- The Munchies
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P.1
"Would you like to cut the umbilical sir?" The doctor asked Terry. The man looked down at his wife, and back up at the doctor, "Yes, I would." The doctor handed Terry a pair of sterilized scissors, and he severed the cord attaching his infant daughter to Saline.
Terry was in awe. Children were born every day, but it was still a miracle. He was lost his daughter's hazel eyes as he cradled her in his arms. He let the infant take one of his fingers in a tiny hand.
It let out a laugh. For what, Terry didn't know, but he loved the laugh. A smile spread across the man's face, and snapping out of his haze he handed the baby to Saline.
Saline put the baby down on her chest, it's head resting just below her neck. "She's beautiful."
"Do you have a name in mind?"
Saline looked at Terry who nodded. She tilted her head down so that she could see the top of her baby's head, and smiled. "Sheva."
Jane looked at Nick with saddened eyes. He was sitting on his couch in front of a blank TV screen. He didn't speak often, or move for that matter. Jane blamed it on the war. It had changed him, and drastically.
Nick was a light hearted man before he joined the Rangers. There was always something childish to him. The kids in the neighborhood would always ask him to play basketball with them. He filed the barbs off of his fish hooks so it would hurt the things he caught less when he released them. He didn't do anything now, and it hurt Jane to see it.
Jane walked into the room, turning on the lights. Nick squinted as his eyes adjusted. "Hey Nick."
"Hi." The reply was quiet and plain.
Jane sat down next to him. "Do you want anything specific for dinner?"
"It's alright, I'm not hungry."
"I'll make something just in case." Jane got up and went to the kitchen. She had been taking care of Nick for months. She wouldn't leave him. He needed someone.
The phone rang, and Jan picked it up. "Hello?"
Hey.
"Oh, hey Ashley."
Where are you?
"At Nick's."
I thought we talked about this Jane.
Jane turned her back to the kitchen counter and leaned on it. "I can't walk out on him Ash."
Walk out on him? You're not in any way committed to taking care of that man. I understand that he's a long time friend, but he's dragging you down with him. That's not fair.
"He's improving. Slowly, but he is." Jane knew what she was saying was a lie.
No he's not, and he never will.
"It's not so god damn simple!" Jane yelled, suddenly angry, "He doesn't do anything Ash. He sits and sits. He won't eat unless someone puts food in front of him and tells him too. He's lost pounds of muscle. If he had come home like this I wouldn't have even recognized him!"
He's using you so he can sit around!
"No he's not!" Jane grabbed the phone cord tightly, "Neither of us have any idea what he's been through."
I've seen plenty of people come back from war and have familly's, children, and normal lives.
"Not everyone's the same Ash." Jane hung up, and slouched down against the cupboards. Ashley was right about one thing. It wasn't good for Jane's mental health to take care of someone like Nick. She wouldn't have to for much longer. For the X-Ranger, the worst was yet to come.
Lord Terran rubbed his eyes. He had been hiding down in this ONI base since the assassination. Taking Lord Hood's place painted a big target on his head. The UNSC was nothing but Earth, Reach, and Harvest. It wasn't even the UNSC anymore, but they desperately clung to the title. There was little hope to rebuild, but they had to try.
Admiral Brooks sat down at the long table. It was just Terran and him, making the table seem all the more huge. "I've come up with an idea sir."
"Shoot." Terran said unenthusiastically.
"Well," The admiral put a manila folder down on the table, and pushed it over to Terran, "Our man on the inside reported that the assassin is Timothy Derricks, an insurrectionist survivor of Irindar."
"Wasn't this 'man on the inside' discovered, tortured, and killed?" Lord Terran asked with raised eyebrows.
Brooks cleared his throat nervously. "I believe so sir."
"Then he doesn't sound like a very good spy."
"Oh he is, or was. He had quite the field record, but as I was saying, Timothy Derricks is responsible for the assassination. He is also the current leader of the insurrection. I think that if we can catch him, and execute him in public-"
"Excuse me?"
"I know it sounds barbaric sir, but it has been done before. May I add it has also had positive results for boosting moral, trust, and faith in the UNSC."
"I find that hard to believe." Terran said, closing the folder.
"It's a show of power sir." Admiral Brooks said quickly, seeing the loss of interest from Terran, "If we do this people will see the power of the UNSC. This will make up for our inability to capture Eli Ackerson, and it will give us some credibility. Eli's suicide was an act of defiance sir, and act that told people the UNSC couldn't physically get a hold of him and bring him to justice."
"How are we going to catch him? You know we were unable to thaw the Spartan fours, and we will need the Master Chief to defend when the bloodshed begins.
"We're going to assemble a team of the very best, and one journalist."
Terran laughed. "One journalist?"
"Yes," Brooks confirmed, "To document the victory, and write something about the success that everyone will read."
"What makes you think he won't get shot?"
"The team will keep him safe."
"So you really think one team of humans can chase down the leader of the insurrectionists and take him out?"
"Men have done great things in the past," the admiral said, leaning forward on the glossy table, "Sergeant Johnson was practically super human. Sergeant Forge is a legend."
"If my memory serves me correctly, both of those men died in combat."
"That may be true-"
"It is true." Lord Terran said as he stood up, "You're wasting my time."
"Wait!" Brooks shouted desperately, "We have to give it a shot. Do you see any other option? We need the mass of our troops here. We can't afford to deploy battalions of men on a hunt."
Terran thought for a moment, then let out a long exhale. "A goose chase is what it is, but fine. Try it."
"You won't regret it sir." Admiral Brooks said as he stood up.
"I better not." Lord Terran exited the room, leaving the admiral to his thoughts.