Halo: Indelible Past/Chapter Thirty-Seven

Zoey had been called away. Felix wanted to make arrangements to take her to Earth or something, so Jake had escorted her back to the conference room. At least someone's getting what they wanted out of this, Simon thought bitterly.

Cassandra too, come to think of it. For all her talk of helping people outside the UNSC's system, she had always been convinced that she could do the most good back with the other Spartans. ''Well, she'll get a warm welcome back into Jian. The other Gamma assholes will be good to her, they always liked her.''

He sat cross legged on the cot in his room, arms folded, and stared at the wall. His remaining eye was starting to get sore, but he didn't feel like moving. The alternative was to start thinking about what he'd just agreed to that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"So, got any plans?" Diana asked. He'd installed her chip in his arm an hour ago, and she'd been pestering him for details about everything that had happened ever since.

"Why bother?" he said coldly. "The UNSC's going to be making all the plans from now on. There's no point in wasting my energy on them anymore."

"Well, let's be honest, you're plans lately have really sucked," she teased. "Maybe it'll be good to have some professionals doing it for a change."

"You know better than that. Felix talked big back there, but at the end of the day as long as the UNSC gets what it wants they couldn't care less what happens to people like us."

"I have to admit I'm a little surprised that you're accepting all this so easily. Usually you're a lot more stubborn than this."

Simon gritted his teeth. "What choice do I have? It's either take this offer or go back out there and see if the Path Walkers or ONI gets me first."

"And Doc? You're just going to let her walk away with them?"

"She never owed me any obligation. If this is what she wants, I won't get in the way. Now shut up and give me some peace for a change."