Chapter 2 She hated every minute of the shuttle ride up to [i]Nagamo[/i]. Nicole-458 refused to strap herself into her seat and decided to ride out the thick atmosphere of the moon by standing up in the hold of the shuttle. The ship bucked and rocked, but she held on to the overhead crossbeam with one hand easily. [i]At least[/i] this [i]is kind of a challenge[/i]. Nicole wondered if ONI seemed to have made it their goal to keep her from real combat. Most of her assignments had been mop-up duties or Marine babysitting. She rarely saw her fellow Spartans, only hearing of their heroic tales from others, and she doubted this new mission would be anything worth sharing with them. Behind her, an older man securely strapped into his seat mumbled something in a language she didn't understand. It sounded bitter . . . and old. He was a professor of some kind, though she really didn't care. All he had kept saying to the captain of [i]Teveden[/i] was how he couldn't leave Reach, but the UNSC frigate left anyway, making a slipspace jump to some remote system. She sighed. With little information revealed, the frigate was called back to Reach for some other "important" mission and dropped both her and the professor off on a forest moon. They had waited at the small UNSC outpost for only a day before [i]Nagamo[/i] arrived, and now the silver-haired man was beginning to grumble like he did back on [i]Teveden.[/i] The shuttle's shaking abruptly ceased as they broke away from the moon, and Nicole turned to the cockpit's forward viewport. Outside the stars shifted as the pilot vectored on a heading towards a distant dark shape that could only be [i]Nagamo.[/i] Even from the distance, Nicole could make out the angular outline of the [i]prowler[/i]-class vessel. It was nothing special. She had been on several before. The pilot steered the shuttle to dock alongside the larger ship. With little finesse, the sounds of metal scrapping against metal made the professor grunt in protest. The docking maneuver complete, the side door of the shuttle opened up to a dark interior and two smiling faces. A dark-skinned man, even darker than Nicole's own tone, stood proudly while the slightly shorter, much paler woman stood uneasily at his side, suggesting she'd rather not be present--despite her expression. In compete contrast, the professor angrily unbuckled his restraints and quickly marched over to the opened door. "I demand to know why I am being held against my will," he said without preamble. Nicole was surprised to see the two [i]Nagamo[/i] officers hold their expressions. "Dr. Laszlo Sorvad, I presume? My apologies for the inconvenience of this meeting." The professor's chin rose and Nicole imagined his expression was one of puzzlement. "Yes, well, I need some answers," he said a bit more calmly. "And you shall have them." The captain looked up at Nicole with tension forming around his eyes, almost as if he were hiding some distant painful memory. "Spartan-458, welcome aboard [i]Nagamo[/i]." She wanted to point out that she had not officially stepped onto the [i]prowler[/i]-class ship, but nodded anyway. There was no need to openly defy a ship's captain over something so menial. Nicole then brushed past Sorvad and ducked down the docking collar, only to turn back to see the professor pausing. Sorvad seemed to be locked in a stare that went back and forth between the two officers until the captain stepped aside, motioning the civilian professor. "Please, Dr. Sorvad. We are on a tight schedule and I don't wish to arrive late." "Late to where?" Sorvad asked with narrowed eyes. The female officer folded her arms across her chest. "Doctor, if you don't come aboard now we'll have security force you to--" The captain held up his hand to forestall her rant. "We are going to investigate a slipspace anomaly. I have a good friend who is waiting for us to arrive with the both of you." He glanced at Nicole then back to Sorvad. "With your expertise and this Spartan's combat skills, I should hope we can handle the situation before it can get out of hand." While his voice was very much under control, it took on an edge of challenge. "If you'd like to stay here, the next slipspace-capable ship won't be arriving for another six months, though I'm sure you can learn to barter for food and supplies with the dozen crewmen stationed on the moon's outpost." Nicole smiled behind her visor. [i]I like this captain.[/i] Sorvad worked his jaw, keeping himself under rigid control. He took one last look at the shuttle's interior then marched past the two officers, grumbling again in his native tongue. When he stepped sideways past Nicole she looked back at the officers and the female just shook her head. The captain straightened up. "Lieutenant Jokling, would you see Spartan-458 off to her quarters while I catch up to the Professor?" "Yes, Captain Thorm." Jokling motioned with her hand and the two women headed aft. Their short walk took them deeper into the ship and just past the crewmen's main barracks. Jokling wasn't much for talking or elaborating on this slipspace anomaly investigation. But that was okay. Nicole had learned long ago that, when in her armor, the least amount of words she spoke, the more she was left alone. Her room was small, but it contained all she would need for the duration of her stay. The accoutrements, whether planned before or after they sent word to [i]Teveden[/i] to bring her here, were facilitative to a Spartan. She even had a storage locker large enough to place her armor in. [i]It would do,[/i] she decided. [i]At least it's bigger than a cryo-pod.[/i] "Captain's scheduled a briefing in a few hours, but I'd recommend getting as much shut-eye as possible. This trip shouldn't take too long." Jokling seemed to force a smile then left, closing the door behind her. [i]What a fun bunch[/i]. She waited for almost half an hour before exiting her room and pausing in the hallway. She could have easily queried the shipboard AI for a map of [i]Nagamo[/i], but instead she decided to do her own tour of the ship. In the end, it wasn't much different than other [i]prowler[/i]-class ships. Just more crew than she was used to. As she walked down the darkened corridors, her mind kept going back to what the captain referred to as a "slipspace anomaly." Images of a UNSC rescue op, an Innie ship blowing out its main drive, and even Covenant ships setting a trap flashed before her mind's eye. Whatever it turned out to be, it would hopefully be something worthy of a Spartan's skills. When she returned to her quarters to find a message queued up on a datapad left for her, she sighed. The journey would take another day and a half and the captain had decided to delay his meeting until the day of arrival. She wondered if the arguing professor had anything to do with that. She looked down at the sturdy-looking bed, beckoning her tired mind and body for rest. "Jokling, I think I'll take you up on your offer."