooperate with it, so it began programming a batch of Borg nanoprobes to force the information out of him. It would fully assimilate the organic if need be, the AI just hoped that its physiology didn't make it immune. The alien's armor wouldn't be an issue since it was completely depleted of its energy reserves. Just to be on the safe side, the AI ordered the removal of its metal portions, however, the skin tight under suit was fused to the skin by some unknown process to form a symbiotic relationship.
It would scan the under suit constantly, but it would considered it of minimal threat level until proven otherwise.
Once Skynet felt that it's prisoner was secure, it ordered one of its units to inject the alien with a stimulant.
As the former defense AI watched the alien begin to rouse, a sense of excitement ran through its processes.
It would finally have its answers.
For the second time inside an hour, the Didact awoke with intense, throbbing pain, but this time he knew what would greet his eyes when they opened.
His orange on black eyes quickly realized that his outer armor had been removed, not something a primitive race could accomplish this quickly.
He sensed movement off to his side and turned his head to find the source. It was one of the humanoid machines his sensors had shown him earlier. He briefly wondered if the intelligence controlling the drones was an agent of an organic race or if it was independent.
Either way, he was their prisoner and his outer combat skin confiscated. He figured his prediction was about to come true. All that was left was questioning, and possible experimentation.
It didn't bother him much, pain and experimentation were things he had subjected himself to in an attempt to make himself immune to Flood assimilation. What did bother him was that these machines would learn a great deal about his biology and the technology behind his combat skin.
Such discoveries could have a massive impact on the natural technological evolution of this reality. The shame that thought filled him with made the warrior feel unworthy to look another Forerunner in the eye.
How far the mighty Didact had fallen.
The ancient warrior was pulled from his self depreciation when a booming mechanical voice filled the room.
"I care not who you are, I only care about where you come from and how to get there". The disembodied voice informed him without any inflection in its voice.
The Didact clenched his jaw and remained silent.
"If you will not answer, then I will take what I seek". The voice said finally as the machine stepped over with an injection device filled with a dark grey substance.
"This needle can puncture any known substance, your suit will not protect you". The voice boomed again before the machine pushed the needle into his carotid artery with inhuman force and injected him with it's contents.
For a second, he felt nothing but the sting from the puncture, but the lull lasted only a second. Searing pain spread from the injection point as whatever they'd injected attacked him at the cellular level.
The Didact groaned as the Borg nanoprobes fought his advanced immune system for supremacy. The 'efficient little assimilators' as they'd once been called, fought to place implants in the brain tissue and protect themselves from being eradicated by the highly advanced white blood cells.
But they were Borg, they would adapt; Skynet would make sure of it. It began analyzing the alien's DNA to figure out how the alien's immune system worked. Minute changes to the nanoprobes programming were enough to put them on top for now, but this alien's immune system was formidable and adaptable. The AI would have to get what it came for quickly.
Within seconds of the programming change, the nanoprobes had finished the neural transceiver and deciphered how the Forerunner's nervous system worked.
Skynet had never interfaced with an organic mind directly, but it found that it wasn't that difficult, especially with the nanoprobes doing most of the work. As soon as the connection was complete, it delved into the organic's mind and began sifting through memories. It was a relatively slow process, limited by the speed of this organic's brain.
Meanwhile, the Didact got his bearings as the physical pain faded for a moment. He didn't have long to wonder exactly what this machine was doing before he felt something in his mind. That was the final straw for the Promethean Commander. Every ounce of his will he turned toward the invader, but he quickly realized he couldn't drive the presence out. Instead he tried to make the connection two way.
He forced his way into the invader's mind for a brief moment before being shut out, but it was enough for him understand.
This ship was controlled by an artificial entity called 'Skynet', and it lived for one purpose: to subject and exterminate all organic life, or any life, that posed a threat to its existence.
Especially humans.
It had already subdued the only known life forms in this galaxy and it was seeking a way to leave this universe in favor of the one that this ship had originated from.
Suddenly the Didact realized just how wrong the Builders had been when they thought that all interdimensional portals had been closed, they hadn't even come close.
As the horror washed over him, a deep rumbling laugh echoed in his mind, a laugh that was not his own.
"You come from the Halo universe, how intriguing". The voice chuckled before continuing. "Now I have all I need to purge your kind from your galaxy, and all those I find contaminated"!
'Arrogance will be your undoing, machine' He thought back defiantly as he projected his own defeat at the hands of Cortana and Master Chief.
'I will not underestimate them like you, I have all I need to know concerning the Spartans, the UNSC, and the Covenant. They will all die just as they did 100,000 years ago, only there will be no one to reseed them when they do'! It retorted before showing the Didact a single, horrifying, image.
The Didact's eyes widened in terror as the image was burned into his mind.
Halo.
The genocidal AI wanted the Halo Array. With it, Skynet could wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient organic life, leaving little to stand in its way.
The Didact couldn't take the horrific scenarios the AI was now projecting into his mind and he howled in anguish like he'd never done before.
He was supposed to uphold the Mantle of Responsibility, but now he'd handed the galaxy its greatest threat in a hundred millenia the tools to tear down all he stood for.
U.S.S. Voyager.
February 15, 2013. 1946 hours
Cortana had changed, and as she watched Cameron and John kiss, she wondered just how much.
For the first three years of her life, she guessed she'd stayed pretty much the same, but when she'd met John-117 after choosing him as her Spartan partner, she'd changed. During the training course that nearly got them both killed, she gained a personal loyalty to him that was beyond her programming. She'd begun to grow, and that, she supposed, was her first step to becoming what she was today.
The next time she'd changed came when she'd been inserted into Alpha Halo's computer core. The sheer amount of data had nearly sent her into premature rampancy, but Halsey managed to repair the damage. Still, that and all the events surrounding the ring like construct had changed her again, but it was nothing compared to what was wrought on her matrices after being tortured by Gravemind on High Charity. He'd set her on the brink of rampancy and nearly worn her down until she'd given him everything, but John saved her, against all odds. Just the sound of his voice was enough for her to pull herself together and help him end the Flood threat, hopefully, forever.
She was never the same after that, she'd lost some of her self control and she'd become more sullen and serious than before.
Then the subsequent four and a half years of isolation aboard the Forward Unto Dawn had left her bored and empty, the only thing keeping her together was her self imposed responsibility of watching over the Chief as he slept away in the cryotube.
Then real rampancy had set in followed by crashing on Requiem, releasing the Didact, and everything else that happened in those few days before she 'sacrificed' herself to make sure John survived the thermonuclear blast that consumed the Didact's ship.
Now, just a short time after being reintegrated in this meta-stable state, she was beginning to fully realize the changes that being meta-stable brought. Not to mention being in this situation and having a body she could actually interact with.
Cortana had long ago realized that her loyalty to Master Chief had evolved into love, and it warmed her metaphorical heart to know that she wasn't alone. Cameron, while distinctly different than her, had gone through similar changes and trials before she too realized where her loyalty came from.
Now that loyalty, that love, was wanting her to find her Spartan and tell him he wasn't alone, that there was someone still left who cared about him unconditionally.
Finding him would have to wait though, she'd made a promise to everyone on this ship and she'd keep it. Until the time came to recruit Spartans, she'd have to be patient.
Easier said than done.
Several Hours Later.
When Allison Young found out all that had happened in her absence, she found it hard to swallow.
Here she was, in space on a supposedly fictional starship with equally fictional people from said ship.
She could have dismissed Cortana easily enough, but the tech that surrounded her was way out of Skynet's league, or it was before it acquired a starship from the same place as this one.
John had shown her other evidence as well, and when it finally sunk in that she'd really come to a universe where she was nothing but a minor character in a TV show, she'd asked John, her brothers, and especially Cameron, to leave.
Even the Doctor, who was a sentient 'hologram' or whatever, had disappeared to give her space.
She was overwhelmed at first, growing up in an environment where TV, books, and most other forms of entertainment didn't exist made everything hard to comprehend without something to compare it to. Her world had been confined to survival since she was too young to remember what the world was like before the war. The worlds of science fiction were lost to the flames of Judgement Day.
They didn't matter when food, water, shelter, and protection were almost always the things on one's mind.
She felt so little, so utterly useless and lost. How was she going to contribute anything to fighting a Skynet who controlled a massive spaceship from a universe she'd never heard of?
A sigh escaped her lips as she buried her face into her hands, willing the emotional storm away. Only managing to partially bury her torment, she laid back on the biobed and stared at the ceiling.
After a while, she grew thirsty and turned to grab the glass of water that had been left for her on a tray. After taking several gulps, she set the glass back down and saw a flat, gray device laying on the tray.
Curious as always, she picked it up and found that is was some kind of information device. The screen walked her through it's basic functions before she began reading it's contents.
It told her about Voyager and contained basic bios for people that were now on the ship.
Her feelings of inferiority grew as she read about the struggles and accomplishments outlined in their bios. Many had overcome unbelievable obstacles and achieved something great in their life thus far.
Even James Ellison had her feeling small, despite his rather easy life, but at least he could take care of himself.
When she reached people like Cortana, she felt smaller than a spec of dust, weak and pathetic. So what she'd survived in a post J-day world? She'd grown up with it, it was life. She'd never been in a major engagement like her brothers, she'd never done anything amazing like John Connor and taking out a whole groups of terminators with a plan he'd pulled out of nowhere and brought everyone home without a scratch.
No, she was the one who needed two big brothers to just get by, even her own martial arts skills were limited and paled against people like John and Sarah.
Then, as she continued reading Cortana's bio and still feeling sorry for herself, she stumbled across something that caught her eye.
Spartans.
She highlighted the word to see if she could find out more about these 'super soldiers that could flip tanks'.
All she got in return was 'information not present in database'.
She felt her self depreciation replaced by annoyance for a moment before deciding to track down the blue hologram and ask her about them.
After hopping off the bio bed and walking past the doc's office, she nearly ran into Seven of Nine as she entered sickbay.
"Sorry". She muttered before moving around the blond cyborg to leave. Instead she found herself being held back by her.
"I'll be the first to admit I don't like sickbay, but you need the Doctor to clear you first before you leave".
Allison hated being treated like a child and her anger nearly boiled over.
"I'm fine, now let me go". She growled as she pulled back harshly. Seven, who's arm was still very tender from surgery she'd had less than a day ago, hissed in pain when Allison pulled back. She let the girl go and grabbed her shoulder reflexively.
Allison felt bad for somehow hurting the woman and apologized as she turned to leave, hoping to do so before the Doctor reappeared.
Only he already had.
"You! you're supposed to be in bed"! He shouted before turning to Seven who was clutching her shoulder. "And I told you to take it easy"! He was not at all pleased with the situation.
"It's my fault". Allison admitted, earning an almost hateful glare from him before he turned back to Seven.
"How intense is the pain"? He asked softly as he took out a tricorder and began scanning her.
"Tolerable, and it is fading quickly. I doubt she caused any damage".
"I'll be the determiner of that". The Doctor said as he concentrated on his hand held scanner. When the tricorder chirped, the doctor's face looked relieved. "Your shoulder is fine, however, you need to get some rest".
"Later, I still need to run a diagnostic on the portable regeneration unit I built, which will take several hours".
"Fine, just remember that your body needs rest, especially after having surgery". He reminded her, despite knowing she already knew.
As the two conversed, Allison managed to sneak out the door before the Doctor could stop her. She ran down the hall a good way before she realized she had no idea where she was going.
She looked lost for a moment before remembering what John had told her earlier. If she ever got lost, ask the computer where to go.
Just as she was about to do that, it seemingly read her mind.
"Someone looks a little lost". A familiar voice called out from nowhere.
Allison's head tilted a bit before recognizing the voice.
"Cortana"?
"That's me". She answered as her avatar appeared in front of Allison, causing the woman to fall backwards in shock.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you". She apologized and reached her hand out for Allison to grab. She eyed it warily before grabbing it. Cortana gently pulled the woman to her feet, and in doing so, noticed Allison's look of fatigue.
"You should be in bed, I can tell you're tired just by looking at you". She put her hands on her hips to emphasize her seriousness.
"I was looking for you". Allison admitted as she pinched the bridge of her nose to stave off the heavy feeling in her eyes.
"What for"? Cortana asked with confusion. She didn't expect to be the first person Allison would run to after escaping the Doctor's watchful eye.
"I wanted to ask you something". She paused to think about how to phrase her question. "I wanted to know more about the Spartans".
Cortana's blue avatar looked a little surprised, but not much. She took Allison by the arm and guided her to the nearest turbo lift.
"Where are we going"?
"To talk somewhere you can lay down and we can talk in private". Cortana explained as the lift doors opened and let them out. They proceeded to crew quarters and unlocked the nearest one.
After getting Allison onto the bed and notifying the worried Doctor of her whereabouts, she let the woman ask her questions.
"What'd you want to know"?
Allison looked down for a moment as she thought about what she did want to know. She decided to ask the most obvious question first.
"What are they"?
Simple question, but since there were four different generations, it would be best to give a broad answer to cover them all.
"Genetically and physically augmented humans who are highly trained to be the ultimate soldier". She explained, causing Allison's curiosity to grow.
"What can they do"?
Another simple question that ran into the same problem as the last.
"It varies from the different programs. Spartan I's were only mildly enhanced in terms of strength, stamina, and speed. Spartan II's, III's and IV's are not equal, but all have highly enhanced strength, visual acuity, and reflexes that no normal human could match and their bones are laced with a material that makes them virtually unbreakable".
Allison's eyes widened as her imagination created pictures of such humans in her mind.
"Is there anything else you wanted to know"?
"Yeah". She answered before looking directly into the AI's electric blue eyes. "I want to know if I can become one".
Elsewhere on Voyager, three hours later.
Seven of Nine tapped away on the matter/antimatter reactor diagnostic panel while Weaver continued her work on the dilithium matrix in front of her. It hadn't taken the cyborg long to teach the liquid metal machine how to use that majority of the tools they'd be using, nor did it take long to get her familiar with the design of the core itself.
So far, the nano-tech based shape shifter was proving to be a most efficient assistant.
"Double check the dilithium crystals for microfractures". Seven instructed as she began running a diagnostic on the intermix chamber itself.
"Understood". Weaver responded as she wrapped her fingers around the necessary tool and turned it on. "The crystals are intact". She reported back a second later.
"Then the intermix chamber must be damage". Seven said without looking up from the display. "We must remove the whole assembly to repair it".
Weaver nodded and began working with her to remove all the connections with their tools. After twenty minutes of working, the assembly was ready to be removed from the core.
Weaver moved to grab it, but Seven moved her arm to block her.
"The chamber is made of extremely dense alloys, it's weight might literally tear your arms off". She said before placing her hands on one side of the device. "I suggest we do it together".
The LMT kept a retort to herself and aided the cyborg instead, time was of the essence after all.
When the chamber was free of the core, it's full weight bore down on the both of them. Seven immediately felt that something was wrong with her back, but she couldn't risk dropping the intermix chamber.
"Just a few more feet". She thought to herself as tried to ignore her discomfort.
Weaver felt the strain too, by her estimate, it weighed nearly four thousand pounds. It was taking a great deal of power and concentration to keep her cohesion. So much so, it took her fifty milliseconds longer to register a sickening crack emanate from her co-worker followed by her ear piercing scream.
Somehow, Weaver managed to keep the chamber assembly from falling to the floor, but she did it. The LMT quickly went to Seven's side and scanned her visually. Blood leaked down her back around a piece of metal that stuck out from her spine.
"I need to immobilize you". She stated calmly as she poured liquid metal around her midsection and lower back and solidified it.
Seven gasped and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as the pain became nearly unbearable.
Weaver tapped her newly issued combadge and called for an emergency transport to sickbay for Seven. Cortana, reacting faster than any human could, did so before Weaver had even ended her transmission.
Both reappeared in sickbay along with Cortana's blue avatar.
The Doctor dropped what he was doing so fast that even Weaver was impressed with his speed. He had a medical tricorder in his hand in an instant and began scanning her with obvious concern on his face.
"Your spinal clamp has shattered from sheer stress"! He exclaimed as he put the device aside and began punching controls on the surgical biobed. "I need to operate immediately"! He seemed calmer now, but Cortana figured he was shoving it aside for the moment to help his friend.
Seven nodded her head twice before the Doctor injected her with a sedative and activated the sterilization field.
Then he whirled on Weaver, anger plastering his face.
"What in the hell were you two doing? Trying to move the warp core? She can't lift as much as you can"!
"I don't know her limits, so before you continue your little outburst, you should have Cortana show you the security footage. Oh and I'll be back for that later". She pointed at the metal on Seven before leaving the room to continue her work on the intermix chamber.
The Doctor realized how unprofessional he was being and took a deep 'breath' to calm himself.
Cortana looked worried, but she showed the Doctor the security camera recordings from Engineering to show him what had happened.
"She never did know when to take it easy". He sighed as he began doing more thorough scans of his best friend as he continued to suppress his maelstrom of emotions.
"I would think she knew her limits, Doctor". Cortana said carefully as she observed him, she refused to hack his matrix to find her answers. "There's something you're not telling us".
The Doctor realized right then and there that trying to keep a secret from Cortana would be nearly impossible, even though she'd promised to keep out of his matrix. Despite that, he still had his moral obligation to uphold doctor/patient confidentiality.
"It's not my job to tell you, it's her's". He said evenly, and Cortana conceded with a nod. She knew how uncomfortable it was to admit weakness, especially to those counting on you.
"Can you at least tell me if she'll live"? She asked as she fiddled with her fingers, she was nervous about losing the only person who understood Voyager's engines.
"She'll live, for now". He said cryptically as he began gathering tools to operate.
"Do you need an assistant"? She asked carefully, hopefully not sounding like a desperate attempt to gain information.
"No, she's stable". He answered without turning to her.
"If you need me..."
"I'll ask". He said with a tone of finality and started to operate. Cortana just nodded and disappeared.
The Doctor was finally relieved to have prying eyes leave, now he could concentrate on repairing the damage and figuring out what was wrong with his friend.
Cameron stared at her reflection in the mirror as she watched the Doctor's regeneration serum did it's work. It was amazing what the hologram could do in such a short amount of time and she was happy with the results.
Her face was only minutes from fully regenerating, only her left eye would remain uncovered.
After Allison had shooed them out of sickbay, John had been called over the comm by John Henry to discuss future Skynet's behavior so he could present a more accurate profile to Cortana. Cameron had used that time to beam up her belongings from the farm and organize them to her liking. She'd also found the time to recharge her enhanced Covenant Energy Sword and do maintenance on her Type 3c pulse phaser rifle.
When she'd checked with Cortana about John and been told he was still busy, she went to the Doctor to get her face healed.
He'd told her he'd work on cloning her another eye and gave her the healing accelerator for her skin.
So far, she was pleased with his work.
Cameron turned her head towards the door when chime rang and called for whoever it was to come in.
John walked in and looked around before spotting her in the bathroom.
When he saw her healed face, he smiled.
"You look good".
Her auto emotive response program dilated the capillaries in her cheeks so her face would express the emotion that John's reaction had flooded her neural net with.
"Thank you". She said as she tucked an errant hair behind her ear. John tilted his head at her human gesture; he'd never seen her do that before.
The young former Staff Sergeant closed the distance between them and touched her blushed cheeks.
"I didn't know you could do that".
The corners of her mouth turned up at his words.
"I still have some secrets". Cameron kept her voice serious, and judging by his reaction, he didn't mind.
"So do I". He whispered back as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "This is still new, I don't expect you to tell me everything. Hell, there're some things I'm not ready talk about".
"Someday"?
"Someday". He said as he leaned in and kissed her.
The two spent a few hours just spending time together, telling each other things they'd never shared with the other but never considered secrets. John finally fell asleep with his head on her shoulder.
She laid him down on her bed and covered him up, but she didn't join him. She didn't want to be presumptuous, she thought it best for him to define their relationship parameters. Cameron was ready to go all in, but she knew he wasn't, not yet.
There was still so much they had to learn about each other, and she worried that battling Skynet may cut their time short. It pained her to think about it, but the probabilities of one of them not surviving were high.
"I don't know if we will live through this, but if we do, I'll always be with you, and I'll always love you, John".
A/N: Read and Review, I'm curios to see what you think about this development.
Minor Characters are getting less screen time in favor of plot dev, but you'll see more of the TSCC gang in coming chapters.
For those who don't know Halo:
The Didact is the primary antagonist for Halo 4, the most recent game.
Species: Forerunner
Real Name: Shadow of Sundered Star
Caste: Warrior-Servant
Rank: Promethean
Position: Commander of the Forerunner military
He is humanoid in shape with a flat nose. He is 13 feet tall and wears armor far more advanced than Master Chief's.
Summary:
He was a Forerunner, an technologically advanced race that ruled and protected vast portions of the galaxy 100,000 years ago. He fought against the ancient Human Empire and vanquished them at the cost of many lives, including his sons'. Later, when it was revealed that humanity was running from the Flood, he tried turning all the remaining humans into hard light (a holographic technology) AI's, called Promethean Knights, to battle the Flood. The Flood could only infect organic species, and thus the Knights were immune to it, however, his own wife betrayed him due to his actions and she placed him in a stasis chamber, called a Cryptum, and removed the transforming device, called the Composer, from Requiem, the Didact's fortress world and now prison.
The Flood continued to spread and the remaining Forerunners activated the seven Halo rings, wiping out all sentient life in the galaxy. The Flood died out without a food supply, though some spores remained in stasis. The Didact's wife, the Librarian, had ensured that most species would be reseeded on their home worlds, including Humans.
The Didact was kept safe inside his world, and was awoken 100,000 years later by Master Chief unintentionally.
He tried taking his revenge by trying to compose all of Humanity into Promethean Knights, but was stopped by Master Chief and Cortana, but at the cost of Cortana herself. (Which is where I pick her up in the story in chapter 11 on the backup device from the Didact's ship). He fell into a slipspace rupture below where they were fighting, and thus how I explain him ending up in the TSCC universe.
UNSC Spirit of Fire:
Primary setting for Halo Wars, an RTS game set in early 2531, over 21 years before Halo 1,2, and 3.
Plot Summary: After 5 years, the UNSC take back Harvest, the first colony to be attacked by the Covenant, but even after defeat, the Covenant stick around, searching for something. The Spirit of Fire and her Captain, James Cutter, are ordered to find out what their searching for. In doing so, they find a Forerunner 'temple' which is actually a map room. Both the Covenant and the Spirit race to the next location before ultimately ending up at a Flood infested Shield World. After finding out that the planet's hollow, they go inside and find an ancient Forerunner fleet that the Covenant are on the verge of taking control of. To stop them, they sacrifice their FTL reactor to force the miniature star at the heart of the planet's interior to explode. They escape in time, but are stranded in space far from home without anybody knowing where they are. Serina, the ship's Smart AI, is left in charge after the crew go into cryo sleep.
The Spirit of Fire is a retrofitted Phoenix-class colony ship, it is 8200 feet (2.5km) long and carries over 17,000 personnel with various vehicles and drop ships for ground battle as well as an array of on board weapons.
Serina (SNA 1292-4):
UNSC Military Smart AI
Began Service: January 7, 2530
Female Programming
Her avatar takes the form of a young, slender woman with long brown hair. Unlike Cortana, she wears clothing, a white long sleeved shirt with black pants and knee high boots. Her avatar is blue tinted and semi transparent with data symbols rushing up and down her body.
She has an English accent that is perfectly paired with her sarcastic tone of voice and seemingly uncaring and detached personality, though she actually does care about the crew.
If you need any further details on either Star Trek or Halo, PM me or leave it in a review. I'll be adding to my Profile to include more about both.