Captain Aurellian 'Ollie' Van Graff
August 30th, 2552
13:06
Above the Boneyard
Orbit
The Fall of Reach
[}-{]
UNSC Winter hummed quietly. Groundside, Nico Belloc was hiding with a force of nearly twenty headhunters outside the small building that currently housed section three's most notorious fugitives.
"Hunter actual, this is Winter 1-3 " Drake said, looking at the battleground. "Are you in position?"
The quiet voice of Nico Belloc was heard over the mission speaker on the bridge. Vallette moved the camera slightly, brushing over the area with the thermals, tracking the hidden agents as they slowly surrounded the house.
"In position, actual. Waiting on your green."
"Standby for confirmation." Drake said, looking to Ollie as he maneauvered the thrusters and tried to move the ship where it could peek more easily inside the building.
"How long, Van Graff?" Drake asked, his face set like stone.
"Well if you went down there, too, we coulda had y'all pop your head in for a peek. Seeing as you elected to remain on board, Sir, remote imaging is more difficult. If you could bring yourself to kill the girl, we wouldn't even be here."
"Cut your lip, Captain. Just get us the confirmation."
The truth was that Ollie knew exactly where he needed to position his ship to get Valette's eyes on the HVTs. Given his refusal to sign her death warrant however, Ollie was inclined to delay the inevitable as long as he could.
Drake spoke again into the microphone. "Lieutenant, get a squad near the rear of the entrance, we can flush them out into the open."
"Aye aye, sir. Hunter 2 actual, get into position."
"Roger that, moving."
"This seems… easy." Drake said, chewing his lip, "Something doesn't feel right."
"You can only chase a hound so far before it needs to sleep" Vallette said, sharing a look of worry with Ollie as Hunter 2, a squad of five, moved to the rear entrance.
"Winter, we're picking up sounds of talking, need you to verify."
Ollie moved the Winter, clearing up the signal.
"Getting feed, Hunter, patching it through to you, now…"
"...Come on, Preston, just sing it."
"I don't care if its the end of the goddamn world, I don't like singing."
"I don't understand pitch."
The argument continued, as Drake watched intently the words as they were captioned live by his A.I. companion, Walsingham.
"Walsingham, who is speaking?" he asked, running his finger along his beard's contour.
"Former Captain Madeleine Harper has not yet been heard. That is the voices of Mikaela Sorvad and Preston Harper."
"Loosen the throat, imitate the singer. Project."
"Gotcha."
Everyone aboard the UNSC Winter listened as Preston and Mikaela harmonised, signing a rendition of a song filled with haunting tones and reflective words. Ollie wasn't sure if the haunting sound was simply the way the tune sounded, or if it was because Preston was off-key, but the feeling of voyeurism was palpable as they listened to the friends sing inside the hut.
Ollie, looking to Valette, began to move to the command console for the shipwide comms. He connected them to an open frequency and silently unclipped the holster where his revolver sat
"You still have her a.i." Ollie said, nodding at the visage of Walsingham.
"Aye."
"You left her alive."
"By mistake. Are we still doing this Captain?"
"You feel responsible" Ollie said, transmitting the conversation to the team groundside. "We don't have to do this, Felix. We can keep them all alive."
Felix Drake's eyes met Ollie's and narrowed. Ollie drew his weapon but Drake was faster, he fired once, and Ollie fell over, groaning at the wound Drake had dealt to his arm.
"Mistake. Captain."
The Winter fired a series of shots towards the planet.
Drake moved to Valette but she already raised her hands.
"Get against the wall. Both of you. You want her to live? I'll let you two live as well."
Gunfire erupted from the screens below.
"What the fuck is going on?"
"Engage the enemy, secure them as ordered. Overwatch is offline for now."
"Going loud. Hunter 1 actual, pin them down. We're entering the building."
"Roger that, covering fire!"
Drake pressed the pistol into Valettes gut. "Put that vacuum suit on him. Now."
Valette obeyed him, her fingers trembling as she dragged herself over to the vacuum suits. "You don't want to kill her either. You know it doesnt have to be this way. Don't let us all die for Parangosky's games."
"You'll do as you're told, now hurry up." he said, slipping his recon helmet over his head. "Walsingham, siphon the air back into the tanks. In two minutes, vent the compartment and blow these traitors into space."
"Winter, this is hunter 2-2, Nico is in pursuit but we have a problem! More of those covenant trackers, Kig-Yar, heavy prescence in our AO."
"Hang tight Hunter, follow the Liuetenant, I'll cover you from up here."
Drake watched as the troops darted after the three figures as they ran along a trail to the north. One of them, he suspected Preston, was fighting like a cornered rat. He pinned back his troops as Maddie was hauled up the hill by Mikaela. They would pause and Maddie would cover Preston with her pistol. He growled as two men went down, and he lost contact with Hunter 2-2 all together.
"You've killed my men." he said, dryly. "You got secure suits?" They didn't reply; Ollie was bleeding badly and in the vac suit, he wouldn't get any pressure on it until Drake vented them into space. "Doesn't matter." he said, "gonna leave you with a parting gift."
"The hell are they?" Ollie asked.
"Homeing beacons. The Covenant are about to see two relics pop up on their radar." he stood up as the venting procedure began. He clipped the pair together with a pair of handcuffs and stood by the door release. "ONI always wins. Always. I told the girl not to play. I told her it would come to this. Does anyone ever fucking listen? No. They play the game. Always."
"Winter, requesting rounds down range. Covenant presence is escalating. I believe the refugee camp to the rear is being overrun!"
"Walsingham, send it." Drake stalked towards the bridge and watched as the drop-bay doors began to depressurize and Valette scrambled to his compad, pressing some buttons as Drake polarised his Recon helmet and began to shake his head. "I would have thought that at the end, when Reach, of all places, fell. That we would all see the need to fall in line more than ever. You were great officers, you didn't need to do this. It was short-sighted, dumb, and-"
"And exactly what logic would tell you not to do" Valette spat the words at him. "But in times like this we help our friends because it's all we can do."
"Because it's all you're capable of! Because it's a weakness."
"No, Drake." Valette said, looking down at Ollie as he breathed with tremourous movements. "Because it is the best we can do for those we love."
Ollie gasped.
Valette gripped him and in each other's arms, they sailed into space and the great-encompassing darkness.