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Tall Enough For You?	By : Carleen Category: +G through L > Halo Views: 22924 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: FANDOM: HALO. Descriptions of HALO weaponry, armor, characters & locations belong to Microsoft, Bungie, 343 Industries, are used here without permission, for entertainment purposes only. I do not own these characters & will r

Chapter List
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The ride was quiet as we crossed the Great Plains. City after city swept past us as the Pelican raced to New Phoenix. Why that city, I wondered? Had the Composer aimed randomly? New Phoenix wasn't the largest or the most populated city. Was this thoughtless slaughter or the perfect size population for a test bed?
We couldn't be sure what we'd find down there. The city was off limits to all but cleared personnel. Only relief parties and scientists investigating the incident were allowed in and even they went in escorted by assigned military personnel only. But I needed to find my Spartan. As a just-in-case, Fire teams Majestic and Crimson were en route to New Phoenix for back up and escort.
We were seated in the very back of the aircraft. The noise, consoles, and the weapons racks provided us with complete privacy. Both of us were too well trained to allow ourselves much of a romantic moment in a military situation. But everything was so new and fresh between us. The desire to affectionately tease him was very tempting. When the pilot reported over the radio we were an hour out of New Phoenix, I leaned over to the Master Chief, "John, I'm going to change clothes. Run interference for me?" "Perhaps." I waited until he opened his eyes. Then he looked at me earnestly and pitched his voice low, "You may take that off, only if you promise to wear again. Purple suits you."
With a hint of a smile around his eyes, he nodded me toward the back of the aircraft. I grabbed my bag and fished out a pair of jeans, boots, and a leather jacket. Instead of turning his back to allow me some privacy, he faced me. Waiting expectantly. "So you're gonna watch?" I ventured. "Commander, a conscientious soldier never misses an opportunity to gain additional information about the mission objective... ." He stopped himself, looked around as if remembering where he was and replied, "No, Commander." And politely turned around.
"Hey, Master Chief," I said just softly enough to get him to look at me. "I don't mind." After I quickly changed clothes, we headed forward. But I did take a moment to surreptitiously run my hand down his arm as I passed. When my hand slipped over his, he gently squeezed my fingers. Then back to business, because when the pilot noticed me he pointed toward the view screen.
"Your Fire teams are here, ma'am." The Pelican, with Fire Teams Majestic and Crimson aboard, dropped into formation beside us. Good. We're making progress and now that we're together, I was ready to deploy. Unfortunately, we were still a good forty-five minutes out and I'm not very patient when it comes to a mission. So pacing seemed like a good alternative. I didn't get very far, because Master Chief pulled me down into my chair after my second lap.
"I bet you're good at waiting." I commented, grudgingly crossing my arms over my chest.
"No. I'm not. My free time is spent in cryo sleep."
I replied quietly, "For someone who's spent their career in cryo or fighting, you've experienced quite a bit of real life in the last forty-eight hours."
"Commander Palmer..."
I shook my head, "You don't have to say anything."
He filled up his lungs with air and gazed to a distant point only he could see. "Until I came aboard Infinity, Cortana was my only ally. She gave me advice, information and camaraderie. With you I learned things that an A.I., no matter how sophisticated, could not provide. You gave me something I would otherwise have never experienced." He was looking at me now without reservation.
"It had been a long time, John. Since...Well, I wanted to be with you, to comfort you if I possibly could."
"You did and so much more." And then I blushed. He's looking right at me and I'm blushing. Didn't they train this out of us?
"Why Commander Palmer are you losing your military bearing?" Now he's teasing me and I grinned.
The pilot interrupted us. "Commander Palmer, I'm picking up an IFF tag signature. IDENT please?"
As I approached, the pilot pointed toward the ship's HUD. There was Thorne's IFF tag faithfully signaling his position. I was determined to retrieve him before any trouble started about his whereabouts. We had plenty of time to locate him before he's officially reported AWOL. Master Chief stood at my shoulder.
"It's him." I turned and nodded. "Lieutenant, execute a flyby. Then set us down close to that signal."
"Aye, Commander." When the pilot nosed the aircraft down we saw the wide empty avenues. The vehicles stopped at a odd angles. At altitude the area appeared covered in snow. Of course, that wasn't possible. The particles were light enough that the Pelican's down draft sent it swirling in the dry desert air.
"Ready, Master Chief?" His answer was to head aft and prepare the gear we planned to take down with us. Before following him, I observed the pilot and the flight officer exchange a grin. I already knew scuttlebutt claimed the Master Chief and I we were keeping company. Even a ship as large as Infinity had a gossip mill. Although it was generally believed - and certainly reinforced to the new troops - Master Chief chopped up Grunts and Jackals over his breakfast cereal. I knew no one had less than the highest respect and admiration for him. But I wanted to make a point.
"Something amusing, gentlemen?"
"No ma'am!" After making eye contact with both of them, I headed to the back of the Pelican to retrieve my gear. Master Chief handed me one of the two pistols kept as standard issued on a Pelican of this size. We both secured a com device to our ear and I grabbed a Boonie hat for each of us. The Pelican finally bumped to a stop and we watched the other Pelican land next to us. When the engines quieted the flight officer lowered the ramp. Once we were clear of the Pelicans the pilots closed the ramps and secured the aircraft.
Majestic and Crimson silently joined us. No one spoke. Even DeMarco just nodded to me. It seemed disrespectful to speak. Like when you're in church or a funeral. Hoya handed over two ceramic and titanium ballistic vests and an assault rifle for each of us. After a signal from their team leaders, Majestic and Crimson fanned out around the Chief and me.
It was mid afternoon in this region. The city should have been bustling with the sounds of commuter traffic. Instead, the absolute silence of the once busy city was unsettling. We'd all seen the effects of the Covenant's glassing. The burnt bodies, etched like a shadow on the ground or wall where they died trying to escape. Shadows of people caught screaming in pain and fear as they died. Dead children lined up behind their teacher caught in the act of running for a shelter.
This was different, in fact, it's out-and-out spooky. Everywhere you looked your eyes expected to see movement. Even the sound of birds was absent in the dry chill of the empty streets. Beside me Master Chief shouldered a jacket over the ballistic vest and readied his weapon. "Teams, time limit to find Thorne is three hours. More than that and we make Master Chief late for his meeting at HQ. So let's go find Mister Thorne and get out of here," I called out, breaking the eerie quiet.
After a quick verification of the IFF tag signal and I waved my teams to move out. We'd heard about this strange blue glow and the piles of dust represented what was left of a body once it'd been composed. As we moved down the street we got a closer look at the glowing particles scattered amidst the powder. However, time and wind had blown the neat piles around leaving streaks of glowing dust in the city streets. The detritus of a city brushed past us carried along by the wind as it moaned and wailed unrestricted around the tall buildings.
"What the hell is this stuff?" Hoya asked the pile of ash he stirred with his boot.
"It's what's left of the people after the Composer got through with them. Do you ever read the mission briefings, Hoya?" DeMarco, snarled. "At least show some fucking respect."
DeMarco looked at him in disgust and kept walking.
One of the Crimson team stepped close and whispered, "Hey Majestic, think there's any ghosts around here? Don't be scared, guys. Crimson's got your back."
"Yeah, more like their backs as they run away."
They all laughed. But a look from Master Chief silenced them and a second later I added, "Stow it. Stay alert."
The shadows deepened inside the city. The air grew heavy with the smell of sewage and stagnant water. The cloying smells made me wish for my armor. Master Chief and I kept walking, matching the movements of the fire teams by turning side to side scanning the area. Beside me, I sensed a growing tension in Master Chief. His breathing so labored I could hear it. Almost like he was wheezing. I could tell he wanted to cough, but was trying not to give away our position. I could feel it too. Human dust particles were in the air, it was suffocating. Then suddenly he stopped and sneezed. His next inhalation brought a fit of coughing. I kept my eye on him. But when the coughing continued, held up my hand in a fist. We all stopped and I grabbed a bottle of water from his pack. The water seemed to help. "You okay, Master Chief?" I asked him.
It began to dawn on me that he was so accustomed to filtered air, this tainted air might affect him. Was I any less at risk? "I'm a soldier," he countered quickly, after draining the bottle. His voice had an unexpected sharp tone to it. Then as if to confirm it, he seemed to catch himself and glanced at me, his brow furrowed. This is the first time we'd been in the field together, so I really didn't think much of it. He probably felt uncomfortable out in the open without his Mjolnir. I could empathize with that. There was something irritating in the air. I was about to sneeze myself and I felt oddly agitated.
"You picking up anything in the atmosphere?" I inquired of my teams. "Negative for toxins in the air, Commander. We will continue to monitor. Ma'am? I don't suppose you'd consider waiting in the transport?"
The look I shot towards DeMarco gave him his answer. "Understood, ma'am. Didn't think so."
"Commander, there is no value in exposing yourself to the possibility of a toxin. Perhaps you should return to the filtered air of the aircraft."
"I'd rather not do that, Master Chief," I returned, feeling my way just a bit and listening closely to the changes in his tone. Whatever concern I might have experienced from his reaction was forgotten when the scanner signaled we were within twenty-five meters of the IFF signal. We picked up the pace and Master Chief silently followed me. Another a short walk and located Thorne's helmet lying on the front seat of a burned out vehicle.
"Why is he in his armor when he's supposed to be on leave and why would he abandon a valuable and top secret piece of military equipment?" The Chief didn't comment, just attached the helmet to his belt. Then he turned his back toward me, silently following the Spartan armor boot-print of Thorne's tracks.
"Everyone sticks together." I ordered, before turning to follow the Spartan II. My teams spread out in formation. The tracks left the street after about a mile and headed up a flight of stairs into a building. Why not a suburban area or to the apartment complex down the avenue? It was in the back of my mind that we might find him at his parent's home. So why an office building? But his tracks were plainly written in the dust. The door to the office building was open and we headed slowly in; watching our angles. The air inside was thick and stale. Then right away heard someone call out. Slumped against the receptionist's desk we found an injured Marine. Another few minutes and he would have lost his battle with trying to breath over a sucking chest wound.
I checked his vitals after Master Chief removed his helmet. We plugged the hole with Bio Foam and made him as comfortable as possible.
"Marine? Open your eyes. I need a sit rep."
His eyes opened and he flinched in pain. Oh, it's you. Commander Palmer, right?" Struggling to focus his eyes.
"That's right and two of my Fire Teams. What's going on here, Corporal?" But he's coughing hard he can barely put a sentence together. Hoya got down behind him and helped him sit up.
"Sorry ma'am. We were sent down here to test the atmosphere and the piles of ash, search for survivors."
"Who attacked you?"
"Never saw them, ma'am. They were speaking English and using conventional weapons. I don't know where the rest of my team is. They were smart enough to disconnect our bio communications though. Just a bunch of looters or something else. But that's why there's been no report from us. Ma'am? I think they thought I was dead. Otherwise they would have finished me off. Could you check on my buddy. His last position was by the elevators."
DeMarco found the young man. He lay wide-eyed staring up the ceiling. "Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder. He's a member of one of the first recon teams to investigate after the Didact attack. But why? What could possibly have killed him?
One of the Crimson's team turned away. "Dead at nineteen. What a waste. We've got some varmint control to take care of gentlemen. Let's get to it."
They all nodded in agreement.
It was Tedra Grant from Majestic who noticed the odd manner in which the second young marine lay. She pointed at the floor. The young man's head lay at an odd angle from his body. "His throat was cut. No blood. Bollocks, she swore."
"So he was moved here? But why?" Hoya asked the group. "To get our attention?"
Grant shook her head. "To warn us away. Anyone who saw two murdered Marines might think twice about a confrontation."
"I gotta confrontation right here." Crimson's team leader held up his rifle.
I instructed Hoya to call for a pick up on these two marines. Then we kept moving, following the tracks back outside and down a side street. Gradually we began to see evidence of vandalism. Smashed windows. Merchandise dragged into the street. As we rounded a corner we saw a gang of about twenty people. We paused and took position to observe the group. What we saw seemed like a typical group of looters. Then the answer to our question about the bio coms was answered when two police officers jumped out a window with a piece of equipment in their arms. This was nothing we couldn't handle. We would round them up and call for local law enforcement to pick them up. Or maybe I would shoot those two cops myself, just to make a point. Easy, Palmer.
Obviously struggling with his breathing now. Master Chief kept trying to clear his throat. His breath was coming out in raspy gasps. I could tell he wanted to cough, but was trying not to give away our position. I could feel it too. My chest felt tight and I needed to sneeze or at least catch a breath of fresh air. Each breath is painful and shallow. Then one of the group shot another over a piece of junk. The crowd quickly escalated into violence. Screams of fear and gunfire echoed down the street. Master Chief seemed to respond to their outburst of violence and grabbed me. Before the teams could respond, Master Chief shouted at them to stand back. His hold on my arms was painful, but I ordered my teams to stand down. "Disarm that crowd. I'm fine! Move!"
They reluctantly moved away and repositioned themselves to take on the crowd. Then Master Chief dragged me inside a nearby building. "What in the hell do you think you're doing? Let me go." But he was much stronger than I - another reason for me to hate that creepy bitch Halsey. I should've shot her twice - and lifted me off my feet. And backed me against a wall in a darkened office. The sounds from outside muffled by the dark rooms and shadowed spaces... The sound of his breathing grew labored as the wheezing got deeper.
Was I angry? Hell, yeah. He'd just compromised my authority in front of my men. But I managed to push down my growing hostility. "John," I said quietly. "Nothing is threatening us. The teams have that situation outside under control. It's just a bunch of looters." But he didn't hear me. His grip on my shoulders tightened. The bite of his fingers beginning to tear at my skin.
"I won't let anything happen to you. I'll protect you. I swear."
"Hey, I appreciate the thought but I served twelve tours as an ODST. I can take care of myself." He reached up, his hand almost a blur and pulled the Comm link from my ear. Shutting it off so it wouldn't send a signal and pinned me against the wall again. His eyes were wild and unfocused. His breathing labored. "Then I'll just take what I want from you and be done."
This was so unlike anything I'd seen from him before. I replied in jest, attempting to ease the tension. "Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep." But my smile quickly faded as I watched him change again. With a sharp intake of breath, the hooded blue eyes turned icy. With a strangled cry he threw me down, as his emotions sprang to life. A sudden gust of cold wind came through the building, swirling around us and tossing dust against us. The need to clear my throat finally caught up with me. The coughing was painful. My lungs felt like they were on fire. The filthy air only aggravated our condition.
But it was Master Chief who recovered first. "You ridicule me? Throw Cortana's words back in my face?"
"Of course not, Master Chief. What…?" I was wrong to trust you. Would you like a demonstration of what I'm really capable of?"
Then he's on me, kissing me violently. His body weight crushing the air out of me. Breathing is impossible now. The dust floated in the air all around us. As I stared up at the ceiling, pondering if he were about to rape me and the possibility of his success, I watched the light glinting off it as it floated through motes of light. His kiss was savage. It's a violence I'm all too aware of. After all, we live it everyday. We maim and slaughter and risk our lives. Then, share a quick meal, grab some sleep and go back for more. Instead of apologizing for the words which set him off, I twined my arms around his neck and returned the kiss. Plunging my tongue into his mouth, he responded by grinding his hips against me. I heard him keen deep in his chest. The sound was heartbreaking, because it was the sound of anguish not desire and it quenched my growing passion.
I decide to try and gain his attention by calling him by something other than what she might have called him. I smoothed my hand over his face and head. "My love, tell me. Let me help." He rolled off me and sat up. Master Chief let his head fall into his hands. Before I answered him, I radioed my teams. The looters were being rounded up and loaded onto transports. Law enforcement units from nearby towns were en route and HAZMAT teams were mobilized. I told them to canvas the area and stay in touch. Master Chief and I were better off inside out of the dust. "Good idea, Commander. We got the power turned back in your building. The air will clear soon."
"Good job, Hoya. Everything is copacetic. Understood? Palmer out."
Behind me Master Chief began to speak. "Commander Palmer...Sarah? Join me?"
I scooted closer to him and he lifted his right arm for me to slide up next to him. As intimate as we had been the other night before this was just a little strange. But the air was clear and I took a deep breath of fresh air. Something other than the dirty air had set him off. So I prepared myself to listen. With every breath the tension and hostility ebbed. By the time he began to speak again, I was drifting and enjoying the moment leaning against him. But I snapped awake at the sound of him quoting my earlier comment.
"'Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep.'"
I felt his breath hitch under my cheek. I tightened my hold on him and willed myself to silence.
"Halsey presented her to me like a gift. Something I should be grateful for. I wasn't and I resented the intrusion of her constant presence. She counted every heartbeat and listened to every breath. Later, she became my ally and companion. The key to every lock, and light on every dark path. The place to lean against when I was too exhausted to keep moving. Her vibrancy and intellect helped me contain the growing horror that I was the only one left. Used up. Alone."
"She is gone, because I couldn't save her. A few years ago, I had to leave her in order to complete a mission. I promised I'd be back. She said, don't make her a promise, I couldn't keep. But I kept it and I found her. On Requiem, when she couldn't hide the rampancy from me any longer, I promised to get her back to Halsey. She said those words again and I thought, I could do that. The Infinity was right there. I could save her this time too. Instead, she saved my life and sacrificed herself so that I could live. I failed to keep my promise. I failed her."
Revealed only by the tremor that passed through him and a quick gasp of breath. Something terrible broke free in him. There were no sounds of tears, but his grief and rage over the events leading up to her sacrifice resonated through him. His anger over Del Rio's mistakes, and - it suddenly occurred to me - his feelings of inadequacy over his perceived inability to protect her left an anger in him that only time could dissipate. But I could be here for him and offer what sympathy he might accept. Those were probably the most words he'd said in his life. But he's gotten them out and with it the pain. I stayed quiet and gave him time. For several moments, his body shook with reaction and when it was finished with him, he sank back, spent. I felt it all, where I leaned against him, blinking back hot tears.
"I'm here for you."
In response, he tightened his arms around me. After a while he spoke again. "Why did you pick me, Sarah?" The question drifted quietly through the darkness.
"I had just made Lieutenant Commander when we heard about Forward Unto Dawn and The Arc. Everyone knew about the Master Chief, of course. Your losses, and your courage from that horror were the reason I entered the Spartan IV program. Jun-A226 recruited me, but you were the reason I joined. The bravest of all, the Spartan who never lost and always persevered."
I had to laugh at myself and chuckled aloud. "I was such a kid then. All for guts and glory. Right?"
"I was MIA."
"Not to me. I knew somehow you'd survived. Then, there you were on Requiem. You saved us. You almost single handedly saved the largest ship in the fleet. You saved the flagship. I suppose they'll eventually have to create a new medal for you. Then you walked on board, like you'd just been out for a stroll in the jungle and I finally had the chance to meet you and all I could think of to say was something smart-ass."
"Anyway, after you destroyed Didact's ship and you walked passed us. I saw the fatigue and the grief. I wanted to make you stop right there and reassure you everything would be all right."
"Master Chief's reputation, the armor, Halsey's propaganda, that's all it was.." He replied, as if that explained everything. I noticed he described himself in third person.
"It's possible you could have convinced me of that before. But not after spending that night with you. Experiencing your strength and passion."
"Sarah, I want to tell you. But I don't know - "
"- You are a Spartan, a soldier who speaks with his actions, not his words. But you are also a man, correct?"
"A fact you reminded me of."
"I'd say that went both ways. So stop worrying about what you should say or what words you should use and just say whatever you need to say."
"Then, Sarah. Come here, now...I want to feel everything."
The sound of weapons fire broke us apart. A spray of assault rifle fire appeared on the wall just above our heads. Pieces of wall crumbled down on us.
"Nice and easy. Let go of the pretty lady and sit up. Don't try to stand and keep your hands where I can see them. After that confession I'm pretty sure she'd be upset about it you being killed. That was a real nice story."
"Thorne?"
I rolled to my feet to confirm the identity of the voice. I sidestepped the sweep of the Master Chief's arm as he tried to stop me. The young man's face was sunburned; lips blistered and swollen. Those brown eyes I often admired shot through with the hard glint of someone who'd found the edge of their sanity. I put as much warmth into my voice as possible. I needed to get his attention. I knew Master Chief was fast enough to disarm him. But I wanted to try another way and I help up my hand to stay his movement.
"Hi Gabriel. How's it going?"
"Commander Palmer! I didn't realize..." He pulled himself to attention. "Ma'am, I apologize. Master Chief please stand, if you wish...Of course, stand… I..." Master Chief stood slowly and we exchanged a look. He nodded to show he understood. Of course, we could have disarmed him. But, this young man had been through enough. Master Chief held out his hand, "The weapon?" Thorne couldn't hear him. He was still lost in his terror.
"I-I was guarding the city. It was the least I could do. I killed three of them. They were killing the Marines. I had to stop them. They were fighting over things that didn't belong to them. I'm sorry...I tried...Everyone is gone." Grief bubbled around his words, as he sank exhausted to his knees.
"They killed my family... My little sister... My parents...Everyone's parents. We're all orphans now…"
"The hell you say." That was Hoya's deep voice.
"Gab, you're no orphan." Then out of the darkness walked Fireteam Majestic. Tedra Grant knelt down beside him and put her arm around him. She bent her head toward him and apparently said something he liked, because he grinned up at her. DeMarco dropped a hand to the young man's shoulder, while Madsen quietly slipped the assault rifle out of Thorne's grasp.
"That's enough talk about being alone, Gab."
Thorne shot DeMarco a grateful glance. Then Majestic's team leader joined the Master Chief and me. "Okay if we take him home, ma'am?"
"Yes, but drop him off at the Infirmary. No home remedies having to do with alcohol. That's an order."
"Yes, Commander. Local law enforcement is taking control of the city. They're gathering up as much of this dust as they can. They said someday soon there will be a mass burial and a ceremony. There's a storm blowing in. I think you'd find fresher air outside, Commander."
The Fire Teams took Thorne back to Infinity and Master Chief and I boarded the other Pelican. Once we were in the air, I leaned my head back against the seat. We didn't speak, but there were things I wanted to say.
"Chief...John. It's okay to admit that you loved her." You relied on her. She was your partner in the purest sense. Was her death meaningless?"
"No."
"Neither was how you felt about her. She sacrificed herself to save you. You would have done the same for her. That's why I approached you that night. I couldn't replace her, but I could at least give you some comfort; a place to rest."
"You did…"
"You think no one else can possibly understand or accept you the way she did." He didn't answer.
"Then tell me who that man was who spent the night with me?"
"I'm not sure I know him."
"He was generous and gentle. John, I'm not asking for anything more from you than the truth."
"What is the truth? I lost track of it."
"Roland said, when the Librarian changed you, whatever she did to you also destroyed your pituitary implant - didn't anyone discuss that with?"
"No, no one. So emotions...what I feel for you. The rage that eats at me and the grief I cannot control...Don't look at me."
He was unbuckling his seatbelt to move away. I didn't want to lose the moment or lose him.
"Tell me about her, John. Was she as remarkable as they say?"
He fell back in the seat, "Yes, sassy and brilliant. Alternated between treating me like her kid brother and a friend. Sometimes, I simply followed her lead. Then when she needed me most I couldn't save her… couldn't even touch her. She was everything positive to me in a world filled with savagery."
"Perhaps in time you could learn to allow other meaningful things into your life."
"Like you?"
"Only if that is what you want. I will not press you for anything you do not wish to give or share freely."
"I've overheard other men talk about the women in their lives - many times I heard disparaging and disrespectful remarks. Complaints about personal situations which are no one's business."
"I hear them too, John. But I am not one those women."
"No you are not. We are Spartans, we stand alone and that is as it should be."
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Tall Enough For You?