Hi it’s been a minute. I started writing this like 3 years ago and then forgot about it so I finished it the other day lol. I’m writing more but this is what I got so far. Hope y’all enjoy, I did a lot of research into the timeline of events so I hope it’s decent. Linda x OC
August 11, 2552 Ira sat in front of her computer nervously, waiting for the video call to connect. She played with the ends of her hair und
Okay Part 4!! I’m struggling with links right now (they’re getting super messed up) so if you want to check out part 1, it’s pinned on my bl
”HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CORPORALLLLLL! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUU!” The ODSTs clapped and cheered
Here is the second part! I pasted it from google docs and some stuff like italics, bold, and horizontal lines didn’t transfer properly. I tr
Encounters Part 1
Draco III 2545
Ira was terrible at this. War, survival, guns. And here she was crawling in the mud, covered in blood and burns, under the fallen ruins of Draco III. Ira wasn’t sure where she was going, but she needed to get as far away from the Kig-Yar and Unggoy as fast as possible. They had taken to savagely tearing apart the humans in this colony. And she had managed to get away. The thing was, she was a marine. A marine who had been sent to protect said colonists. This was her home world and within an hour of fighting, it should have been known that her team didn’t stand a chance. They had fought hard, but their efforts hadn't been enough. As far as Ira knew, she was the only survivor. If she ever made it back to safety, this would be a surprise to anyone who knew Ira. She was barely out of military school, graduating almost out of pure luck. Her aim was sharp but not quick enough. Ranged weapons were her saving grace but even then, she was terrible at staying calm and sometimes missed her shots out of nervousness. Hand to hand combat was the worst for her. She was relatively tall, 5’9, but too skinny and uncoordinated which often resulted in her defeat. So why had she joined the UNSC? Well-
“What in the hell,” she said. Down below, Ira saw flocks of Unggoy and Kig-Yar running and fighting. But from what? There seemed to be some sort of team fighting back but she was too far to tell. Ira had made it very far up the mountain so the movements below were barely noticeable. Shots could be heard that was for sure. It had to be UNSC, which was good news because her chances of getting off this godforsaken planet had just increased. Further ahead she even saw a Pelican. But before she could start heading in that direction, she heard a snarl and the sound of a plasma pistol missing her. Ira screamed and looked up to see a Kig-Yar about to fire his next shot. Ira had been lucky to be under the remains of buildings because it allowed her to roll and hide further. She had shouldered a BR55 Rifle, but at this angle and with all the debris around her it was impossible to try and equip it. The Kig-Yar kept shooting, and the shots were getting closer since they were starting to burn through the debris. But then-boom, the crack of a sniper rang clearer than before and the Jackal’s head was no more. Ira held her breath, not daring to move. She stayed put for about 2 minutes when she heard footsteps coming towards her. Ira looked up from her position to see a massive figure kneel to pull the debris off of her.
“I am Spartan-058 with the UNSC. Are you okay?”
The voice was feminine and level but mechanical. It had a calming effect on Ira, who’s heart beat was currently well above a normal range from her close encounter with death. But she was bewildered, a Spartan? Ira had heard of them, her teammates had mentioned… her teammates. Right, all dead.
“Just a bit burnt up and bloody, but otherwise yeah I’m okay,” Ira replied shakily. Ira had to crane her neck up to look at the Spartan’s faceplate, as she towered over her. Spartan-058 nodded and offered a hand. Ira took it and was gently pulled out of her hiding spot. “Thanks.. I. I’m Private Hagan.”
“You’re bleeding,” Spartan-058 said to her. And indeed, Ira craned her head sideways to see fresh blood seeping through the sleeve of her shoulder. Before Ira could reply, the soldier motioned her to sit down. It was three gashes on her upper arm, right below the shoulder armor. This had been from a jackal having grabbed her as she escaped the carnage but Ira had ripped free of its grasp after shooting it in the face. Ira was covered in caked, dry blood and dirt from head to toe so fresh blood stood out. She rolled up her sleeve as best as possible and Spartan-058 began to clean the wound and said, “The rest of your team was killed by the covenant but we managed to avenge them. That Pelican is going to get us out of here. Do you know any others that could have survived?”
“No. Everyone’s dead.”
Spartan-058 paused and stared at her for half a second, at least, her helmet did. Ira wasn’t sure what else to say. She wasn’t really sure what exactly had happened amidst all the shooting and chaos. And then there were the fucking grunts and jackals who had started tearing into her teammate’s flesh. Tearing them apart and ravaging them mercilessly.
“Although there were a lot of things I didn’t see. Well things I wish I hadn’t seen as well. But there’s a chance I missed if anyone else got away.”
“We’ll check the surrounding area then. I’m done bandaging your wound so I’ll let my team know to do a quick search before we leave. Let’s go.”
“Yes ma’am,” Ira replied quietly. It had felt like a slap to the face hearing of her team’s death. Despite having been there for it, hearing it from somebody else made it much more real. They stood up and Ira followed behind the Spartan as they began to search for others. The shock of almost dying and being saved had begun to clear away enough for Ira to assess her situation and savior. She had never seen a Spartan other than in some propaganda. There had even been talk that they weren’t even real, just a publicity stunt for morale. But during boot camp, she had overheard one of the new drill sergeants discussing his encounter with a Spartan on the field with another sergeant. To say she was impressed was an understatement. Spartan-058 was extremely tall, built as hell, and held that sniper with such ease you’d think it was weightless. She was curious to see the face beneath the goggled helmet. Overall, Ira did her best not to stare and stay focused on their objective.
“I have a contact about 15 meters ahead. Blood on her face, brown hair, and.. a name tag that says ‘Gutierrez’, sound familiar?”, asked S-058 while looking through her scope.
“Yes! She was in our squad!” Ira exclaimed. Sila Gutierrez had been one of the more experienced members of the team. She had been helpful and welcoming to Ira. It lightened Ira’s heart to know that someone else had made it out alive.
“Gutierrez, it’s me Ira, do you copy?”, Ira spoke into her team’s comm system.
“H-gn is- you?”, a static voice replied.
“Yes this is Hagan! I’m with a Spartan, she’s got eyes on you,” Ira explained excitedly. Before Sila could respond, S-058 stopped Ira with a hand on her shoulder and joined the conversation, “I see you but you’re not alone. There’s some covenant surrounding you. I will take out the ones closest to you to give you a chance to start running towards us. Be ready to shoot anyone that gets in your way. Private Hagan will be covering you as well. Any objections?”
Ira’s hands grew sweaty. She could do it; provide cover fire. It just made her nervous to possibly miss and hit her teammate. Or even worse, miss and let her teammate get killed by the enemy. But it was a solid, straightforward plan so she couldn’t exactly object to it without revealing how useless she was at her job. At least she had courage.
“No objections ma’am,” both Ira and Sila replied.
“On my first shot then,” S-058 said. She was laying down on her stomach and Ira was crouched next to her at the ready. Then there was a moment of silence.
Boom- cracked the rifle. At that, Ira could see Sila running and Covenant falling. S-058’s rifle kept cracking and Ira heard a few more shots being fired from Sila’s pistol. She looked through her Battle Rifle’s scope and began to shoot at a Jackal that was coming at Sila from her right side. This went on for a few minutes until Sila reached them. Despite being covered in several wounds and running with an obvious limp, Sila saluted S-058 and stood at attention.
“At ease, soldier. Do your wounds need immediate attention?” S-058 asked.
“My ankle’s been shot. The plasma bolt didn’t go through, it mainly grazed me but it still hurts pretty bad and I ran out of first aid supplies after tending to my stomach.” Sila lifted her shirt and jacket up a bit to reveal the lower half of her torso had been wrapped. “The bastards bit and clawed me good before I could get away,” she explained.
“Let me help, I still have supplies,” Ira offered as she pulled out her kit and got to work on Sila’s ankle. As she did this, S-058 updated her team on their situation and announced that they would be returning soon. It didn’t seem as if anyone from her team found anyone else but that wasn’t a surprise to Ira.
“It’s good to see you alive, Hagan. Didn’t expect that from a rookie but you made it through the bloodshed,” Sila told Ira.
“I didn’t exactly expect to make it out alive. I still can’t believe what those bastards did to our team,” Ira replied quietly. Sila didn’t respond, just hummed in response. As she finished up, S-058 announced, “We need to get going, the covenant is going to start glassing the planet in less than an hour. We need to get onto that Pelican as fast as possible.”
They got up and began to jog behind S-058. As they reached the downward slope of the mountain, Sila began to slow down. Ira helped her move down the mountain but she was too heavy for her. S-058 noticed and before Sila could object, she picked her up with one arm and slung her over her shoulder. Ira stared in awe as they started going down the mountain faster this time. It shouldn’t have surprised her with how easily Spartan-058 carried her S-99 rifle, but it shocked her to witness the pure display of strength. Sila, who was now facing Ira, since Ira was jogging behind S-058, looked up to meet Ira’s wide-eyed gaze. She smirked but said nothing, much to Ira’s relief. Though, Ira’s face still burned and she averted her gaze.
It was so quick and it came almost out of nowhere. Ira happened to be looking sideways when she caught a small movement in her peripheral vision. She turned to see a tall, glittering figure a few feet away from them. The only way she noticed was because Draco-III’s sun was now facing them which caused the figure to shine slightly.
“GET DOWN!” Ira yelled. She grabbed at Spartan-058’s armor and pushed downwards, covering Sila’s body as she did. Luckily, the Spartan had quick reflexes and she went down on her own accord almost immediately. But before they had time to turn and shoot or hide, the unmistakable sound of a plasma rifle went off and shot Ira square in the back. Spartan-058 pulled Ira against her front with her free arm as she quickly moved behind the closest rock. Ira breathed heavily. She could feel the plasma shot definitely having burned through her armor.
“HAGAN ARE YOU OKAY?” Sila yelled above the sounds of the plasma rifle still shooting in their direction. Spartan-058 let go of Sila, gently shifted Ira off of herself to the ground on her left and said, “Tend to her while I take care of this Elite.” And with that, Sila scrambled to Ira’s side as Spartan-058 shot back at the Elite a few times. She checked their entire surrounding area for more enemies before turning to Ira.
Sila had already filled the cavity in Ira’s back with Biofoam and a pain reliever. But Ira wasn’t sure she would make it off this planet at this rate. She was in pain, so much pain. And she could feel herself getting heavier and heavier. Blood thrumming in her ears, the sunlight feeling too bright for her eyes, and a terrible nausea stirring in her stomach.
“—said did you hear me? Private Hagan”, Spartan-058 tensely spoke as she grabbed Ira’s face to look up at her helmet.
“oh… hi,” Ira replied weakly. She hadn’t realized anyone had been speaking to her. In fact the only thing that she was acutely aware of was the dull, burning pain in her back and the fact that she was not so slowly dying.
“We’re going to get you off this planet Private, don’t let your mind wander. That was a hell of a thing you did, you saved our asses,” S-058 said as she moved to pick Ira up. ‘Oh, now it’s my turn to be hoisted like a sack of potatoes,’ Ira thought happily.
“If this wasn’t such a shitty situation I’d be making fun of you right now Hagan,” Sila said to Ira through a private channel on their comms. She was referring to the lazy grin on Ira’s face and the way she happily, albeit weakly, clung to Spartan-058’s torso like a koala. Ira groaned, both from the spikes of pain from them going down the mountain and from the embarrassment of her actions. Painkillers always made a bigger fool out of her than she could of herself on a daily basis. “Thank you for having our back Ira. I know we all gave you a lot of shit for being the newbie so when we get back, I’m buying you all the rounds you want,” she added; this time on the regular channel.
“How are you feeling?” S-058 inquired as they kept going down the mountain, almost nearing the bottom.
“Really bad,” Ira replied weakly. But it was comforting to feel the spartan’s strong arm holding her in place-
“… doing good, stay with us. We’re almost to the bottom,” she heard S-058 say back. ‘Wow I’m really high,’ thought Ira. Ira heard Sila snort loudly as she realized that she had said that out loud.
“Oh man I’m never gonna let you live this down Hagan,” Sila chuckled.
“Hey.. I’m injured.. stop that..,” Ira trailed, feeling the nausea swirl around her stomach as she vomited. For once in her life, luck was on her side as she had managed to prop herself up in time, avoiding throwing up down S-058’s back.
“Oh fuck-, it’s gonna be okay Ira, we’re almost there,” Sila said, a slight panic in her voice. This had to do with the fact that both blood and bile had come out of Ira’s mouth.
“Mm really sorry.. missed you at least,” Ira told S-058 in a trembling voice.
“Don’t worry about it,” S-58 replied, voice showing no sign of distress, speeding up now that they were on flat ground.
They were now close enough to see the rest of Blue Team boarding the Pelican. Five minutes later the trio was also getting onto the Pelican. They had made it. Although at this point, Ira was close to giving out. Spartan-058 handed her to a medic. She looked down at Ira, who had passed out by now and sighed.
“Linda you need to get harnessed in, we’re taking off,” John-117 said to her over TEAMCOMM. She nodded and obliged, leaning her helmeted head on the wall of the Pelican.
Ira woke up. She felt groggy and heavy, as though she were wearing a suit of rocks. Moving felt hard and her brain felt like it was lagging. More painkillers I see, she thought. Wait.. I’m.. alive? As her mind continued to wander, she felt a figure standing over her. It was a woman, a very tall woman with short, blood red hair and piercing green eyes. Pale as can be, scars littered across her face, and wearing Spartan armor.
“Welcome back. How do you feel?,” she asked, voice familiar albeit less mechanical.
Ira stared. She looked up in amazement once again. Her brain was too slow to be able to handle any interaction right now let alone with this woman. She grinned at the Spartan and before her brain could process her words she loudly replied with, “You’re really really pretty”.
The Spartan stared back at her blankly and uncomfortably. Linda heard Fred chortle behind her, followed by Kelly cackling. She could feel warmth blooming across her face and walked back to her seat, promptly putting on her helmet. Sila was staring in Ira’s direction with a horrified expression on her face. And Linda just knew that John was staring at her through his helmet.
“Looks like Linda’s got an admirer,” Kelly said over her external speakers, still laughing.
“I didn’t realize wooing young soldiers was in your skill repertoire Linda,” Fred added.
“One more word and I’m going to throw you out of this Pelican,” Linda threatened.
“Leave her alone guys, she’s got a date to plan for,” John added in the most monotone voice possible.
“You too?” Linda exclaimed, swiveling around to face him. John said nothing but shrugged nonchalantly
Fred, and Kelly snickered while Sila continued to stare at Ira in shock. For 4 hours they had been flying. It had been a dreadful mission and the seriousness of the situation had fallen heavy on them all. The sudden break in silence and humorous distraction had been welcome due to the dread that they all felt. Having watched their fellow humans being torn apart by the Covenant had been revolting. The Spartans’s blood had burned at witnessing such a cruel and barbaric massacre. Knowing they at least could avenge their fellow brethren made the grief easier to shoulder.
It took some time for Ira’s words to bounce from her ears to her brain and understand what had just happened. She lay there numbly, staring up at the pelican’s ceiling, eyes widening in horror.
“Oh… oh no…” she groaned groggily. Fred had the grace to offer some comfort, “It’s okay soldier, painkillers and all that medicine is hard on me too. I don’t always say what I mean.”
“Well I did mean it, I just didn’t mean to say it, sir.” Kelly wouldn’t stop giggling at the poor soldier’s misfortune and at Linda’s uncomfortable silence. Only until Linda’s leg kicked out in the direction of Kelly’s shin did John intervene.
“Kelly, stop antagonizing her. And Linda, control yourself. You’re Spartans, not schoolyard children so act like it.” John said sternly. “Yes, sir”, both women replied. Kelly’s shoulders slumped a bit as she leaned back in her seat. Nobody said anything for a long time. At least that’s what it felt like for Linda, who was still completely red and burning underneath her helmet. No one had ever given her a compliment based on her appearance, let alone a subordinate. It wasn’t something she sought out or thought about either, what with her profession and the war. But she did feel a deep sense of embarrassment for the poor soldier who was surely going to remember this moment for the rest of her life. However, considering the gravity of their current situation, Linda supposed this should really be the least of anyone’s worries.
To Ira’s misfortune, another god forsaken thought crossed her mind and was already on the way out the hatch when Sila stood up and covered Ira’s mouth.
“Stop it, stop talking,” Sila gritted through her teeth. Ira looked up at her in surprise and said nothing. They stayed looking at each other that way for a moment until Sila moved her hand away. Of all the deployments and missions, never had one been so devastating. Sila had lived on Draco III for most of her life and was proud to call herself a soldier when the time came to defend her home. She had been part of the military for a few years and was well on her way to leading her own team. When this conglomeration of alien races landed on her planet, reality of the situation fully dawned on her. They were being invaded by the Covenant and no amount of training could save them. Not after the Covenant obliterated the planet’s mechanical defenses and completely destroyed any fighting chance that the inhabitants and military force on Draco III had. She fought to protect her home and its civilians but failed in every single way. Only her and Ira survived, and now, only half the planet’s surface stayed intact. The other half had been mercilessly glassed, and here was Ira, this useless fool completely unaware of what happened to their planet flirting with a Spartan. It was infuriating that one could be so carefree and empty of grief in a situation like this. The least she could do was keep the woman quiet for the rest of the ride. If the circumstances were different, this would have been funny. If she hadn’t just watched her entire planet get ravaged by beasts for hours while fighting to detain the same fate befalling her, she would have cracked a smile. Sila couldn’t fault the Spartans for making light of the situation. After all, among the slaughter, she caught sight of their teams furiously hitting back with everything they had. Battle like nothing she could have imagined, raged before her as she witnessed alien after alien fall by their hands and guns. The felled Covenant couldn’t have received a more fitting reprisal to their actions by the Spartans now sitting before her. Everyone coped with grief and anger in their own way. And she suspected they had coped on the battlefield. Ultimately, murderous vengeance was an acceptable form of coping that Sila could get behind. And for that, she couldn’t be more grateful to them.
The rest of the ride was quiet and uneventful. The Spartans remained silent, Sila stayed in deep thought, and Ira had thankfully fallen back asleep. By the time they landed on a space station though, Ira was awake and much more coherent than before. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything to any of them though. When she had woken up for the second time, she thought about the battle that they had all just survived and remembered that everyone she grew up with was now dead. Her home was gone, her friends and family were gone, and now her dignity was as well. The complete and utter fear that gripped her at the thought of being deployed again swam around in her brain. There was absolutely no way that she would survive another fight. This had been pure, sheer, dumb luck. Ira was a coward through and through. She had followed orders and fought back, yes. But when everyone on her team was dead and she was the last one standing, she ran. Ira had seen the Grunts, Elites, and Jackals advance and tear through the lines of soldiers with their bare hands and murder every single one of them. This was not a fate that she could handle falling to. So she ran. Ira hid under the bodies of her teammates and crawled as quickly and quietly as she could in the opposite direction that the aliens were focused on. Then, when the coast was clear, she stood up and ran as fast and hard as her legs could carry her. There was no place or plan in her mind on how she would get off the planet or call for help. The only thing that she could hear was the screaming and gunfire over and over in her head. The ripping and squelching of her teammates flesh The blood gushing everywhere. And the laughter of the enemy. It haunted her. Once she had reached the top of Mount Keldai and her legs finally gave out from under her did she finally stop to think, what now? What the hell was she going to do? As far as her eyes could see, there was no one left fighting back, Until… until, out in the distance, she could see a skirmish of some sort. In the confusion and chaos of the whole situation, some Pelicans must have landed to deploy the force that she assumed was the cause of the skirmish. The last thing she wanted was to go back down there but it was a risk that she was willing to take. And now, she was laying in silence alive and well, absolutely dreading the thought of making eye contact with anyone. It was funny how her life had quite literally flashed before her eyes, yet embarrassing herself and the Spartan that was responsible for her survival was at the forefront of her mind. Gore and guts be damned.
When they departed from the Pelican, Ira and Sila were escorted off to a different part of the station by a Sergeant that neither had met before. Ira was placed in a wheelchair. As Blue Team went their separate way, Ira looked back for a second to see them walking away. Sila smacked her upside the head and growled, “Eyes forward”. Ira frowned and replied, “I wasn’t being a creep, I was just wondering where they were being taken to.” The Sergeant replied to Ira, “To areas of much higher clearance than we can even comprehend.”
The devastation of Draco III hit the UNSC hard. Everyone knew that the Covenant were brutal and completely lethal. But nothing to this level of barbarity was there a record of. Linda couldn’t get the images of all those people being massacred on the surface out of her head. By the time the Spartans were able to land on the planet it was already too late. But this counterattack was not done to try and save the planet, it was done out of pure rage and retribution on behalf of the Spartan IIs. The night that they made it back to the nearest space shuttle, Linda stayed awake for a long time. She was lying on a bunk too small for her size and just barely strong enough to not give out under her weight. This wasn’t the problem, for a bed too small was still a bed and certainly more comfortable than anything she had been allowed as a child in boot camp. Those beds were certainly made out of hard tac. The problem was the noise. The noise that she couldn’t silence in her head. Linda was basically an expert in silence and she could meditate for endless hours. It helped her stay focused on and off the battlefield. Zen often allowed her to quiet the horrors of war in her mind when it was time to rest as well. But not tonight. Tonight she was wide awake and fully aware of her cramped, sore body.
“Are you still awake?”, came a soft voice from another bunk. It was Kelly, who obviously couldn’t sleep either. Linda sighed and rolled over carefully. She answered back quietly, “Yeah, can’t sleep.” Neither said anything for a moment until Kelly replied with, “Sorry for laughing at you earlier.” Linda smiled and turned to face Kelly. “If it wasn’t at the expense of Private Hagan then I might have laughed too.” Kelly grinned and said, “I’m sure she appreciated that.”
“Well, it’s the least I could do. It couldn’t have been easy for a rookie to survive that massacre and then get shot at the end of it. I felt for her,” Linda replied. Kelly hummed in agreement and closed her eyes. “All of those bloody deaths and then out of nowhere a Spartan comes to her rescue. I’m sure she sees you with a lot of esteem.” Linda grumbled out, “Clearly.” Kelly giggled as silently as she could to avoid waking the other Spartans. Linda smiled and reached out a hand to swat at her. “Don’t make a deal out of it at the ceremony tomorrow!,” Linda whisper-yelled. Kelly saluted Linda and said seriously, “Being professional is my specialty sir, wouldn’t dream of insubordination”. This time it was Linda’s turn to let out a small chuckle. “Whatever, go to sleep. Dream of bothering someone else,” she said and laid on her back again. Kelly did the same and closed her eyes with a smile on her face. Linda looked up at the ceiling again with a calmer mind and more relaxed eyes.
0500
Linda woke up to the gray, dimly lit room that she fell asleep in the night before. It was quiet and cold in the room. Her stomach growled quietly as she got up to start her day. Even though it was early and she had only just woken up, her thoughts were already lingering on the day before. After arriving from their mission, all of the Spartan teams had been summoned to a debriefing. It took so long for all of the teams to debrief the counsel that by the end of it, her brain felt like mush. That was probably her least favorite thing about being a Spartan, all of the after battle talking. She much preferred action to words and was more content with receiving another mission as opposed to reliving the last one.
Today would be a respite from the action. An impromptu funeral and award service would be held at 0700 hours. It was an earlier time than usual for this type of service but this was because the next day, the teams would start getting shipped out to different regions to continue the fight. The death toll on Draco III both of civilian and military lives had been extreme though and it was deemed necessary to hold a service for those lost on the planet, and an award ceremony for the two survivors that made it.
Her morning consisted of a quick hour workout, breakfast, and a shower. When she returned to the dorm to get ready, Fred was fretting in one of the mirrors. He never did like the gray streaks that came with their augmentations. It made him oddly self conscious and Linda could see that he was trying his best to tuck them into his military beret. For what it was worth, Linda always thought it looked cool. She approached him and said, “Fred, are you going to join us in the mess hall after the event?”
”Maybe after a haircut,” he replied glumly. She frowned and turned him to face her, the physical contact being rare between Spartans. “Your hair is fine Lieutenant. Would you rather bright red instead? Besides, it makes you look mysterious.” Fred gave her a small smile and replied with, “Some things never change I suppose. And you’ve got great hair by the way.” Linda let him go as she reached for the comb on the counter. “I know,” she replied. Fred snorted and started to walk towards the door, “I’ll see you in a few, thanks for the pep talk.” And with that, he left. Linda looked at herself in the mirror for a second. She never disliked her hair, it was unique. None of the other Spartans shared the same combination of features. Bright red hair, green eyes, pale skin. Though, the culmination of scars and bruises were commonalities amongst her brothers and sisters.
Linda had never been interested or versed on the topic of makeup. As of late however, Kelly had come across some mascara that she coveted in secret and reserved it for special occasions. She was careful to apply a very thin and clean layer of it. Linda smiled at the memory of the first time Kelly tried applying it. She had covered her eyes in black, sticky splotches and only made it worse when she tried to rub it off. As the years went by, Kelly tried to convince Linda to give it a try. It wasn’t that she was against the look, it was that she did not like the idea of sticking a wand full of black goop so close to her eyes that one mistake could cost her her greatest asset. Until finally, one day, Linda gave in during a mission when all hope seemed lost. She told Kelly, “If we make it out of this, I’ll let you put that black stuff on my eyes for the next ceremony we have.” Unfortunately for Linda, this was said ceremony and not only did she remember the promise, but Kelly did as well. She was standing in the back of the room next to her trunk, watching Linda with an unhinged look on her face. Linda made eye contact with her through the mirror and rolled her eyes, not even bothering to argue. She walked over to Kelly and sat down on the bed with a huff.
”Just don’t blind me.”
0700
The funeral part of the ceremony had just begun and Linda was sitting in the back, surrounded by several different Spartans. They were all noticeably taller. Linda’s eyes felt heavy and uncomfortable. Although Kelly had only put a very small amount of the stuff on her eyes, she wasn’t used to having anything on them and was insanely aware of the shift in weight. Every nerve in her body was begging her to rub her eyes but she fought the urges and sat quietly through the service. The death toll was incredibly high and a weight settled in Linda’s chest as she thought about the current planets that were currently at risk for the same fate. Her hatred for the Covenant burned deep inside her as saw the pictures of the victim’s faces. While she had been fighting on the planet, not one person looked like this. All of the remains were shredded, bloodied, torn apart, or completely indescribable. It sickened her to witness the sheer, pointless slaughter. What was the point? Why? What did humanity do to deserve such a terrible fate? She may never learn the answers to those questions, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she would do everything in her power to fight back in the memory of the lost and butchered.
The funeral was lengthy and there was a short intermission before the award ceremony. That would not be long for it was only to recognize Private Hagan and SPC Gutierrez. As Linda settled back in her seat, she looked over to the front to see a tall, young, shapely woman in formal attire with black onyx hair pulled tightly into a bun. She had tan olive skin, soft facial features, and familiar hazel eyes. She too was wearing an appropriate amount of mascara. The woman was using a cane to stand straight, though she looked pained. It took Linda a second to realize that this was Private Hagan. It’s not that she was blind, but the amount of grime and gore that covered Private Hagan when Linda found her had been so much that she had little to no idea what the woman actually looked like. SPC Gutierrez was standing next to her. A slighly older woman with a light brown, short bob. She was shorter than Private Hagan though her features were much sharper and her blue eyes seemed haunted. Linda could see that this had not been her first time on the battlefield, but it had likely been her worst experience. Admiral Parangosky presented Ira with a Purple Heart medal. She gave a short speech about valor and courage, and then moved on to present SPC Gutierrez with a Medal of Commendation. As the ceremony ended, Linda made her way over to Pvt. Hagan. She tried to make herself as small as possible as she became acutely aware that she was at least a foot taller than the Private. The Private’s eyes widened slightly and her skin paled as she saw Linda approach her. She began to salute Linda but she waved the salute away.
”This is your ceremony, no need for formality,” Linda said. ”Yes, sir. Thank you sir. What can I do for you?”, Ira replied quietly. ”I wanted to thank you for what you did. It was very brave of you to take a hit for me and your fellow comrade,” said Linda. Ira’s mouth fell agape, obviously taken aback by the response. She said, “I would do it again, sir. If it weren’t for you, I’d be one of the mentioned dead at the funeral.” Before Linda could reply, Ira added, “I also want to apologize to you for my insubordination. What I said to you was completely out of line and I must have embarrassed you just as much as I embarrassed myself.” Linda looked at her for a moment. Ira’s pupils were dilated and she looked tense. No doubt the memory had been gnawing at her. She replied, “Don’t let it bother you any longer, Private. I understand you were under the influence of painkillers.” Ira gave her a small smile and then looked away quickly. She let out a small breath and said, “I… yes. I am very susceptible to the side effects of painkillers. However, had the circumstances been completely different, and my rank a lot higher, I would have still meant what I said.” This time, she blushed visibly but her eye contact held strong. Linda felt a warmth crawl up her neck and ears. She was taken aback, completely unsure of how to respond. Her silence must have spoken volumes because Private Hagan’s shoulders dropped and she looked down at her cane. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to the infirmary. The doctor only cleared me for the ceremony. I won’t take up anymore of your time.”
Ira walked past Linda, limping as quickly as she could on her cane. Linda felt so out of her element that all she could do was watch Private Hagan leave. It was frustrating, there were thoughts and feelings that she wanted to express but couldn’t find the right words for them. Was she being hit on? No one in her 34 years had ever declared such a thing and then stared right into her soul while saying it. How was someone supposed to respond to something like that? She wasn’t exactly in any sort of position to entertain the woman, rank and career path the culprits. Her training as a child was tailored to survive and thrive in any sort of situation. It was a ruthless, cold, perilous, and frightening childhood but it made her who she was today. However, a course in courting was not one she had been provided with and it showed.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kelly making her way over to her. Oh no she thought. Spartans were graced with superior hearing due to their augmentations. And she knew for a fact that Kelly had heard every single sentence. She didn’t say anything, just looked at Linda curiously with a raised eyebrow. Kelly hand signed, want to take a walk? Linda nodded and the two walked out of the room. She could still see Private Hagan making her way towards the infirmary in the distance. Kelly and Linda walked to their rooms and changed in silence. Afterwards, they made their way to the training center towards the running track. Instead of running though, they walked. Kelly couldn’t take the silence anymore. Finally, she burst out, “What the hell was that about?” Linda sighed and looked up at the ceiling hoping for interplanar transcendence. She answered back, “I have no idea.”
”No I mean what’s wrong with you? You left the poor woman hanging, that was terrible!” Linda risked whiplash with how quickly she turned to look at Kelly and asked, “How was I supposed to respond to that? I’m not exactly versed in the art of charisma.” Kelly raised an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelief. “What?” Linda asked. Kelly didn’t say anything, just kept looking at her. Finally she said, “Oh my god do you- BOOM! A loud, resounding roar shook the station and knocked both Spartans down. The ground shook and dust from the ceiling rained down on them. Alarms blared and over the comm system could be heard, We are under attack, all personnel report to your stations. Both women sprung up and ran towards the exit. As they ran, they received a personal comm from John-117. “Report to the bridge. I'll brief you all soon.” They acknowledged him and kept running. People were running and yelling orders all around Linda. As she arrived at the bridge, the only thing she could think was, here we go again
