dappered | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ Cortana doesn't sleep. Ever. Which is maybe why she had spent a good majority of her time watching John sleep instead, from her chip on the table next to him. She didn't need sleep, ever, got along just fine without it, and she had never been really sure if that was one of the quirks or the downsides of being inhuman.

At least she doesn't miss much.

Still, this isn't something that should have happened. Whatever it is, whatever it was, Cortana doesn't understand how she could be in one place one second, staring out the hangar of the Forward Unto Dawn, and then -- here, the next. There's no lapse of what she would call consciousness, no falter in her program, she's just there, and then she's not, and for once, Cortana doesn't understand at all.

The sun is stretched high above her, high above the chip from which she's currently standing on, fingers outstretched as if waiting for something. It takes her a moment to look down, to look around, and then finally, to figure out where it is she's at.

Her commands are a little shaky, her various programs slightly off-balance from whatever apparent instantenous journey she had just made, but it doesn't take her long to determine she's not far at all from Valhalla.

Which is. Great. Just what she needed. ]

Chief? . . . John?

[ And, of course, she's met with silence. ]

Scanning and analyzing area --

Retreating back into chip. [ And with that, the holograph disappears back into the data chip, hiding her under the grassy green field. ] Unidentifiable lifeforms. Total, 7, possibly more. Analyzing further. Human. Non-human. Non-human. Human. Human. Human. Human. Closest human lifeform, approximately three-fourths of a mile away.

Damnit.

[ But she had no choice, either way. ]

Releasing distress beacon. Chief, if you can hear me, standby.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For their use? As I was used for UNSC?

Or differently?

[ Hnnnngk.

Tightly. ]

Differently.

I'm going to ask you for security codes in exchange for returning you to the UNSC unharmed. If you choose not to cooperate, well.

I guess I'm not sure in what condition you'll be returning.

Do I seem uncooperative to you?

[ A forced exhale. ]

You're the Master Chief's partner. You know very well that the odds are in your favor, since all you have to do is wait until he or someone else from the UNSC hunts us down and executes us.

I would humor my captor, too, if I was certain he was probably going to die horribly for daring to steal a hugely valuable military asset.

If UNSC wanted you executed, they would have already done it by now. And the Chief's the least of your concerns.

I doubt you're an awful man, Washington, and I don't revel in the death of humankind, no matter who it is.

[ His tone says he doesn't believe a word you're saying. ]

Only because they haven't been given the right opportunity.

[ The second sentence just gets a short, disbelieving Look. Wash has plenty of allied kills to his name, dirty jobs and "recovered" Freelancers and they never did tell him how many died the day Epsilon went over the edge.

And all of that pales next to what Omega is responsible for. ]

If you say so. You never answered my question, however. Will you cooperate with us?

Yes.

Thank you.

[ And now it's yelling for Church time. 8) ]

I'm coming, Mom. Christ.

-- Dude. Seriously. The second she even breathes you-know-who's name, I'm so fucking gone.

[ One million and sixteen.

So very patiently, ]

She's agreed to help us. Her knowledge of the UNSC makes her officially the most useful asset we have, so be polite and play nice together. If you have a problem with that, I don't care.

Whatever, bro, it's all the same if I end up dead.

Where's retard, anyway?

...

[ ... ]

[ Church can you feel the temperature in the room abruptly dropping. ]

Edited 2009-11-13 23:57 (UTC)

What.

[ ......................................... ]

Don't call him that.

He's with the others.

You need to grow a pair, man. Is he coming or what?

That mouth is going to get you in trouble someday.

Yes. I called him in.

All right.

[ Wash would love to talk, but what he has to say isn't stuff that should probably be said in front of Cortana. So he'll just wait quietly as well, arms crossed, mentally bracing for Epsilon's arrival. ]

[ DID SOMEONE ORDER A RETARD? ]

Hey Wash, what'd you wanna see me ab--

[ Oh glowing person. ]

[ Okay, he's recovered from the 'oh, shiny.' ]

Hey, who's the chick?

Edited 2009-11-14 01:10 (UTC)

[ This is the sound of Wash mentally head-desking. Why did he think they were going to be able to coordinate something between Church-the-surly-bitch, Epsilon-the-attention-span-of-a-goldfish, and Cortana-the-inevitably-traitorous-prisoner? ]

This is Cortana. She's. Er. Going to be staying with us for a little while.

[ Okay so he hasn't stopped staring. ]

You know she's naked... right?

Well, I wouldn't say I'm naked.

[ ohmygod ]

[ so strangled ]

What have I told you about thinking before you talk?

And stop staring.

Edited 2009-11-14 01:36 (UTC)

I'm not staring! I'm just saying I can see her... binaries. You know, in case she wanted to do something about that.

[ SO BELATEDLY, to Cortana's face finally: ]

.........................................hi.