Hunter’s back stiffened, as he read over the files before him. His knees felt weak, and yet his feet felt rooted to the spot. He wanted to sink to the nanolaminate flooring, and yet he wasn’t able to bring himself to move. This wasn’t real, was it? Surely he was only dreaming.
But no, the text in front of his eyes said otherwise.
Jeanette, sitting in her shipmistress’ chair and watching him, noticed the change in his posture immediately. “Is something wrong, ma chérie?”
“Take a look at this.” Hunter’s mouth went dry, and his words failed him moments after. He gestured to the screen, and stepped aside as Jeannie approached the pedestal, a frown furrowing her eyebrows. Part of him felt sick, and so he closed his eyes, breathing heavily through his nose. It was the easiest way he knew how to calm himself down.
Silence filled the room, aside from the constant hum of the corvette’s engines. The bridge was empty, save for the two of them, since the ship hung in geosync orbit, and Hunter had ordered his crew to get some rest. And that was fine by Jeanette; she’d ordered her own warriors to stand down and get some shut eye. Made for an opportunity to spend time alone with her lover.
Unfortunately, that peace had been shattered, the moment the Spartan had read the files sent to him from an anonymous source. His world had been tipped upside down, and now he could no longer even think straight.
“Hunter, I am so sorry.”
He turned to face her at those soft words, and felt something harsh and bitter and full of grief lodge itself in his chest. It made it hard for him to breathe, and he didn’t know if he wanted to cry, or to hit something.
Jeannie’s expression was gentle, and full of understanding, and she wrapped her arms around his biceps, pulling him close against her. One hand carded through his golden blond locks, and he sighed, letting his weight sink into her form.
“I just don’t get why my parents never told me I had.... siblings.” His voice, trembling, choked on the words. “And that all of them perished during the Covenant’s attack on their homeworld. I was born a year after it happened, and I grew up believing I was an only child. And yet I had three siblings; one of whom was murdered by those damned aliens, no name mentioned, the second cropped up as a Spartan-III years later, Ares, and the third wasn’t even born, a little girl who had yet to be named.”
It hurt, to know that his parents had kept that from him. It hurt to know that he’d had more family than he’d ever realized, and that two of them had perished before he had ever existed.
“What can I do to help ease your pain?” his lover questioned, her voice not even a whisper in his ear.
“Just... hold me. Please.” Hunter shut his eyes more tightly, stemming the flow of tears that now threatened to fall. “Don’t let go.”
“Jamais. Je promets.”