Duties and Desires: Part 2

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=Story=

Chapter 1: Thornhill
I'm nervous.

Should I be nervous?

No. They just want to talk to us, that's all.

''Still. ONI has a way of getting to you. Lets your imagination run away with you.''

''Unless...they couldn't have found out, could they? What I've been doing for the past three years?''

''That's it, isn't it? Anton always told me to be careful. I wasn't careful enough, and now they know everything.''

''But I did it for a good reason. I didn't want to do it. But I didn't have a choice. They'll understand...won't they?''

''Still, I'd have a lot of explaining to do. And what are they going to do with me, then? And Anton? And...Felix?''

"Morley, are you alright?"

Jess gave a start. Her superior officer, Staff Sergeant Lester Morales, was staring at her in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." she mumbled.

"I know what you're thinking," Morales said. "ONI always gets me nervous too. But don't worry about it. They just put it on for show."

"Any idea what they want from us, Sarge?" she asked, feeling a little better.

"I don't have the slightest clue."

They walked down the hall in silence for a few moments. Then Jess remembered something. "Sarge, didn't ONI pull Cortez out earlier today? Maybe it's something to do with him."

"Perhaps. It would make sense, seeing as...well..." the Sergeant's eyes darkened.

Jess knew why. Three years ago, Morales had taken his team to Tribute to find a URF information dealer, David Kahn. The Marines had been ambushed and outmanoeuvred not once, but three times during the operation. Not only did Kahn get away stock-free, but the only survivors of the team were Morales, Cortez, and Jess herself.

She still remembered that day. Not just because of the major losses the squad had suffered, but because of the things she had done in secrecy. She had smuggled one of Kahn's storage units containing several important documents, and destroyed the message he had left for his UNSC contact, Colonel Robert Watts. She had done it because she and her brother Anton were two of the only people that knew who Watts really was.

After setting up the flare on the rooftop, a Pelican had come in to pick up Morales' squad and the backup teams. But it appeared that Kahn had one more surprise; a set of hidden explosives lining the area around the apartment. When they had detonated, Jess had been lucky it didn't collapse. But the sight of the Pelican and the Marines gathered around it disappearing in a fiery ring was no less horrifying. It had taken the lives of several members of the backup team, along with most of the remaining survivors from Morales' squad.

The Sergeant had been moderately injured, but the explosion had put Cortez into critical condition; the Corporal had spent two months recovering at a hospital. When both of them got back on their feet, Morales was given nine replacement soldiers, a constant reminder of what had been lost and never repaid. Jess had been disheartened to lie to her superior officer and tell him that nothing of importance at Kahn's apartment, something the following investigation teams had agreed on.

I'll make it right, she had thought after bringing the storage unit to Anton. ''Once we corner Watts and make him answer for all of this. And we'll start by finding David Kahn.''

They reached the entrance doors to the debriefing chamber. The two guards standing on either side didn't even move as Jess entered with Morales.

The room was dark. Unnecessarily dark, Jess thought. ONI really likes to be dramatic. But the light from the hallway cast a shadow across two people standing inside. One of them was Cortez, but the second person looked unfamiliar. From what she could make out of him, he was a tall male with dark hair who stood straight-backed next to the Marine. He seemed to be completely calm and composed.

One of the ONI officers shifted within the shadows, speaking from behind the wide desk that spanned the room. "Thank you for joining us, Marines."

"These are your squadmates, I presume?" a second officer asked.

"Yes," said Cortez, glancing at them a little nervously.

"Good. Then we're almost done here. Staff Sergeant Lester Morales, I believe these two Marines were part of your original squad during your mission on Tribute in 2487?"

The Sergeant's lips tightened slightly. "Yes, sir."

"I believe they remember the objective of the mission?"

"Of course, sir," Morales said, with a hint of resentment.

"Then listen carefully, Staff Sergeant. This order comes from Section One itself. You, along with Cortez and Morley, have been detached from your current squadron as of today, and will be operating with the Naval Special Warfare Command on a long-term assignment until further notice."

Morales couldn't have looked more surprised. "Sir?"

"Your assignment will be to locate the rebel David Kahn, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. You will tell no one outside your assigned team of what you are doing. It is imperative that you complete this assignment so that we can initiate an operation that will deal with Kahn as soon as possible. Understood?"

"I...Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, this is one member of the team you will be working with. Lieutenant Hector Thornhill, UNSC Special Forces. You are to begin your assignment immediately."

"Sir, my squad..." Morales began.

"Will be reassigned to separate superior officers for the time being. We will inform you if there are additional changes to be made. Dismissed."

The Sergeant looked like he wanted to say more, but decided against it. As Thornhill silently walked out of the debriefing room, Morales gave Jess and Cortez a slight jerk of the head, and they followed.

As they walked back down the hallway, she took a closer look at Thornhill. He had dark brown hair that was cropped short, and blue eyes that held what looked like an expression of indifference. Yet there seemed to be something in that look that wasn't quite distinguishable. One thing that she hadn't noticed in the dark of the debriefing chamber was how young he was. He looked like he was somewhere in his early twenties, somewhere around her age. Yet he looked so reserved for someone of his youth.

Then again, I've never worked with Special Forces before.

As soon as they were out of the hallway, Cortez gave a long exhale. "ONI's had me in there all afternoon. Asking me everything on what I remembered from our mission on Tribute. As if I can remember, I was passed out for three weeks afterward...and it's not as if I hadn't already made a full-length report after my recovery..."

"Lieutenant, where are we going?" Morales asked, cutting the Corporal short. Thornhill turned his head slightly and spoke for the first time.

"To our ship. We've already got some leads on where David Kahn might be. My partner is on board, making preparations to leave."

He took the Marines to the hangar, where there was an SKTSC-25 shuttle docked next to one of the main exits in the ceiling. Thornhill tapped his COM. "Skyfurrow, this is Thornhill. The Marine team is with me. Extend the side ramp so we can enter."

"Affirmative. Extending ramp."

They climbed on board the vessel, and Jess looked around in amazement. "This place looks pretty comfortable."

Thornhill gave a hint of a smile. "Never been on board an SKTSC-25 before?"

"No," she said. "I didn't know the UNSC made shuttles this big..."

"It's an expansion on the SKT-13. But those are just expanded counterparts to Bumblebee escape pods. The SKTSC-25 is used exclusively by the Naval Special Warfare Command, and only a handful of them have been deployed."

"I've been on board one of these," Morales said. "Only once though. Two levels, and Slipspace-capable, right?"

Thornhill nodded.

"This tiny thing is Slipspace-capable?" Cortez asked, sounding impressed.

"There have been smaller vessels with Slipspace drives," the Lieutenant said as he led them to the bridge. "The new Chiroptera-class stealth ships, for example."

"Aren't they still testing those?" Morales asked. "I thought they were classified as unstable."

Thornhill made no reply to this, because they arrived at the bridge. The doors slid open, and Jess' attention was immediately drawn to the individual in the Navy uniform who was standing behind the viewport, making adjustments on a small holographic screen. Hearing them enter, the officer looked up and broke into a smile.

It is him! She smiled back, suddenly wishing that they were alone so that she could talk to him, one on one. ''There's so much to catch up on. He looks so different now...and he's gotten tall too...''

Jess realized that she was staring, so she cleared her throat, and stepped forward, one hand extended. He took it.

"It's, err...good to see you again," she said, suddenly feeling a tad bit awkward.

"How have you been, Jess?" he asked. He sounds different too, she thought. Older, or something...

Jess tried to think of something to say. "Err...well, it's actually Lance Corporal Morley now."

Felix gave a short laugh. "Lance Corporal, huh? Well, if we're going to be formal, then I guess I'm Lieutenant Martel to you."

She gave a start. She hadn't noticed the silver bar insignia on each of his shoulders. That's right, he's an officer now.

Thornhill walked over to the captain's chair and adjusted the screens to fit around him. "I'll be taking us off-planet now. Lieutenant Martel, if you would take the Marines to their quarters."

Felix nodded. "Yes, sir."

Once again, Jess was surprised by how much he had changed. She wasn't accustomed to the discipline in his voice. Or his voice itself, which sounded much more mature. I guess I should have expected this...

Without another word, he led the Marines off the bridge.
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Chapter 2: Taradia
Felix could tell that Jess was excited to see him again. He too was happy to have the chance to be working with her, but he couldn't show it openly. Not while the others were around.

I hope I don't come off as indifferent, he thought. I've really missed her these three years.

He guided the Marines down to the centre of level A, where the bridge crew bunked.

"Our quarters are a bit small," he said apologetically. "But Thornhill wanted you guys with us. It's one bunk per room, and we have one free room. I currently have a room to myself, so—"

Cortez opened his mouth to say something, but Morales elbowed him in the ribs, and said, "I'll take the extra room with Cortez. Morley can bunk with you, if you don't mind, Lieutenant." The Sergeant gave his subordinate a meaningful glare.

"No, of course not, Staff Sergeant," Felix said, trying not to laugh.

Jess was excited to see Felix again. She hoped that he was looking forward to working with her, because she really was.

I hope I don't come off as high-strung, she thought. ''Look at him, all professional and everything. What if the others catch on that I—''

''Wait, what? Did I just think that? No, I'm just glad to see him again. That's all. Nothing more. Yeah.''

Felix was saying something about the bunks, and Jess noticed that Cortez was about to say something, but Morales cut him short by elbowing him in the ribs. "I'll take the extra room with Cortez. Morley can bunk with you, if you don't mind, Lieutenant."

When did we all agree on that? Jess gave a half-grimace. ''Looks like I was too obvious. Morales already noticed how I act when I'm around—''

What is wrong with me? She shook her head. ''I need to get some sleep...ONI woke me up at four in the morning. I was half asleep when I was filling out those papers...and they kept me waiting all day before bringing me to Morales. Thank God this mission gives me some time alone, and now that I'm with—''

''Okay, never mind. This is going to drive me crazy.''

Felix held open the door for Jess as Morales and Cortez walked into their sleeping quarters. She seemed to be thinking about something, and was standing blankly in the hallway. After thirty seconds of this, he nudged her. "Hey, you alright?"

She jumped, looking as if she was surprised he was there. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"I can see that." He examined her more closely. "You look tired, Jess."

"Yeah, it's...been a long day."

"Well, why don't you get some rest? I'll be back in a bit, I have some things to finish on the bridge."

Jess practically collapsed on the bottom bunk, and exhaled. "Finally," she said. "Thanks, Felix. You have no idea what a nightmare today was. I guess I never got used to sleep deprivation, even during training..." she trailed off into relaxed breathing, and her eyes closed.

Felix just stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her contentedly. Then he realized that he was dawdling and hurried strode off to the bridge. We have a lot of catching up to do, he thought.

When Felix arrived on the bridge, he saw that it was completely empty save Thornhill, who was in the captain's chair.

"The Marines are settled, Hector," Felix said as he approached him. Thornhill didn't even turn his head, which would have been strange as there seemed to be little activity on the bridge. But he had long gotten used to the Lieutenant's taciturn manner by now.

"We're in Slipspace now," was Thornhill's only reply. "We'll reach Taradia in eleven days."

It was quite a period of time, considering that Taradia wasn't actually very far from Reach. But SKTSC-25s were hardly designed with the most capable of Shaw-Fujikawa drives. The small vessel could only handle so much of the drive's capacity without exceeding the safety limit. Still, the Skyfurrow was a steady craft. "Taradia," Felix said thoughtfully. "I have a brother who's studying there."

Again, Thornhill didn't answer, so he continued, "It doesn't sound like a place where someone like David Kahn would hide."

"You never know," Thornhill said darkly. "One's enemies could be lurking anywhere. Like that Watts you told me about."

Felix nodded. He hadn't thought about Watts for a while. When he first left Reach, he had spent a lot of time worrying about Jess, and if Watts would try anything that would put her in danger. When he heard that she would be one of the three Marines assigned with them to find Kahn, he had initially been excited about it. But eventually, he grew to wonder why they were being put on the same mission as three members of the UNSC Marine Corps. ''Did they have something to do with Kahn? Of course, ONI hasn't told us anything.''

"And speaking of Watts," Thornhill added, turning to look at him for the first time. "Do the Marines know about his involvement?"

Felix hesitated. "No...I don't think so."

"What about that Lance Corporal, Jess Morley?"

He felt surprised at the question. ''Trust Hector Thornhill to be the silent observer. I guess I should hardly be surprised.'' "Yes," he replied finally. "In fact, she was the one with me when we were escaping from Watts."

Thornhill turned back to his console. "Figures," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I was wondering how you got to such friendly terms with a classy Marine like her."

Felix laughed. Ever since he had met the older officer, he had always and unconsciously thought of him as someone who wasn't quite...human. So on the rare occasions when he decided to display some sort of emotion, it always caught him by surprise. Yet it was still enjoyable to be teased by Thornhill. He's a nice person, Felix thought, sitting down at the ship operations console and turning on the standby screens. He just needs to come out of his shell more.


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