Spartan-197 & Marine-276

Greetings I am Spartan-197. Commander in the UNSC Navy. And I am Rebecca a Field Medic in the UNSC Marines. Ask us anything. (Mun and Muses are 18+) Icons were done by Clarissa Dixon at clarissadixonsart.tumblr.com/ Header made by Faty at convxction.tumblr.com and sentofight.tumblr.com

[pieman1112]

Rebecca couldn’t help but smile as Nobu seemed to recount a time when she was climbing trees with a family member. There was a little concern in that smile when she mentioned that she was able to tell if it was broken because she had broken a couple of ribs before. Then there was the assassinations…assassinations? Her face had more concern become visible for only a moment before Rebecca recomposed herself to stay professional. In the little data pad she wrote a note that Nobu may need additional security given what was stated by the patient.

Her eyes turned back towards Nobu when the question about how strong the nukes were.

“From what I know, a Nova bomb was used and it was strong enough to completely crack the planet into dust. It even destroyed the surrounding moons. If they can endure that then I don’t even know if we have anything stronger to defeat them.”

Next came her question about if the UNSC had actually tried to evacuate everyone. It took Rebecca back a little bit. The UNSC had a very strained history with the middle and outer colonies to say the least. The war with the insurrection and the UNSC was still fresh in people’s mind after the Human-Covenant war. There were little factions of Insurrectionist that would continue fighting.

She didn’t know the full history about the UNSC’s atrocities against the New Colonial Alliance but she did know of the biggest one being that after the insurrectionists had won control over a planet, the UNSC ended it with the destruction of that planet in nuclear fire. This was long before the Human-Covenant war but something that still shocks Rebecca.

“I believe that we tried to get everyone out before we pulled out. The Spartans were pulling out the last of who they could before pulling out of the planet entirely. We couldn’t save everyone but we got a majority of people out.” Rebecca said earnestly.

“I do want to circle back to what you said about assassination attempts. Do you believe that your life is currently at risk?”

[pieman1112]

"From what little I've heard, it sounds like a quarantine zone is going to be set up to contain these thing if they survived. I would hope that even they couldn't survive the vacuum of space but it seems that might not be true."

Seeing the relief on Nobu's face gave Rebecca a chance to relax slightly. There was hope that her brother would be alive and on another ship but there was a chance that he wouldn't be. Silently, Rebecca held out hope that he was. She didn't know if she would be able to break the news of a loved one passing to anyone else but she knew that the day wasn't over and more would end up passing.

Hearing that the assassination attempts were a while ago didn't put Rebecca's mind to ease on that subject as it could be something that continues. Even if Nobu was convinced that there wasn't any worry, Rebecca was still going to keep an eye on it. She soon heard someone call her name and it was one of the support staff here to bring Nobu to the scanner.

"This is Private Kegan. He's going to bring you to the medi-scanner to see if anything is broken or bleeding and if everything looks in order we can get you out of here."

Kegan would nod then take Nobu in the stretcher to the scanner. He would give her instructions to just stay as still as possible while the scanner was in motion. It would do a full body scan while looking at the various structures of the body. During the scan, the computer had come up with some errors regarding anatomic structure but Kegan waved it off as just a glitch and overrides the warnings. Once the scanning was done, the report was sent to Rebecca and Nobu was brought back to her room.

Rebecca soon walked back in, clearly more exhausted than when she first met Nobu. There was even a faint red hand print on the side of her cheek. Clearly she had given someone news that they didn't want to believe in or hear.

"Ok looking at the results, there doesn't seem to be any massive structural damage that would need immediate surgery nor any broken bones. I'm going to give you something to take for any pain that you might be having. After that I'll fill out your discharge papers and you'll be free to leave. I do hope that you're able to find your brother."

[pieman1112]

chrom is sitting quietly at his piano, hands clenched at his sides. it has been a while since he played it. being ylisse's representative, the war, the navigation between being on field and at court--he didn't have any 'personal' time to do any sort of hobbies outside training (and less time for napping now.)

Well, he could put all the excuses out there but the main one he is avoiding to mention is ... his late sister. it does not sound the same when she is not around. he found joy playing the piano while she would hum to his tune, or even join playing. sometimes she would play the violin, too. was there something she couldn't do back then?

his right hand moved, hesitantly, hovering over the keys before chrom pulled his hand back again. there is no use in playing it.

as he was pondering, a soft tap on the piano sounded to get his attention. "--! ... Rebecca ..." his wife had a soft smile on her face, leaning forward, chin rest on her hands. She asks if he was alright to that Chrom looks down at the piano, processing the question then snapping back to reality. "..Yeah...I suppose."

The Ex-marine pauses for a minute before asking him to play something for her--anything. She knew what it meant for Chrom--to play the piano, that's why she didn't try to sit beside him...at least not now. She does not want to sound like she is replacing or taking over Emmeryn in his heart. If he refused she would understand; this was their thing as siblings.

"I ... have not played it in a long time so ..." he lowered his head.

There was a moment of deafening silent between the two. It's not like he does not want to play, his body is unwilling to cooperate--the memories are holding him back.

Her gentle sweet voice pierced his thoughts once again, telling him that it is okay and he should not feel bad about it. Actually, she's happy to see him sit here even if he does not play. It's sort of...cute~ and charming hehe~ music is something she adores. Well, Earth music--guitars and bands and all but piano is cool, too.

Her up-beat personality never fails to make him crack a smile, nodding knowingly at her taste. She might have dragged him to a couple of these ...'concerts' when they went to Earth.

"Rebecca ..." he started but cut himself, as if unsure how to say what he want to say.

" ... I can... try?" looking expectedly at her...he needs her support. "If...you can sit ...here...please?" gently tapping the space beside him. Once she do, he will start with some easy notes then gradually play something he likes.

For most of her years married and by Chrom's side, Rebecca had never really known that he had played the piano. She only learned about it from Lissa when they were walking around the city one day. Apparently he played it a lot back in the day, he and Emmeryn would play songs that filled the halls. With everything that had happened it would explain why he hasn't played it since the realm had returned to peaceful times.

She was wandering the halls when she saw him sitting at the grand piano that they had in the castle. He seemed to just be sitting there, hands would go to the keys but no notes would be played. Perhaps he was reflecting back on when Emmeryn was alive. She would go to check in on him and see how he was doing. Taking gentle steps she would walk up to the side of the piano and give it a light tap before resting her elbows on the side and letting her head rest in her palms.

"Are you doing alright my love?"

She watched as he processed her question then gave a distracted answer. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.

"Lissa had told me about what this piano means to you. How you and Emmeryn use to play and sing back in the day. If you are ok with it, I want to hear you play it. You don't have to play it if you don't want to. This was your thing with Emmeryn and I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to replace her or the memories you have with her."

Hearing his answer, she gave a nod in understanding and then there was silence. It lingered between the two for a while, she could visibly see the confliction going on in Chrom just by his facial expressions alone.

"Baby, you don't need to feel bad about not wanting to play. Seeing you sitting here is more than enough for me. Plus its a little hot knowing that you use to play music. It reminds me of the romantic fantasy novels I've read from the UEG~"

She would wait when he spoke her name. Maybe she went a little too far with that last line? Soon the invitation came to sit next to him with him tapping the seat and she was all the more ready to take the seat. As soon as she sat down, her head would lean up against his shoulder and just listen to the few notes that he played first that soon became a sweet melody.

[pieman1112]

The pat to her shoulder was just what Rebecca needed to be reassured slightly that things might work out. She just needed to make it through and back to an evac point. With Nobu’s help that might just be possible.

“Honestly, I was just glad to see another human in all of this chaos.” she mused.

She listened intensely to the lesson of the command seals and their use. Many questions came to mind on what she meant by boosting her up or being able to do things that she couldn’t normally do. If she commanded her to do something that broke the laws of physics would that actually come true? Could she command her to be able to heal wounds that would be fatal to most? Perhaps she was overthinking just what Nobu meant when she said that these seals could do things not normally done.

With her demonstration of activating one, Rebecca would mimic…somewhat poorly the exaggerated moves believing that this was the exact way it had to be done for the activation to work. She didn’t say the starting phrase to not accidentally use one.

Looking to her left hand, she studied the intricate pattern of its design. She couldn’t tell if the pattern had any significant indication of anything that Nobu was talking about or what it might mean.

“I…think so? I guess I’m a little confused on what you meant when you said that these seals could get you to do things that you normally couldn’t. Like, if I ordered you to lift one of the warthog personal carriers you would be able to lift it? And more importantly, if I use these orders would it cause you any harm? I don’t want to do anything that would hurt you given that you’re helping me and saved my life.”

[flame-forged]

“…human, huh?” The statement takes her a bit by surprise, given that she’s this thing this soldier had just summoned out of thin air through some symbols she touched on the ground. But it’s clear she doesn’t take offense to it, given how she maintains her smile.

“Yeah - I suppose I am, compared to those monsters. Haven’t heard that one in a while, though.”

Here is where she’d usually make some comment about being the infamous Demon King of Japan - but she gets the feeling that ‘wow’ factor would be lost on someone from a different planet entirely. She might be self-absorbed, but even she has to assume she’s a footnote in the history of the entire galaxy.

She gives an unintentional laugh at the way her master tries to mimic her exaggerated gestures from earlier. “Sorry - I might have been being a bit dramatic for levity there - just saying it is enough.”

But onto her more serious question.

“I guess that…might work? They’re basically huge reserves of mana, so it would give me a pretty strong boost - but I’m more durable than I am strong. You only have three of them, though, so be careful about what you use them for.”

She can’t help but be touched by her concerns, however. Ghhh. It just doesn’t feel right withholding any amount of info after a question like that.

“Hurt me? Well…not unless you wanted to. You could ask me to kill myself, for example - but why would you do something like that -right?”

Ouch. That does bring back some unpleasant memories. She’d had less than kinder masters over the years, let’s say.

“But more importantly-! It can also do a lot of other neat stuff - like teleportation-! That’s what I was getting at….so say, if were to scout ahead to make sure everything’s like it is on the map, and one of those brutes crashes through the walls….you can call me right back! Pretty handy, huh?”

[pieman1112]

"O..Oh." Rebecca rubs the back of her neck sheepishly after hearing that. "On the bright side, if we run into trouble and need to use the command seals, it will be a lot faster to activate ha ha."

She listened to the explanation about what the command seals are able to increase. It honestly sounds like the stimulant shots that are given to the marines for combat. If she keeps that equation in mind, it might give them an advantage if they come across a Banished combat squad or armored wraiths.

But...she wasn't expecting just how much control the command seal gave her over Nobu. Hearing that she could essentially order Nobu to end her existence with no way for Nobu to disobey the order was appalling. There was only one scenario that Rebecca could even think of and it was a very last resort. She had heard stories of what the Banished forces would do to their POWs. Stories of torture, using them as target practice, even eating them had been spread around. Unfortunately all of these stories were confirmed true. If for whatever reason they were captured, Rebecca would order Nobu to abandon her and escape.

"I would never want to give you such an order but there is only one scenario that I can think of that where that might be the only mercy that could be afforded." She became very serious as she spoke. "If we were to be captured by the Brutes or other Banished forces then there's a high chance that we will be tortured before we die. I don't like the thought of it but it's a higher chance of happening given what's happening. Should that happen and these command seals give you a better chance to escape, I want you to leave me behind."

Hearing about the teleportation would make scouting a lot easier, especially since she could come back if Rebecca was in danger and it could give them an edge in an ambush.

"The teleportation power sounds like it will be really useful. Especially for scouting ahead. I don't know how you're able to do it but I'm just glad to have you around."

Rebecca would soon look at the watch on her wrist and then outside of the ruins. Night was soon approaching and trying to leave the safety of the ruins they were in would put them at a disadvantage. The Brutes of the Banished had a more keen smell than a human and would be able to spot the two before they spotted them.

"The best thing for us would be to stay put for the night. I can take first watch so that you can get some rest first. I imagine that you would need some rest with all of the firepower that you pulled out."

[pieman1112]

Will the kids try to pull Halloween pranks on their grandfather? Hell yeah. Even if they know he can detect their movements all they have to do is have a decoy. And who is better than Chloe who will rant his ears off so they can sneak in and surprise Hunter. Plan is in motion the moment Chloe catches her grandfather and starts talking about the most random things she can think of. Meanwhile the kids are dressed up in different costumes are approaching as stealthy as possible to surprise him. Hopefully S.T.A.R. does not alert him.

Hunter had never really understood the appeal of Halloween. The idea of dressing up in costumes and going around to stranger's houses just seemed like a tactical nightmare. He only went around with Rebecca when she was a child as she seemed to enjoy going around. Her love for Halloween never really ended from childhood and she would always decorate the house prior to landing in Ylisse.

Finding out that Ylisse celebrated Halloween was like a dream come true for Rebecca and she would have her father send her decorations from the UEG to decorate the castle with Chrom's approval. She would even have candies and other confectionaries from the UEG to give out to the trick-or-treaters that would come to visit the castle.

For this Halloween, Hunter was once again patrolling around the castle. The decorations had been put up for the big day and he had seen where she put the fake spider webs and other pop out holograms for the hallways. He just stared at one when it materialized in the form of a spooky ghost. Shaking his head, he walked away back onto patrol. His helmet had been left in his room as his daughter had made comment that he should show his face more. The staff would be more at ease seeing the man behind the mask so to say.

Unaware of his grandchildren's cunning prank, he would soon run into Chloe. It didn't even take two seconds for her to start to lecture him on how unfashionable his armor was and how as a member of the royal family he should dress for such a title. He would listen to her patiently as she complained about the same topic and was about to give her the same answer he always did when she would start the topic. Before he could say anything, they were interrupted by a loud 'Boo!'.

He quickly turned to shield Chloe and readied himself in a combat stance. Eyes scanning where the noise came from only to see his other grandchildren in costume. They...managed to sneak up on him. In all his years of service that had only happened one other time. There was silence then...a slow laugh. It was coming from Hunter. These slow chuckles soon turned into full blow laughter. He even began to clap.

"I'm impressed." he said after ending his laughter. "There's only been one other time that someone has snuck up on me. Perhaps I need to sharpen my skills and awareness."

[pieman1112]

Rebecca quickly guided Nobu back down into the bed when she tried to sit up. She was just glad that she wouldn’t have to fight Nobu to keep her in the bed for treatment like she had to with some of the survivors. The comment made about fighting the satellite gods got a confused look however. From what little she heard from the survivors bellow, they mentioned bug like creatures that weren’t part of the covenant forces they fought so long ago. Possible head injury with the other injuries? Maybe. Something she would have to explore.

The comment about not the first time breaking a rib wasn’t very reassuring to Rebecca but she wouldn’t have to explain the healing process for said broken ribs. She tried to give an assured smile back when Nobu promised that she was good but with the state of everything that had happened, she couldn’t leave Nobu without proper medical attention first.

“Well, lets hope that you haven’t broken another rib again. I’m gonna order some scans to make sure that there isn’t anything broken that needs to be treated.”

She started to type orders into the data pad that had Nobu’s medical records so that she could get the full body scan to examine any bone damage. The mention of information did grab Rebecca’s attention. The UNSC was trying to get all the information that they could about this new threat and if there was any usable information, they were instructed to send them to an ONI agent to find out more. Perhaps this woman would be of use to them. She looked up from the datapad when the question came about if any of the creatures were left.

“Hopefully not. High Command has taken the nuclear option and the planet is unfortunately no more. If they can survived dozens of nukes then we really are in trouble.”

[flame-forged]

“Geez- I said I’d stay still-!” She gives a childish whine as she’s receives the gentle guidance back down to the bed. If she’d really wanted to, there was no way any regular human could compete against a heroic spirit’s strength - let alone a Berserker - but Nobunaga had no intentions of adding to the medic’s worries. Boring and lame as it was, she’d comply.

“Wanna bet? I can usually tell by now! I snapped a couple way back when Mori and I used to climb trees all the time!” -an odd statement coming from someone who looked eighteen at the oldest, maybe - but she didn’t particularly care “And that’s not counting all the assassination attempts I’ve lived through, or -! Well, never mind that last one, it’s a bit too depressing to talk about, heh.”

Not that she was opposed to facing her feelings on it now, but it’s not the type of thing that should openly be shared with strangers. Even she had her limits.

“I- um…hm. Depends on how strong the nukes are? I guess? You’d be surprised - and I mean really surprised at what the Laḫmu can endure.” It’d taken Enuma Elish - a purge ending noble phantasm just to hold them at bay. Unfortunately, Gilgamesh seemed to be very much absent in this instance…made her worry about what was going on in the rest of the universe.

“Sorry for doubting you on this, but you guys did at least try to evacuate everyone on the planet before blowing it up, right?”

She’d definitely know a few warlords in her time period that wouldn’t have batted an eye at the idea of genocide instead. Hopefully things had changed.

[pieman1112]

Rebecca couldn't help but smile as Nobu seemed to recount a time when she was climbing trees with a family member. There was a little concern in that smile when she mentioned that she was able to tell if it was broken because she had broken a couple of ribs before. Then there was the assassinations...assassinations? Her face had more concern become visible for only a moment before Rebecca recomposed herself to stay professional. In the little data pad she wrote a note that Nobu may need additional security given what was stated by the patient.

Her eyes turned back towards Nobu when the question about how strong the nukes were.

"From what I know, a Nova bomb was used and it was strong enough to completely crack the planet into dust. It even destroyed the surrounding moons. If they can endure that then I don't even know if we have anything stronger to defeat them."

Next came her question about if the UNSC had actually tried to evacuate everyone. It took Rebecca back a little bit. The UNSC had a very strained history with the middle and outer colonies to say the least. The war with the insurrection and the UNSC was still fresh in people's mind after the Human-Covenant war. There were little factions of Insurrectionist that would continue fighting.

She didn't know the full history about the UNSC's atrocities against the New Colonial Alliance but she did know of the biggest one being that after the insurrectionists had won control over a planet, the UNSC ended it with the destruction of that planet in nuclear fire. This was long before the Human-Covenant war but something that still shocks Rebecca.

"I believe that we tried to get everyone out before we pulled out. The Spartans were pulling out the last of who they could before pulling out of the planet entirely. We couldn't save everyone but we got a majority of people out." Rebecca said earnestly.

"I do want to circle back to what you said about assassination attempts. Do you believe that your life is currently at risk?"

[pieman1112]

Nobu had brought up some good points. Rebecca had always thought of her father as invincible but he would often point out that he wasn’t invincible more than any other human. There was no telling if he would even be able to arrive to her location and extract them without a real escape plan. Nobu’s next point resonated even more with Rebecca.

If anyone had died trying to save her, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. Especially if it was her father who gave his life trying to get her. It seemed that the path was clear that they had to continue to the extraction point and hope it was still operational.

“You’re right. Too many have already been lost and if anyone were to lose their life trying to get me then I couldn’t live with myself. As for the map I should be able to edit some information on it. I can add different markers and icons for us. If I can get it reconnected to the Battle net then we may be able to see if others are nearby or if they have made updates to it as well.”

When Nobu started to ask the question about the command seals, Rebecca paused for a moment. A lot of this was still a lot to take in especially these symbols that appeared on her left hand. At this point there wasn’t much that she could lose on finding out more about these command seals.

“There’s so much to take in and honestly I can’t tell if this is just a bad dream. The plasma burns feel real enough though. I’m willing to hear you out about these command seals.”

[flame-forged]

Putting her own life as having the same value as the others, huh? She liked that. Though Nobunaga would never say it aloud, at least, not now. Giving compliments had directly led to her death, and that emotional wound was far from healed.

So, instead, she gives a firm nod at Rebecca’s response. “As you wish”

She’d had been doing pretty well in putting on a brave face herself, really. The truth was, this situation was almost as far out of her control as it could be. Sure, she’d put on a hell of an entrance by blocking the plasma pistol when she first came here - but she was relatively weak against advanced technology like this. What most servants should have shrugged off was still burning her, even if it doesn’t show on her face. But this warrior deserved any opportunity she could create for her, now she’s more sure of that than ever.

She can’t help but laugh at what she interprets to be Rebecca’s apologetic tone. It’s not meant to be malicious, but rather a reflection of the absurdity of the situation.

“I don’t blame you-! Must feel like you’re going crazy, summoning something from another plane of existence, yeah? I bet you’ve never even heard of this whole master-servant business! Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t shoot me on sight! But just trust me, alright? I’m the best shot you’ve got - I’m on your side.”

The servant clasps a friendly hand of encouragement on her shoulder, hoping to raise her spirits.

“Let’s start with the simple stuff, then. You see those three marks on the back of your hand? Those are the symbol of our contract - I’m your servant, and you’re my master. Or your guardian angel, if you will! Those are you ‘command seals’ - each one of them holds a great amount of magical energy you can use to boost me up if we’re in trouble, or get me to do things I normally couldn’t!”

-or command her to do things she didn’t want to do - but she’s going to leave that part out

“In order to activate one, you start by saying 'by the order of my command seal’! ” she demonstrates this with some perhaps exaggerated and dramatic motions- none of which are necessary for this technique- by putting her right hand in front of her, palm facing towards the floor.

“You keeping up with me so far? ”

[pieman1112]

The pat to her shoulder was just what Rebecca needed to be reassured slightly that things might work out. She just needed to make it through and back to an evac point. With Nobu's help that might just be possible.

"Honestly, I was just glad to see another human in all of this chaos." she mused.

She listened intensely to the lesson of the command seals and their use. Many questions came to mind on what she meant by boosting her up or being able to do things that she couldn't normally do. If she commanded her to do something that broke the laws of physics would that actually come true? Could she command her to be able to heal wounds that would be fatal to most? Perhaps she was overthinking just what Nobu meant when she said that these seals could do things not normally done.

With her demonstration of activating one, Rebecca would mimic...somewhat poorly the exaggerated moves believing that this was the exact way it had to be done for the activation to work. She didn't say the starting phrase to not accidentally use one.

Looking to her left hand, she studied the intricate pattern of its design. She couldn't tell if the pattern had any significant indication of anything that Nobu was talking about or what it might mean.

"I...think so? I guess I'm a little confused on what you meant when you said that these seals could get you to do things that you normally couldn't. Like, if I ordered you to lift one of the warthog personal carriers you would be able to lift it? And more importantly, if I use these orders would it cause you any harm? I don't want to do anything that would hurt you given that you're helping me and saved my life."

[pieman1112]

Lucina kneels down on one leg, she takes her mother's hand and kisses it. "Milady, can I have this dance with you?"

It had been another boring afternoon in the castle. It was just meeting after meeting after meeting. Rebecca had done her best to just stay awake in the meeting. There were a few times she felt her eyes close but she did pay attention to the important parts. They had finally adjourned and Rebecca waited for everyone to leave before practically sprinting out of the room to enjoy the rest of her day.

As she walked down the hall, she noticed her daughter Lucina walking towards her. Stopping as she approached Rebecca watched as Lucina kneeled down and took her hand. It gained a laugh from her and she played along.

"But of course beloved daughter. It would be an honor to have a dance with you."

With her free hand she grabbed the edge of her dress to curtsy, playing along. When Lucina stood up, Rebecca would lead her in the dance of the old earth dance style of the waltz.

[pieman1112]

The scenes aboard the UNSCs carriers was just as frantic as the battlefield was below before the destruction of the planet. Many medevacs were called and the ships infirmaries were overloaded that they had to treat the injured outside of the infirmary and in the halls. A medical ship was coming to assist with the patient load but it may be a while before it arrived.

Rebecca was running back and forth between patients trying to figured out how they were injured and the treatments they would need. Blood transfusions and bio-gel was being given out like candy. Nobunaga was lucky to be given a bed in one of the rooms aboard the UNSC Witness.

Running to check on her newest patient brought in by the Spartans, Rebecca looked at the medical chart for Nobunaga. Like all the others it was injuries in combat. She could see that some bio-gel was given by the Spartans written on the chart. It would save some of they’re extensively exhausted supplies.

She could hear some movement coming from Nobunaga and looked away from the chart to confirm that she was, thankfully, still alive. Rebecca had moved closer to her bed incase she was going to fall if she was trying to get up. The name that Nobunaga called her must have been some one close to her.

“Don’t move around too much, you’re still pretty injured. My name is Rebecca, I’m going to be the one taking care of you for the time being.”

Hearing the question about finding her baby brother sent a sinking feeling through Rebecca. She had been asked similar questions like this over and over by concerned survivors or her patients and it never got easier to answer them with an I don’t know. Still, she had to be professional about this.

“I haven’t seen or heard about anyone by that name. I can ask around to see if anyone has heard or seen this person but with how chaotic everything is, I don’t know when or if you would get a response. Let’s focus on getting you better first.”

[pieman1112]

Rebecca quickly guided Nobu back down into the bed when she tried to sit up. She was just glad that she wouldn't have to fight Nobu to keep her in the bed for treatment like she had to with some of the survivors. The comment made about fighting the satellite gods got a confused look however. From what little she heard from the survivors bellow, they mentioned bug like creatures that weren't part of the covenant forces they fought so long ago. Possible head injury with the other injuries? Maybe. Something she would have to explore.

The comment about not the first time breaking a rib wasn't very reassuring to Rebecca but she wouldn't have to explain the healing process for said broken ribs. She tried to give an assured smile back when Nobu promised that she was good but with the state of everything that had happened, she couldn't leave Nobu without proper medical attention first.

"Well, lets hope that you haven't broken another rib again. I'm gonna order some scans to make sure that there isn't anything broken that needs to be treated."

She started to type orders into the data pad that had Nobu's medical records so that she could get the full body scan to examine any bone damage. The mention of information did grab Rebecca's attention. The UNSC was trying to get all the information that they could about this new threat and if there was any usable information, they were instructed to send them to an ONI agent to find out more. Perhaps this woman would be of use to them. She looked up from the datapad when the question came about if any of the creatures were left.

"Hopefully not. High Command has taken the nuclear option and the planet is unfortunately no more. If they can survived dozens of nukes then we really are in trouble."

[pieman1112]

"Father, can you stay another week at least? We're going to visit the Hot-Spring realm with the children. They've been planning all sorts of activities for you to join them. Of course, if you can that is ..."

A lot of Hunter's time had been at the whim of the UNSC high command. As with most militaries, soldiers were given leave time depending on if they were in a peaceful time or if a situation has arisen that they would need all hands on deck. Hunter was fortunate that he was given leave this time as the galaxy seemed to be at peace for the time being but he also had to plan and get approval for the leave time.

He looked over to Chrom after the question was raised about him staying for another week to join the family vacation. Hunter knew that it would be unlikely that he would be able to extend his leave time as it was a small challenge to even get this week off. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. He always felt guilty every time he had to tell his grandchildren that he wouldn't be able to visit them or go on adventures with them like he use to before the UNSC found him and Rebecca. They understood why he wasn't always able to visit but it still wasn't a good feeling to see them disappointed.

"I would have to get clearance from High Command in order to stay another week. Getting this week of leave was already a sizable task but I may be able to negotiate with them on extending my leave time. I wouldn't tell the children just yet if I'm able to join or not but I can give it a try."

[pieman1112]

Waking up, the first thing he saw was his wife sleeping soundly between his arms. Fingers gently run through her golden hair, a smile drawn on his face. "I hope this moment lasts forever ..." Chrom leans to press a kiss on her forehead.

The night prior had been a nightmare for Rebecca. She had been in meetings that had run on for longer than scheduled and that in turn delayed the other meetings which had also gone late. Then there was the bickering in said meetings that just seemed to go on and on. All she could really do was grin and try to play peacemaker.

When the meetings were finally over, she had to try and get the kids to go to sleep and that too was a struggle as they were adamite about being able to stay up later that night. Rebecca had resorted to negotiating with the children on just getting into to their beds and finally after a while longer, they finally went to sleep.

Rebecca made her way back to her shared bedroom with Chrom and found that he was already in bed. She had changed into her night gown and flopped into the bed, too exhausted to moved under the covers and had just passed out on the bed.

At some point she had migrated under the covers and cuddled up next to Chrom. Placing her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat had brought her right back to sleep. She had slept through the rest of the night and even some of the morning when Chrom had woken up. The kiss on her forehead had stirred her awake and she slowly looked up to Chrom with a very sleepy smile on her lips.

"Mhmm... good morning baby~"

Her hand moved to hold his arm to share in the sentiment of the moment lasting forever.

[pieman1112]

Watching as the guns vanished into thin air, Rebecca couldn’t help but wonder where those weapons may have disappeared to. Were they just stored in this separate plane or could Nobunaga just materialize them from the elements around them? She wasn’t sure which one sounded more plausible and would accept either one at this point.

The two options that Nobunaga proposed seemed to be the only two options they really had. If they stayed to wait for her father to respond to the emergency beacon, they could be there for a unknown amount of time ranging from minutes to possible hours to a possibility where he doesn’t arrive. Rebecca knew that her father wouldn’t abandon her at least willingly but it was a possibility. There was also the point of having to hold out if another Banished squadron arrived to fight. With just her and Nobunaga they may survive a bit but they would be heavily outnumbered.

The other option was to continue to the extraction point where she was already heading. It may be their only guaranteed way to get off the planet but with the radios being jammed and broken chatter coming through the comms for other areas, that extraction point may have been overrun and abandoned. If that was the case then they would just be running into the Banished with open arms. Being captured by the Banished wasn’t an option either. She had heard from some survivors on what happens. The torture, being harvested for food by the Brutes, even being used for target practice. She shuttered just thinking about it.

“It seems we are in a conundrum. If we stay then we may have to hold out for an unknown amount of time. If we try to go to the extraction point, I don’t know if it’s even still there. We could be walking into a trap.”

Nobunaga seemed sure of something when asking about a map.

“I should have one around here somewhere.”

Rebecca began to dig through her pack again before pulling out a puck like device. She clicked a button on the side and a holographic projection of the town they were stranded in appeared. It had the layout of a standard city. The area they were in was a residential area with the house being the standout surrounded by tall apartment buildings. There were shops and office buildings nearby that made a concrete jungle of twists and turns. Finding cover wouldn’t be hard. The main problem would be if the Banished had forces nearby, they may not find them until they ran into them. Some of the buildings on the map were already rubble as well making the map somewhat inaccurate.

“This is where we are now.” She pointed to the house on the holographic map. “The buildings near by can be used for cover if we decide to move but some are unstable from the damage from what I could see. I don’t know which ones are which as I haven’t been on this planet prior to deployment.”

[pieman1112]

Nobu had brought up some good points. Rebecca had always thought of her father as invincible but he would often point out that he wasn't invincible more than any other human. There was no telling if he would even be able to arrive to her location and extract them without a real escape plan. Nobu's next point resonated even more with Rebecca.

If anyone had died trying to save her, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. Especially if it was her father who gave his life trying to get her. It seemed that the path was clear that they had to continue to the extraction point and hope it was still operational.

"You're right. Too many have already been lost and if anyone were to lose their life trying to get me then I couldn't live with myself. As for the map I should be able to edit some information on it. I can add different markers and icons for us. If I can get it reconnected to the Battle net then we may be able to see if others are nearby or if they have made updates to it as well."

When Nobu started to ask the question about the command seals, Rebecca paused for a moment. A lot of this was still a lot to take in especially these symbols that appeared on her left hand. At this point there wasn't much that she could lose on finding out more about these command seals.

"There's so much to take in and honestly I can't tell if this is just a bad dream. The plasma burns feel real enough though. I'm willing to hear you out about these command seals."

[pieman1112]

Rebecca was lifting up another clone and carrying him to lay him to rest next to his other brothers. This was the eighth trooper she had grabbed from the wreckage. Everything just felt so numb. She moved more like a mindless husk. Shuffling to get another trooper out of the wreckage.

In her tunnel vision, she never even noticed that Rex had found Jessie in the wreck. If she did notice, she couldn't even imagine what he would be going through by finding him and having to bury him. There wouldn't be much she could do to relieve the pain that Rex was feeling as much as she would want to. Rebecca just continued to move on her task. If she stopped, she might collapse and just not get up.

She was slow to turn when Ahsoka placed a hand on her shoulder asking if she was alright.

"I...I don't know. I just feel numb. I can't feel anything. If I stop, ...I don't know if I'll be able to get back up."

[loyaltyandchaos]

Ahsoka could understand Rebecca's feelings. She felt bad too. But there was a suffocating sense of guilt that was added to her condition. She couldn't save any of them. She couldn't save Anakin and the other Jedi. One by one, Ahsoka felt them go. Feeling her connection to Master Plo break, Ahsoka covered her mouth with her hands to hold back a sob. She couldn't break. Rebecca was right. If they stopped, they wouldn't be able to move on.

"Let me help you. Together, we can do more."

Rex couldn't pay attention to anything but his brothers. If only he had done something sooner. If only he had managed to convince Skywalker to continue investigating… Why did it have to end like this? Exhausted, he sat down on the ground and covered his face with his hands, unable to hold back the tears.

[pieman1112]

Rebecca gave a slow nod and started to move more of the bodies with Ahsoka. The entire task felt like an eternity. Body after body after body. Rebecca's hands blistered under her combat gloves just from the amount of graves they had dug. By the time they had finished everything, Rebecca just collapsed to her knees. Legs giving out after all of the adrenaline had been used up from focusing on the task.

It felt like the world's gravity had just increased by 10 times. She couldn't get up even if she wanted to. She felt just numb. Absent of any feeling. She would just stare at the graves with a thousand yard stare. She couldn't cry anymore as there was no tears left.

[pieman1112]

The Naboo pie had caught Rebecca's interest as Rex order it along with their coffees. She was unfamiliar with any fruit that was native to Naboo. Then came Rex's question about what dishes that she had. There were a few that came to mind but seemed pretty basic to what the Naboo pie could be.

"There's a couple I could think of. If we are talking about deserts then I would say that the closets pies we have would be like an apple pie. It's made with one of the fruits native to Earth. The UEG grows them on more of the Agri-worlds in the systems closest to the Sol system. One of my personal favorites is called Gelato. It's a frozen cream that can be enhanced with many different flavors. It's rich and airy, and very cooling on hot summer days."

[loyaltyandchaos]

Rex listened with interest to the products of Earth. He was always curious about new tastes, new places and other planets. What Rebecca was talking about he really wanted to try. Maybe one day he would be able to do it. He frowned slightly when she told him about Gilato.

"By Gelato, you mean ice cream? We have the same in different flavors, but it is made from milk. Well, considering how many different milks there are in the galaxy, the ice cream comes out different."

[pieman1112]

"It's similar to ice cream. It's a little bit denser than ice cream. I am a little more curious about these different types of milk that's used to make the ice cream. Perhaps we should try them on our next date."

Rebecca looked up to see the waiter bringing them the coffee and the naboo pie. She took a little creamer and sugar then mixed it into the coffee and took a sip. An enthusiastic sigh came out of her lips after tasting the coffee. Finally, something better than the freeze dried stuff they had in the mess hall.

Putting down her cup, she soon grabbed the little desert fork and tried some of the naboo pie. A small bite and she was already in bliss. She put a hand to her cheek and had a slight wiggle of contentment.

"This pie is really divine!"

[pieman1112]

Lucina and her siblings hired themselves as beauty salon workers to get her ready for her date with their father.

Rebecca was getting ready for a date night with Chrom when she heard a knock at her door. She got up and open the door to see her children assembled around her door with Lucina proclaiming that they were going to help their mom get ready for a date with Chrom. She allowed them to walk in and get everything set up.

Lucina had Rebecca lay back in the chair while she and Maria worked on her makeup. Chloe worked on picking out what outfit Rebecca would wear and Sawsan worked on Rebecca's hair. Rebecca was relaxed and allowed the children to work on what they wanted. Their styles differed from each other and it was evident in their work. Lucina chose more shades and colors that didn't quite match each other, Maria chose more of shades based on flowers, Chloe was choosing elegent dresses, and Sawsan chose to style Rebecca's hair with a more formal style in mind.

When they finished, Rebecca sat up, got changed into the dress chosen and then looked into the mirror. She could see the different styles that her daughters chose but even with the differences, it still complimented each other.

"Awww I love it. I know your father will love it too."

[pieman1112]

Hunter look out! The children are running to tackle you!

Now, normally, when Hunter was running towards or from something, that was a signal for others to run away too. This time however there wasn't a reason for panic. Following quickly behind him was Lucina and her siblings trying to play a game of tag with their grandfather. He kept a brisk pace allowing the children to keep up with the super soldier. Their giggling filled the halls as they ran after their grandfather.

At one point, Hunter would 'trip' and fall onto the stone floor of the castle and that's when Thomas took the chance and was the first to tackle Hunter. Next was Lucina, then Maria, Sawsan and finally Chloe. He couldn't help but look at them with a smile.

"Ok, Ok, You guys got me." Hunter said trying to act like he was out of breath. "I just couldn't out run you guys."

He soon pulled them all into a big hug before letting them go.

"Run along now, I'm sure your mother is looking for you."

[convxction]

@pieman1112 it's them.

[pieman1112]

Here's something I've been mulling over. What does Hunter think about the chances that he'll see peace in his lifetime? What does he think of the idea of a universe where he did not have to fight anymore? Does he think it has no place for someone like him, or does he intend to forge himself a new path? Or does he never think about that at all? How about Rebecca?

On the idea of peace being achieved in his lifetime, Hunter would know that it wouldn't last. The war that created him had left tensions between the insurrectionists and the UNSC when the Covenant attacked Harvest. They had put aside their differences with the human race under threat of extinction but after the war, those tensions started to flare up in little skirmishes. Even remnants of the Covenant were popping up and attacking UNSC worlds and cargo ships. On the idea of a universe where he would not have to fight anymore, it would be a welcomed idea. The amount of lives he had seen lost during the Human-Covenant war is a staggering amount.

He remembers each name of the soldiers that were lost under his command and he blames himself for each loss even if it was something he couldn't have seen coming. If he were to ever find this universe he would feel very out of place for one main reason. The main reason is that fighting is all he knows; he was chosen for it, trained for it and essentially molded by it. He sees it as his duty to fight for the UNSC and the UEG.

Rebecca on the other hand is the opposite of her father. She believes that peace can come from understanding everyone. She had grown up in the horrors of war, wondering everyday if she would see her father again or if she would see some of the families she stayed with while Hunter was out in combat. When the Covenant came to Earth she through it was the end of everything. After the war, the different factions of the Covenant integrated into the UEG and she learned so much about each of the different species and why they had originally joined the Covenant.

If she could be in a universe that she wouldn't have to fight anymore she would open her arms and gladly join. Her medical skills would allow her to be of help to anyone who might need it and there would be no worry about if there was going to be another conflict that would drag her, her friends, or even her father into it.