Machine

“Your ship’s pretty impressive,” Cortana told me as I carried her around the outside of it. She studied its construct, and then motioned for me to take her inside. I had to admit, it was severely less impressive than the outside, but it was getting there.

“I’m planning to use the console you came from as my control station,” I told her. “Once I get a few more internal components, I can patch an engine together. I just need enough thrust to get off the planet, and I’ve got my jets to steer me and propel me.”

“That should work,” She mused; I sat her down on the desk of the ship as she studied it. “I can help you control the thrusters, and I can probably salvage enough of the engine to use it for a better landing.”

“What about lighting?” I asked, holding up a few cables. “I still can’t get these to come on.”

“Okay, follow my lead,” Cortana said, turning and and planting her hands on her hips. It took nearly four hours to get the lights up and running, and after a quick lunch break, Cortana and I headed out to scavenge for parts. According to her, I was severely lacking in most of the essential firing components. The walk wasn’t too long, and soon enough we were standing in the wreckage that had come in just last night; Creation was right in the path of everything freefalling, so we always got debris.

“Left,” she said, and I shifted my steps. “That rod, right there. Chrome and green. Grab that.”

I stashed it in my bag.

“Oh, and get the panel siding, right there,” she said. I sat her down on the top of a wreckage pile as I began to work out the panel. I hadn’t been working for more than a minute before I heard Cortana gasp.

“Cortana?” I asked quickly, whirling to make sure she was okay. She was standing completely still, eyes squeezed shut, her fingers pressing her temples. I abandoned my scavenging for the panel and knelt down in front of her.

“Are you okay?” I pressed; she wasn’t fully recovered yet, and immediately I worried that something had gone wrong with the patch.

“Covenant ship, just above the atmosphere,” she hissed to me, and I froze. There was a chance they were just passing over, but the look on Cortana’s face made me begin to panic. Our planet, like I’d told Cortana, was deteriorating. We no longer had UNSC soldiers stationed here; just a few volunteers that slept in the military barracks because they’d lost their houses in the explosion. The remaining people of Creation were a lot like me – scavengers, orphans, loners, people without jobs and no knowledge of war or fighting. We still got our food rations that we’d been granted back when the explosion happened, so we didn’t even farm anymore. We just survived. And if the Covenant landed, we’d be wiped out in a heartbeat.

“They’re… scanning for something..” she said slowly. “Looking for any rogue Covenant… hang on, I’ll translate.”

Cortana opened her eyes and snapped her fingers; a low, growling voice filled the debris field, and their words sunk into me as I listened in terror.

“We call upon our scattered brothers!” the voice ordered. “Join with us, we fight the long-awaited battle! We fly for Earth, we fly for the humans! We end the UNSC! We kill the Demon, and his followers! We will rule with bloodied fists and iron will! We will stand strong! Join with us, my brothers, take back what is ours!”

Cortana snapped her fingers, and our eyes locked immediately.

“I’m no soldier, but that doesn’t sound good for the UNSC,” I said warily, trying to make my heartbeat slow down. Cortana began to pace wildly, shaking her head as she muttered. I sat back on my haunches and let her think for a moment as I tried to settle my own thoughts.

“We need to get your ship working now,” she finally said to me glancing over as she continued her wild pacing. “The UNSC needs to know what’s coming for them!”

“With your help we can get it working faster, but we might not have all the parts we need-“

“We’ll make due,” she promised. “But we can’t wait. Once they have enough bodies, they’ll swarm Earth and the stations. They won’t stand a chance if we don’t warn them!”

“Then we’ll get it flying!” I promised, standing and turning back to the panel and wrenching it free. “Okay, tell me what we need.”

***

Cortana and Sol worked through the afternoon, and well into the night. After seven or eight trips to several different crash sites, Sol had gotten enough parts to piece together the command station; with a little help from Cortana, she transferred the new console to the ship, and plugged her in.

“Okay, there’s still a lot of wiring and set up to be done inside,” Cortana muttered, pulling up several screens of her own as she worked; when Sol didn’t answer right away, Cortana glanced back. The young girl gave a tremendous yawn and rubbed at her eyes.

“Sorry, I was listening I swear,” Sol promised, blinking slowly. Cortana gave a sympathetic smile.

“Lay down for a bit. I’ll get started on this.”

“We need more parts-“ Sol began to argue, and Cortana waved her hand.

“You’re no use to either of us exhausted out of your mind. Get some rest. Once you wake up, I’ll work you twice as hard.”

A tired smile pulled at Sol’s lips. She pulled off her flannel overshirt and bundled it up into a pillow, curling up on the ground.

“Wake me when you need me,” she said sleepily, already dozing off before the words left her mouth. Cortana stared down at the young girl; those words were what Chief had told her when he put himself into the cryosleep. Memories and emotions pulled at Cortana’s artificial heart, and she shook the feeling off.

Because if she ever wanted to see Chief again, if the UNSC had any hopes of surviving the oncoming war, she had to focus. The fate of those she loved, of the entire human race, rested with Cortana and Sol, and she wouldn’t let any of them down.