Chapter (30) Calm Before the Storm

[OK I AM SORRY we will have the same length author notes at the bottom people got pissed. Also I will be changing covers again. Why? Because I can and because I have saved way to much fan art not to use it]

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(Mc Pov)

Walking into the cafeteria I am greeted with the same colors as before with steel gray metallic grates on the ceiling. The floor is some type of tile in a whitish grey contrasting with the ceiling. There were some different colors such as red and yellow with other colors rarely appearing, but for the most part, it was still the same dull and somewhat dreary look of the inside of a warship.

The cafeteria's layout was simple enough. There was a buffet-style bar where the Navy chefs would stand behind handing out plates and bowls of food while in some parts of the bar, the person could self-serve. On one end of each bar, there was a place for a plate as well as trays and bowls. At the other end, there were cups and a drink dispenser with silverware being found sporadically around the bar.

The rest of the room looked like the usual mess hall you would find on any military installation. There were long tables with about 8 chairs going down each side with no chairs on the side, each chair was evenly spaced and was tangent from the chair facing it on the opposite side of the table. However, there were booths that held 8 people 4 on each side of the table that sat beside the far wall. Though the far wall was a window these booths were mostly reserved for Officers as well as Special forces.

Right now the cafeteria is extremely busy. The loud chatter of men and women enjoying their meals while conversing was able to drown out most noise except the words of someone if they were standing next to me. However, I could practically pick out any voice I wanted to due to the augmentations given to me. The tables for the most part were almost all filled to capacity and even most of the booths were filled with the 41st Shock Trooper Division known as the "Honey Badgers".

"Come on Sarge if you just apologize to everyone I am sure they would forgive you! They just need you to show a little bit of heart, and for them to be reassured that you are going to do your best to keep them safe," said a young female voice coming from my right.

Looking at the source I identify a young female Marine with red hair and Green eyes around the age of twenty or twenty-one. Opposite her was a man seated eating silently with a cold gaze. He had black hair and brown eyes looking to be about twenty-four or twenty-five. Notably, both of the Marines were sitting at a table alone and it seemed as if all other Marines were making sure to stay away.

"They are soldiers. They need to grow up and understand that the mission comes first. I won't be apologizing to them because they are unable to see the greater picture," said the male Marine. Though something about his demeanor showed that he wasn't entirely sure of himself when he spoke.

"Ugh! Why can't you just act like a human for once! Or do you simply not understand what that is, either way, your indifference is going to get us killed," After confronting the male marine the female marine stormed off obviously pissed with how her leader acted.

The male marine watched her leave with a hint of regret in his eyes and sighed, "Good soldiers follow orders Sherry that's what I was always taught," he whispered to himself looking down in contemplation.

'Those two seem familiar…Where have I seen a redhead and a black-haired Sergeant before?' I contemplated with my hand raised to my chin, '...Who knows I can't remember now, but I am sure that I will figure it out later,'

"Hey are we just going to stand around, or are we going to eat?" Miranda teased. I said I was sorry and was thinking about something. Afterward, we made our way to the meal line and grabbed our dinner. I decided on the greatest meal EVER discovered by mankind. Fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a large glass of water…wait a minute…fuck I really am a Southerner huh?

"So where do we sit?" I asked, tilting my head toward Miranda. To which she replied with a hum while looking around for a worthwhile seat. I did the same but was pleasantly surprised to spot a friendly face. I told Miranda to follow me and made my way to 2 tall women eating alone in a booth by the window looking out into space.

Making my way to their table they both immediately noticed me and Miranda and looked at me questioningly after seeing my pilot get up and not recognizing either of us. I then sat my tray down on the table and pulled out my dog tags showing a portion of the metal displaying [A-312], "Mind if we sit here?" I asked, holding my identification as a Spartan shown on my dog tags with my left hand.

My dog tags read A-312 as part of ONI's cover-up for my in-the-field work on other teams. I kept the same number as I was in Beta Company and for now, will be passed off as an Alpha Company Spartan. Luckily the original A-312 was dropped from the program fairly early on, so nobody knew the original very well.

Miranda and I sat down and I reached out my hand to the white-haired woman across the table. She was taller than me by a couple of inches coming in at around 7 feet flat if I had to guess and had pale yellow eyes. Her hair was long but was pulled up into a ponytail presumably by a hair clip. By most standards, I will admit she was quite pretty.

"Nice to meet you. You can call me Ace," I shook her hand with my right hand. She nodded at my greeting and simply spoke her name, "Cal"

(Cal S-141)

Hearing her name made me pause while shaking her hand, 'Another dead woman walking huh?'. I remembered that Cal was killed during Operation Grey Veil by a Brute Chieftain and knew that unless something happened she would suffer the same fate. Though I couldn't help myself from slipping into deeper thoughts after coming to the realization.

'Will they all die the same as in the original universe?' I said moving my eyes toward Miranda, 'I keep running across these people who I already know how their story plays out and I know it doesn't end well. I may have changed some minor details due to my existence but nothing major has happened from my actions. As I see it everything is moving along and it seems history will repeat itself…Will Miranda be killed by Truth? Will Jacob Keyes be assimilated into the flood? Will I and the rest of Noble team be picked off one by one?'

Suddenly the woman beside me cleared her throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. I then realized I was still holding Cal's hand which I pulled back quickly. I smiled embarrassed and rubbed the back of my helmeted head, "Ah Sorry I kinda got lost in thought,".

The woman looked at Miranda, "Does he do this often?" she held a questioning gaze.

Miranda responded with a wry smile, "Less than you think, more than he should,"

"Well don't go getting lost in thought again," she said shaking my hand with a smile, "You can call me Anna,"

I will admit it brought relief seeing the black-haired and blue-eyed Spartan-III again. It made me think that maybe my actions did change something, but I can't be certain therefore I will just count this as an outlier.

We began eating after Miranda and I both introduced ourselves to the two. After a couple of minutes of no one saying anything I decided to break the ice, "So how's it been going for you guys?"

"I was evacuating civies at a population center that the Covenant sent a few hundred grunts at," She said reminiscing with a hand holding her chin, "The marines and I were able to take out most of them with munitions from the station's armory, and we got out with little casualties. Not too bad if I do say so myself. What about you?"

"I just got back from taking out a fuel refinery with my partner," I lied, "He didn't make it because we were ambushed by a bunch of Elite Ultras plus a mix of Jackals and Grunts. We ended up killing them all, but he ended up succumbing to his wounds,"

I then raised up my own pilot uniform and gear showing a fresh scar on the left of my abdomen, "I even took a plasma bolt from a beam rifle. That was a nasty wound,"

Miranda just said that she was the handler of both me and my partner before his untimely death supporting the foundation of the lie I had made. After she was done with her made-up story all 3 of us turned to Cal who had been silent the entire time. She noticed our stares and narrowed her eyes. I suspect pondering her status in missions recently. A moment or two passed and eventually she looked up and made a gesture with her hand stating 'so-so'. Then she regained the same blank stare that she held while listening to our conversation.

I won't lie and say that I expected her to be quiet. I was confused wondering if this was how she acted all the time. I leaned over and whispered to Anna, putting my hand up to contain the sound, "Is she like this all the time?"

She sighed with a twitching eye and a wry smile, "You have no idea. We have been stuck on this ship for 2 weeks and I think she has said maybe 15 words. That look on her face rarely changes too no matter what I do or say,"

I nodded and placed my hand on the side of my head thinking before an idea came to mind, "..Alright let me try," I smiled.

"Please be my guest but she is a tough nut to crack," Anna gestured for me to take the floor. The entire time we whispered to each other Cal was tilting her head to the side still wearing the same blank expression. Meanwhile, Miranda just raised an eyebrow used to my shenanigans.

"Hey Cal, have you ever watched Baseball?" I asked. Cal responded by simply shaking her head and trying to understand my question.

"Really!? Well let me tell you about this team called the Reach Riots. They are supposedly the best team in the league and scored the most runs throughout the entire last season," Cal nodded following along, "But what they are the best at is with their players in the fielding team do you know any of them?"

At this point, both Miranda and Anna were confused staring at me strangely wondering where I was going with this. Cal was the same but seemed interested in the conversation she was having with me. She played along and shook her head again.

"I can't believe you haven't heard about them. Not even the infielders?" I paused before shaking my head in disappointment, "Ok fine I will tell you who they are, maybe that will jog your memory. So you have who's on first, what's on second, and I don't know on third,"

Cal's expression immediately warped to a state of confusion. She looked at both Miranda and Anna only to find them similarly perplexed by what they had heard. I didn't say anything, only looking confused at her own confusion.

Eventually, she decided to take the bait. Little did she know how stupid my joke was, "..What's the name of the first baseman?"

"No No, What's on second," I shook my head.

"No, I am asking who's on first?" She decided to press on.

"Yes," I answered

"His name is?" asked Cal

"Who," I said immediately

"The first baseman,"

"Who is on first," I started biting the inner portion of my cheek to keep myself from smiling.

Cal tilted her head as if I was growing a third arm, "Why are you asking me?"

"I am not asking, I am telling. Who is on first,"

About this time I heard a silent giggle from Miranda signifying that she understood my joke. Meanwhile, Anna was still puzzled by what I was saying. Cal either ignored it or didn't hear it to begin with because I could see her slowly getting visibly annoyed by my answers.

Glaring at me she begins to talk slowly, "I don't know wh-". I then cut her off abruptly.

"Yeah, he's on third,"

"Who's on third?"

"No, he's on first,"

"Who?"

"Yes"

I can see tick marks appearing on Cal's forehead as she is trying to keep herself calm, "Just tell me what is the name of the first basemen,"

"No what is on second base,"

We are interrupted by a burst of laughter from both Anna and Miranda at Cal's reactions. Due to their perspective, I am guessing they figured out the core of the joke. My dad told me this when I was younger and though I was frustrated in the moment, after I realized the truth I had a good laugh at the absurdity of the prank. Therefore I decided to use it on Cal hoping for a similar reaction, though this joke is from the 20th century.

"I am not talking about who is on second base,"

"No who is on first,"

"I don't know,"

"He's on third we aren't talking about him,"

After the words leave my mouth Cal abruptly stands up from the table, 'Uh oh seems my joke went too far," I think to myself. I can't help but smile at her response, promptly pissing her off more. She reaches over grabbing me by my uniform while growling, "How did I get on third base!?!?"

No one could hold it in Anna, Miranda, and I busted out laughing. Of course, Cal didn't find that funny and continued trying to intimidate me. I say try because as terrifying as a 7-foot-tall beautiful woman that could easily pick up a warthog could be…I couldn't find her act as anything else other than cute. Like a tiger cub or puppy that attempts to nibble on your flesh.

As we were calming down from our fits of laughter Cal was still holding me by my uniform and glaring at me waiting to say something else stupid. Anna thankfully decided to throw her a bone and help her understand.

"Haha Cal Cal," Anna said, still giggling while putting her hand on Cal's shoulder, "Listen closely to what he said. WHO is on first. WHAT is on second. I DON'T KNOW is on third," she spoke emphasizing the player's names, "Cal the names of the players are Who, What, and I don't know,"

A look of realization appears on Cal's face and she becomes frozen in place. She was blinking but that didn't reassure me of her mental state after her outburst at my joke.

'Oh shit did I mentally break a Spartan-II? No way, am I that good right?' I question myself

Eventually, life returned to Cal's face and she slowly began giggling. Soon her giggling turned into full-blown laughter and she let go of me and we both sat back down. She was laughing so hard that tears were coming from her eyes, "That Hahaha is so stupid haha haha I can't believe I fell for that," she said smiling while holding her head and shaking it

"Don't worry my dad did the same thing to me when I was a kid. I fell for it hook line and sinker. He was laughing his ass off as I tried to wrap my head around his prank," I said smiling back, "I thought that maybe something was wrong with your silence and blank expression. So I thought a dumb joke would be the best to take your mind off of it,"

"Thank you," she said with a small smile, "I actually lost a teammate on my last deployment, and was still a bit depressed about his death. He was like a goofy brother and it hurts to know he is gone," she finished with a somber expression

"I know how that feels. I lost two teammates a couple of years ago in Operation: Prometheus," said Anna reminiscing with a frown, "It took me a month or two to get over it. I got over it not because I wanted to, but because I had to since it was affecting my abilities. I forced myself to not think about it and eventually, I got over it,"

"Nonetheless, thank you," Cal said to me.

"Don't mention it," I assured her before looking at my watch, "Hmm seems about time for me to hit the hay,"

Anna looked at her watch as well, "Yeah it's about time for us to get out of here as well," to which Cal nodded in agreement.

"Well then I will see you two later maybe in the meeting once we get in system or in the halls," They nodded in response and I left the mess hall making my way to my room to get some shut-eye before what will most likely shape up to be a very long day.

…

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(Author's note: SIKE you thought the chapter would end here. Lots of exposition though this is just a mission briefing)

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(3rd Pov)

F̶e̶b̶r̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶4̶t̶h̶,̶ ̶2̶5̶4̶3̶ 0900

A̶l̶g̶o̶l̶ System

UNSC 'T̶h̶e̶ ̶R̶e̶l̶i̶a̶n̶t̶' Epoch Class Heavy Carrier

"Is this everyone?" asked Rear Admiral Arthur Randal to his assistant that was taking the role for participants in the meeting. The assistant nodded and the Rear Admiral pulled up a projection of the planet of Algol along with its moons.

"As you all know, close to less than a week ago the planet of Algol was engaged by an advanced Covenant scouting force. According to intelligence gathered by a probe 12 hours ago, a supplementary force arrived the force included 3 cruisers, a handful of destroyers, and 7 frigates. The force can easily wipe us out in a head-to-head engagement if that fact wasn't already obvious,"

(Covenant Cruiser)

(Covenant Destroyer)

(Covenant Frigate)

"Luckily we aren't heading into direct confrontation with the Covenant battle group. I want to reiterate the purpose of this deployment is to evacuate survivors, attempt to recover experimental data and weapons, and finally to enact the Cole protocol," Randal made explicitly clear, " No one decide to be a hero and simply do as you are told," as he said those words he looked at everyone in the room emphasizing the last part.

"Now Space wise the Battle group up here will be implementing a high-level harassment campaign. We will use hit-and-run tactics engaging from a distance and picking off any Covenant ship that gets too antsy and becomes isolated. Our goal will be to buy time for the ground forces to break through Covenant outcrops of resistance and evacuate UNSC forces and Civilians," he paused after concluding the Space element's plan of action. The hologram then shifted showing a topographical map of Algolis and its moon.

"As for the ground, we will use a mix of Falcons, Hornets, TarantulaHawks, Vultures, and SparrowHawks both on the ground and up here to knock out some of the heavier entrenchments and to provide air support. At the same time, we will begin dropping off armor and troops. The ground plan will be as follows:" The Rear Admiral began reciting orders to each Company Captain and upper-level officers because of the missing primary Commander for the ground troops. The Admiral had served enough with ground leaders to have some insight into ground tactics because of that he was authorized to be the leader of Space, Air, and Land.

(UNSC Hornet)

(UNSC Falcon)

(UNSC Vulture)

(UNSC TarantulaHawk)

(UNSC SparrowHawk)

"...Spartans Anna A-156 and Cal S-141 will work together alongside the brunt of the 41st Shock Trooper division to secure and evacuate the largest spaceport supporting 4 million civilians alone. So far UNSC forces there have held out well and the Covenant haven't broken through yet, but it is only a matter of time because they have surrounded the city and are going to starve it out unless we do something. The remaining platoon of shock troopers supported by Ace A-312 and Echo Squad from the Hades Corps of Engineers will be destroying a Covenant staging area of heavy armor. This will take place after our resident Spartan pilot finishes his duty in the skies. The ODST and Ace will be deployed using Long Range SOEIVs while the Hades Corps will be hiking it through the forest,"

"That's the general ground game, but before we even get on the ground we have a small problem. Unfortunately, we were not fast enough in our response time because scans indicate that Covenant was able to get up AA guns impeding our ships from entering orbit. Similarly, there are other defenses that will knock out our drop ships. Because we can't enter orbit our short swords and Eagles are out of the question leaving our contingent of Long Swords. I would rather not waste our long swords on AA targets when we could instead be using them for bunkers. Does anyone have an alternative solution?"

There was a pause in the room while everyone whispered to each other. A couple of ideas were thrown out but were met with rejection for one reason or another. The admiral sighed and accepted that in this instance they were just shit out of luck until a tall man wearing pilot gear raised his hand.

"Yes?" asked Arthur

"Yeah, I got an idea. What if we…" and what came out of the Spartan's mouth forever changed Randal's thoughts about Spartans. Wondering if they were all equally as crazy as the one in front of him.

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So that's the chapter another long one for you guys because I have been busy.

The whole Cal joke thing is actually stolen from a bit done by Abott and Costello back like 80 years ago. I was shown it as a kid by my dad and found it hilarious. It's still up on youtube so I suggest you watch the original.

So I tried to deepen Cal's character a bit seeing as in canon she only had one appearance and only spoke like 2 lines of dialogue. So please tell me if I did good. Or if I fucked it up. Or if you want something else.

Any questions?

Song of the day is "Under You" the new single by Foo Fighters

Anyway I hope you all have a blessed day and I will See You Star Side.