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Chapter Two; Six ...or seven months later-
John woke up early. It was still quite dark out, but it was something he was accustomed to. Lying still, he stayed there quietly for a few extra minutes, hoping not to wake her. She never did though. She was a pretty heavy sleeper.
He looked over soundlessly. Her long blonde hair spilled all over his pillow and hers. As he watched her sleeping, he contemplated this a bit, realizing how odd their marriage was. In fact, it had been almost six months. Or was it seven months? Either way, it had been around six months since they said "I do." And it felt as though they had hardly spoke. He was beginning to think it hadn't been a good idea. He was gone half the time and basically so was she. She knew he was in the military, but he made it sound as though he was a 'behind the desk guy.'
And she never suspected a thing. He was slightly over seven feet tall and she probably figured it was just genetics. Hell, she wasn't vertically challenged herself. Might have been one of the things that attracted him to her. And from his stand point, Sam seemed content with the way things were. Still, despite the things that weren't said to each other, they stayed faithful.
After those few minutes of watching her sleep, he got up quickly and walked out of their bedroom. It was time for him to leave again. And this time, it wasn't going to be a short jaunt. The Covenant had scrambled and regained any power they had left. As far as John knew, he would probably be gone for a long time
Keeping quiet, he walked to the main sitting room. A comlink sat well hidden behind a few things littered on a front room table. The device lit up when he grabbed it.
"I'm here," he said into it gruffly, yet still softly. He kept in mind his sleeping wife.
Wife. That word still felt foreign. He loved her. But marriage was never met to enter into a Spartan's life.
A cheerful voice came through the tiny speaker in the comlink. "Hiya, Chief! Long time no see."
"Yeah..."
Cortana continued before he could say more. "So, is it true that you got married?"
Boy, she was quick to the point.
"Yes, it's true."
"Well, that was quick. Never pegged you for the type, since you know, you being you and all."
"I know..." It was all he could think of to say.
"Chief?"
"Yes?"
"How did you break it to your wife that you don't have a last name?"
He knew that question was coming at some point. "I made one up."
"You made up a last name?" At first disbelief rang throughout her voice, but she humored him. "And what might that be?"
"Smith."
"Aww, John Smith. How quaint." And then she cut to the chase. "You need to say goodbye to your Mrs. Smith. The Covenant is back. I hope you're not rusty."
John heaved a small sigh. "I know. See you in 0800 hours. Master Chief out."
He thought this over for a moment. It had been awhile since he had seen a full fledged battle. The Covenant had subsided for months, giving him quite a bit of time off. Which in that time he had met Sam, his at the time... to-be wife, near the base. And they explored ruins of Earth together. Right away there was something about her that felt right. He was drawn to her early on, which could explain the quick nuptials. A trip to the Chawla base Justice of the Peace and it was set in stone.
And Sam never really knew who John truly was. He was a shrouded mystery. And yet, so was she. For that reason, they didn't exactly complete each other. John hadn't realized the repercussions of falling love. Or perhaps it was infatuation.
Maybe someday he'll figure those two emotions out.
But first and fore-most he was a battle ready soldier. And that's all that mattered.
He shot a quick glance to the bedroom door, before walking out of the house.
His armor awaited him.
Samus hadn't been sleeping at all when John had woken. Among her talents, she could feign sleep easy. She had the rhythmic breathing down to a science.
For those few minutes, she could hear him get up and as soon as she heard their bedroom door close, she opened her eyes.
He was off to work again. He never spoke about it, but he didn't speak about much. And she didn't ask about much.
John, more than anything, never spoke about his past. But then again, neither did she. In fact, the one person they had at their quick wedding was a guy she paid to play out as her father.
A wedding in the first place didn't suit Samus Aran. But she had fallen for John the moment she saw him. Samus never knew why though. Thoughts of John fluttered through her mind quickly, but she put a stop to that.
First things were first.
It had been almost a full eight months since she came to this galaxy. Her gunship was still in dire need of repairs. But she had it hidden in the same ravine near Chawla. It's cloaking device powered on and running. She still didn't have the correct parts and the ship stayed in it's lonely spot.
It helped that they lived so close to the base, she could visit the ship routinely. She could also visit and wear her suit.
And, not to mention, perform bounty hunting on the side. Even a small amount of humans left on the planet still required bounty hunting assistance. And she made money here and there because of the slight trade.
John thought she was a social worker. It was an easy cover.
And the hits she had received stayed quiet. Not a soul spoke about the being in the deadly orange suit. It was quite top secret.
But she knew it wasn't going to stay secret for long.
She also sensed that her husband had secrets. But as long as she stayed content with keeping hers, she allowed him to keep his.
Samus perked up when she heard John speaking outside in the living area. It must have been with the comlink she had found a few days ago. For a behind the desk guy, he sure was secretive.
Her first instinct was to listen in to his conversation, but she decided against it. In time, she would find out what she needed to know.
After she heard the front door close, she got out of bed.
Walking slowly into the kitchen, Samus decided to start some tea. With trained ears, a very low beep could be heard in a tall cupboard new the window. Samus opened the cupboard and reached inside a canister. She kept her own communicator well hid.
The device was specifically used for bounties and contacts. The device beeped again and Samus opened the channel.
"Yes?" She deepened her voice a bit.
"Is this the bounty hunter?" A slithery voice asked through the speaker.
A short pause. Samus couldn't recognize the voice. She gave a firm, "Yes."
"We have a mission for you... And the reward is well worth it."
"And that would be...?"
"The demon, his name is Master Chief..."
"Master Chief is a hero among the human race. Why exterminate him?" Samus never argued with a client, but she felt that at her vantage point...she could.
"He's a.. oh what do you call them.. Ah, yes a space pirate." Just the words she needed to hear.
"Send me visuals."
Samus engaged the communicator's screen and after a short moment or two, the green suit popped up to be seen. The picture showed his guns blazing and his golden visor pristine in the sunlight.
"Will you do it?" The slimy voice asked finally.
"It's already done. I'll contact you..."
Samus switched off the device and smiled to herself. This was her ticket out of this galaxy. She could rid the space pirate for her client and go back to her simple life.
She pondered taking her husband with her.
Samus shrugged and set off to leave.
She now had work to do.
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