The last mission

Start writing... Chapter One: Firepower

It was a solemn next morning.

They gathered around the fire Denzel had started with a flask of alcohol and 13 ribbons, 1 for each fallen Teammate. It was a custom the Civilians of mars practiced. The flames symbolizing rebirth. Denzel began the standard HUD eulogy.

"Groggins Dunesworth, Wildlife specialist,

Zander Terwell, metallurgy specialist--"

He didn't get five seconds into it when the Chief interrupted him.

"That's enough Denzel. I'll take it from here." Chief silenced him, cleared his throat, and began in a formal tone:

“In respects to the following soldiers of the HUD:

Groggins Elijah Dunesworth, Archaeology, Evolution, and Mammalian wildlife specialist,

Evangeline Rose Mayweather, Geology, Radiation, and Seismology specialist,

Williams morrison cunder, Electrokinetics, deep space analysis, and software specialist,

Terson Megan Stormwhile, Culinary, Agricultural, and toxicology specialist,

Graff Hurstwhile Devons, First aid, Pharmacology, and Biomedical Engineering Specialist,

Jane Larson Breeson, Systems Ecology, Statistical Theory, and Cybernetics specialist........ And Tinker Saintsbury Bluewell. Navigations, Orbital mechanics, and Astronomy specialist. "

After a moment's pause, he continued on in straight forward fashion.

"You are all commemorated as officers in the HUD command. Your names, your skills, your trials of tribulation, and your brave sacrifices will not be forgotten. May we learn from your loss, You will be missed. Amen."

Everyone shuffled off and began packing. Everyone, except for Brianna. Denzel walked up and stood beside her.

"Do you remember Titan?" She asked, watching the small fire.

Titan was Saturn's moon and HUD base of operations. The cadets had all spent the first 10 years of their life there. At age 10, they had been relocated to their new home on Mars. None of them had looked back. They rarely talked about it.

"Of course." Denzel did. He tried not to think about it too often.

"Do you remember the mind tribulation trial?" Brianna asked.

Denzel did. It had been one of the longer-lasting tests that HUD had designed for them. They were stripped naked, given a flashlight that was programmed to flash on and off randomly, and then placed in a maze. Just the thought of it brought back horrible memories of helplessness and pain. It was filled with sections of broken glass, rats, and fake walls that rotated and locked, separating you from your teammates.

The point was to learn to control your fear. So they said.

"Yes."

"Do you remember in the hall of mirrors, when Evangeline bumped into one and set off the strobes?"

"Yep. A pretty creative way to terrify a bunch of kids." Denzel replied.

"When you all panicked and ran... Graff stayed behind. I remember it was quiet, and I was crying because I was so thirsty, and I had closed my eyes to try and block out the lights. And then suddenly she was there. She put her hand on my shoulder and said "We have to find the others." And then she pulled me up. And we came and found you guys."

Denzel looked at her. Her expression was dangerously blank.

"The trials... I know they tried to drive us apart with them. Make us compete for food so that we would become relentless. Force us into cold and savage obedience so we wouldn't stray from Protocol. So that we wouldn't be affected when a teammate fell in combat...."

She wiped at a tear that slid down her cheek.

"But now that Graff is gone... I can't stop thinking about how it didn't work. We were a family. Remember when they let us out of Titan and we were allowed to mingle with the Martian populace? Remember how hard it was at first to make friends? Samson... Evangeline... some of them never made friends. Do you remember how they wouldn't even come up to the higher levels with the rest of us when we'd go drinking and gambling with the civilians?

And now they're all gone. Fuck, Denzel, after you guys blow up whatever little disturbance you find and then finish the mission, what next? Even if we spend another 7 months here foraging and evading the natives, even after command sends another ship and we get rescued. We have no other friends. Sure, we have people we know, but they're not... they weren't with us in the pits of Titan. They've never fought and bled beside us. They're not... family. We have no one left."

Denzel stared into the fire, listening. He had no answers for her.

"Thanks for not saying it Carcar."

"Saying what?" Denzel jerked his head towards her.

Then she looked at him with that same blank face. "Saying 'we have each other' or some other tacky cliché."

"...What are you thinking about right now?" Denzel asked carefully.

"Thanks for asking Cadet. I'm thinking about how to keep all of us alive. I'm also thinking that someone has access to a Command helmet just like Chiefs. That's the only thing that could explain the Comm's being jammed like they were."

Denzel thought about it a moment.

"But then... You think?"

"I think no one should separate. You boys go off to your little firework show. But you do it together. You stay within line of sight and use sign language to stay quiet, but more importantly... off the Comm's. I'm going to physically disable my geo unit--"

"Bri! What If we need to find you?"

"Shh. Don't tell the Chief. I don't know if he would agree. I'm just going to pull the chip and pocket it for later. I can always put it back in. That way I can see where you guys are and come in for a hasty pick up if you need, and no one else can see the location of the Phoenix."

Denzel thought about it.

"But then won't the person with the other command headset know where we are still?"

"I have the Phoenix." She replied. "I need to know where you are so I can come to pick your asses up if you need me to. Or if this location becomes compromised and I have to move the ship. Either way, I'll need to know where you are. You're just going to have to be extra careful."

It made sense. "Who else could have another Command helmet though? And more importantly, what extra tricks can it do that we need to know of? I'll talk to the Chief about it and see if I can't get some answers." Denzel agreed.

"Try and get him to take this idea seriously and adapt counter-attack protocols."

Denzel nodded. It made the most sense right now. They still didn't know how the natives had set off that explosion on the base of the USFS. But it did seem like someone was using military tech on this planet.

"I will. Be careful until we get back. And Bri... try not to leave the ship."

The phoenix was designed to be a mobile tank. It had a 6-inch thick steel-rolled exterior. Nothing short of a miner drilling rig should be able to crack it open. And at over 12 tons in weight, not even an explosion like the one that took out the USFS's legs should be enough to budge it more than a few yards.

She looked at him like he was slow...

"Obviously, Cadet Denzel. Now go join the others before I change my mind and assume Command of this mission myself." Denzel looked at her. He started to laugh when he noticed she appeared deadly serious.

"According to Ascension protocols... You have to have 100% of the unit's unanimous vote to be in agreement to be..."

She gave him that same look.

"Other than the Person's in question to be in command, how many are left of the unit?" She asked him.

He came to the realization. Man. Maybe he was slow. There were only 3 people left to vote. He stared at her like she was a creature from another world. He had never considered... The Chief had always just been... the Chief. Ever since they were 10 years old. He was given the title by the HUD right after they had left Titan. Even talking about this felt like borderline treason.

"You know you've got my vote. And I can twist Tucker's arm for you. But If anyone could pull off Cornelius's vote, it would be you."

She eyed Cornelius from where he was loading his belt with Phase cell Cartridges.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Try to get some answers out of Chief. Be safe. And come back in one piece. We'll figure out what to do then. Got it, Cadet?"

"Roger that."

They headed out 10 minutes later.

It was slow going at first. They had to repel down the side of the waterfall. The river rocks were slippery and uneven. They moved slowly towards land. From there the plan was to follow the river down a quarter-mile before heading east into the forest. Then after that, it was a short trek down the mountain towards the series of gorges where their destination lay.

Denzel tried not to become distracted by the sheer volume of water that fell from the falls and snaked through the river beside them. He had to focus on the task at hand.

They were still following the river when Denzel decided he would try and soften the Chief up a bit.

"Chief, can I ask you a question?"

"Negative Cadet, focus on the task at hand," Chief said without even looking over his shoulder.

That's what I'm doing... Denzel thought to himself in annoyance before continuing.

"Wasn't HUD's estimates that one shouldn't be able to survive the radiation for more than 18 months without exo-suits?" Asked.

"Hmm." The chief grunted in agreement. "Looks like they made a miscalculation."

A pretty damn big one.

"Sir, the Earth shouldn't have healed this quickly. I think Command knows that and hasn't told us everything about this mission."

"Beyond my clearance level, Cadet." Chief didn't even hesitate.

"But Sir... don't you think--" Denzel began.

Chief interrupted him. "Our job is not to think, Cadet. It's to ensure that the protocols are adhered to, and complete the mission. Remember that."

They walked for a good 5 minutes in silence.

"Permission to clarify something, sir?" Denzel asked.

"Permission denied, Cadet."

Denzel continued anyways. "Can your command helmet override it when someone mute's you on the Comms?"

"No. In case of emergency, I can override anyone who has muted me."

"Then why.." Denzel began, thinking about when he sat by the lake and had muted Chief yesterday.

"Because we had just lost two-thirds of our crew. Because we all needed a moment to breathe. And most importantly Cornelius was still getting his wounds tended to. He is, after all, the ranking pilot now."

Denzel nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. If you hadn't brought Tucker back I would have shot you in the face for your insubordination as a deserter during wartime procedures." Chief replied.

"...Thanks. Anyways... I and Brianna have been thinking about what could have jammed the Comm's. We both think one of the likeliest scenarios is--"

Now the Chief stopped, spun around in a fury, and screamed "What did I just say!? Your job is not to think, Cadet! It is to follow the mission protocol!! Can you do that?!"

Denzel was about to reply when he noticed Chief's finger was resting uneasily on his rifle trigger. It seemed less of a threat and more of a subconscious move on Chief's part. If anything, the Chief seemed... scared.

He wasn't the only one to notice.

"Umm... Chief? Permission to ask what Denzel did this time?" Cornelius asked.

Chief closed his eyes, visibly centering himself. "Permission denied. Keep moving Cadets. Close all Comm's Communications. We are moving forward silently. Sign language only. Guerrilla tactics are a-go." Then he turned around and started forward again.

Tucker looked at Denzel, and mouthed silently "What the fuck?"

Denzel just raised his shoulders in the universal "I don't know?" And kept moving. He would try to get some answers later, over lunch. Maybe Chief's blood sugar was out of whack. At least he had decided to stay off the Comm's for now.

The progress was slower than they had anticipated. They could only walk through small portions of the bush at the time. Mostly it was so thick with vegetation that they were forced to clear a path with their Phaseblades. They took turns, so no single person's charge would become exhausted. Cornelius was currently taking point, working on decimating a trail through a large, thick patch of yellow 'Helianthus'.

It didn't make sense to Denzel. Had the earth really changed this much? How much of his plant knowledge was even applicable anymore? Like this large patch of Helianthus, they now cut through. Normally the tall, stocky flowers didn't grow like this together without human Aid.

Maybe the natives planted them? Denzel was still mulling it over when he heard Cornelius shriek in terror in the distance.

They all came rushing up to him.

"What is it?"

"You ok?"

"Corn! Report!"

Cornelius turned to them, and with visible hesitation, he said "Seems to be a native Ave species. It got spooked and flew out of the bushes."

"The Bird got spooked!?" Tucker lowered his visor and grinned at him.

Chief snapped his fingers and shut him up with some abrupt sign language. "That's enough, Tucker. You're too loud. Everyone stays quiet and..." Chief stopped moving his hands for just a second, then continued signing. "Do you hear that?"

They froze. Denzel strained his ears, he did hear something. It sounded like someone was clinking two metal spoons together then stomping in the distance, maybe 50 or 60 feet out.

The Chief signed again. "Set your phase rifles to lethal. That's an order. Stay low, stay alert."

The noise was getting closer. It sounded like it was 20 feet out. But there was still no sign of the source. "Click." Thud. "Click." Thud. "Click." Thud.

And then suddenly, a small silver sphere the size of Cornelius's head rolled out of the undergrowth, 15 feet in front of them. It was covered in metal spokes that seemed to retract and extend to aid its movement. Every time one of the spokes pressed against the ground, it would make a Clicking noise, and then there was a small "Thud" as it seemed to slam down like a piston and deposit something into the earth. There was a small path of divots behind it.

Chief raised his rifle.

Denzel reached for his EMP grenade.

"Wait!" Denzel had just opened his mouth to say when the Chief fired.

The energy bolt tore into the little robot, shattering the spokes and cleaving the body into a half dozen pieces. It lay motionless.

Denzel glared at the Chief, and after a moment took a step towards it. The interior of the sphere lay exposed and smoking. There were no signs of wiring, just intricate patterns that had no straight lines. It was all curves, giving it a vaguely organic appearance. The patterns seemed to glow briefly before winking out and going black.

He took one step closer. It seemed the robot had an internal cargo space and was carrying... Seeds? They were strewn about, scattered alongside its broken parts.

He stooped forward to pick one up and recognized it instantly. A Helianthus seed. Denzel was dumbfounded.

Tucker was flustered. "Was that... what was that? What was it doing!?"

Cornelius gave him the signal to shut up. Then faced Denzel with a look that said "Well?"

"I think it was... planting seeds?" Denzel signed quickly. Then he dug his finger into one of the little divots of earth behind it.

Chief put his hand to his head and opened up the comms.

"Cadet Brianna, do you read?" Chief asked.

"Loud and clear sir." She replied.

Protocol dictated they make a record of whatever signs of AI they came across, no matter how small.

"Make a note on the Phoenix's log that we have made contact with functional AI technology. A sphere, 12 inches in diameter, self-propelled by external spokes. Sending coordinates now. That will be all Cadet."

Denzel could hear her incredulity over the speaker.

"Wait just a minute, what was it doing? Is everyone ok?"

"We're fine. It was just rolling around. Purpose unknown." Chief shot back.

"What do you mean, purpose unknown? Denzel what--"

"That will be all, Cadet Brianna. We are cutting Comm use to a minimum until we return... " He paused. "Cadet Brianna, did you disable your Geo chip?" Chief asked.

"I thought it would be prudent, sir, all things considered." She replied cautiously, remaining obviously vague.

Chief sighed and rubbed his eyes for a few seconds. He looked suddenly very tired. But he surprised Denzel when he seemed to understand. He simply just said, "Copy that." And shut the Comm's down.

Denzel reached for the little bot but Chief snapped his fingers and shook his head.

"Should study it." Denzel quickly signed with his hands.

Chief just shook his head and signed: "Don't know how it works. Could have a tracker. Could blow up in 10 minutes. Not worth trouble. Write down Coordinates, pick up on the way back."

Denzel blinked and stood back up. What a waste. The first sign of AI technology and they destroyed it, leaving them right where they started. With absolutely no clue what they were up against.

Chief looked at him as if reading his thoughts. He signed "Study later. Mission first. Give Cornelius your binoculars, we're taking point next."

Denzel sighed deeply. Cornelius always dropped his things. Every time he leaned him something, it came back with scratches or dents with no explanation for it.

He reluctantly handed them over. Chief and Cornelius took point and started off through the forest again.

But Denzel didn't move. He just stared at the seed in his hand. What had the old world people called this? The people of the old world never called anything by their real names. It annoyed Denzel to no end. But he still put in the extra effort to remember what their pet names for different plants were. He thought it gave him some small insight into the minds of his distant ancestors. Even if it did mean that he had to memorize two names for almost every damn plant in his mental library instead of just one.

He thought about it. Helianthus was a special plant. It absorbed massive amounts of radiation, and its seeds were edible. Or so Denzel had read in his studies. Looking at it though... he wasn't sure how the Old world Humans had gotten any nutrition from such a small shell. How many seeds would it take to satisfy a grown man's hunger?? Maybe it had evolved smaller seeds over the past 300 years?

Or perhaps it was more for special occasions? Higher class social functions and the like... Dammit! What had the old world people called them?

He thought for a moment, then remembered another fun fact. These plants had a unique inclination to follow the sun as it moved across the sky. Twisting their stocks and turning to face... Oh. Well, that was obvious.

It came to him. Sunflowers. The old world humans had called them Sunflowers.

He spared one last glimpse at the broken metal bot. How could this have been one of the monsters of humanity's past? What connection did this small, rolling ball share with the AI that had destroyed billions of humans and brought mankind to its knees essentially overnight? Denzel shook his head. Monsters didn't plant flowers... Did they?

Denzel slung his rifle over his back and started off to follow Chief and the others when he noticed Tucker still hadn't moved as well. He just stared at the broken bot.

Denzel waved to get his attention and signed him.

"What are you thinking?"

"Zander would have loved to get his hands on this." Tuck signed back.

It was true. The ship's electrical engineering and metallurgist expert, Zander, would have had a field day. Denzel felt the old surge of Jealousy begin to rise, then guilt for being jealous of the dead smothered it.

Sure, he had studied electrical engineering in his off-hours, but he could only spare so much time to do so. He had to regularly meet the standards for his mandatorily assigned specialties like Botany and Biology, and that left him with only so much time to study anything else.

"Your right. He would have loved it." Denzel signed. "Now let's move. I can barely see Chief anymore."

"Speaking of Chief..." Tucker signed. "Seems scared. It's making me scared."

Denzel sighed. Moving his hands was so much slower than talking.

"I think it's because we lost so many.." Denzel signed.

"We've lost people on missions before," Tucker replied.

Denzel remembered. 9 years ago. They had all just turned 19, and it was their first mission. There had been 30 of them back then. They were supposed to scout a mining colony that had ceased communication, but It had been a trap set by pirates to steal their ship. It was unsuccessful.

The team kept their ship in the end but wound up losing 8 of their teammates that day. And then, over the next 5 years, they lost another 4 other teammates here and there, mostly due to "preventable" circumstances. At least that's what the Chief always said. That they should have just followed protocol... Denzel signed back:

"Never lost so many. Not like this."

But Tucker shook his head like he wasn't convinced.

"He's hiding something."

Denzel eyed His friend. But before he could reply, Chief's voice crackled over the Comm's.

"Regroup. Now. Hostiles at 1 o'clock."

When Denzel and Tucker caught up, they found Chief and Cornelius hunched behind a large boulder on the side of a hill covered in trees. Cornelius had Denzel's surveying binoculars out and was looking at something in the distance, outside the treeline.

"Status?" Denzel inquired.

"I counted 11 natives on foot just a second ago about 250 feet out and moving across the clearing westwards. Wait.. now there's only 10. Someone must have separated from the group. Watch our 6 Tucker."

"Force Multipliers?" Chief asked.

"Just bows and arrows from what I can see and... holy shit, one of those little rolling spheres just rolled right past them, and they ignored it. That's weird... But yeah. Some spears and... oh wait... one of them has a phase rifle. It's slung over his back."

Chief Jerked the Binoculars out of Cornelius's hands and looked for himself.

"Well... that should be a non-issue. Right Chief?" Tucker asked.

The rifles had a safety mechanism built-in. They were set to each team member's unique DNA signature. Their team could all use them interchangeably, but the rifles couldn't be fired by someone outside of their unit.

"Right, Chief?" Tucker pressed him.

"Not necessarily.." Chief spoke absentmindedly as he stared down the Binoculars a moment longer.

"What do you mean... not necessarily?" Tucker whispered.

Chief lowered the binoculars and ignored him. "Ok. We go east. Stick to the treeline. Move slow. Maybe we can evade them entirely."

Cornelius disagreed. "We can take them. We've got the firepower" He fondled one of the Frag grenades on his belt.

"We need information." Denzel disagreed with both of them. "We should set our charges to stun, and make sure we have a prisoner to question before we mow down the rest."

Chief shook his head. "Who knows if they even speak English. They're savages, after all. Better to avoid them entirely. They don't seem like a threat."

Chief had barely finished his sentence when they heard the "Whump" of a distant phaser rifle, followed by a thunderous explosion on the side of the boulder opposite of them. Stone chips rained down on them.

Their training kicked in. They moved.

Cornelius jumped from behind the rock, firing blindly, hopefully providing some sort of cover fire.

Tucker and Chief were soon to follow.

The three of them scattered to find cover behind different trees, so they weren't grouped together. That way they could cover each other easier, and it would be harder to pin them down.

Denzel, however, remained behind the rock and peaked his head over just enough to see.

The enemy sprinted directly towards them at full speed. Some had spears, some had bows. Denzel couldn't pick out the hostile with the phase rifle though... Where was he? They were around 100 feet out and closing. The enemy was going to try and rush them.?

Denzel ducked back down and watched as Cornelius blindly threw his last grenade toward the savages from behind a tree. He had barely withdrawn his hand when part of the tree trunk shattered into splinters from another Phase blast.

In his head, Denzel counted. 3...2....1...

He jumped out from behind the rock and started blasting as the grenade exploded. It cut down 2 of the oncoming savages. Denzel took down another 3 in quick succession and ducked back behind the rock just in time. More Phase blasts tore into the boulder, shattering giant chunks of stone.

He whistled at Cornelius to get his attention. "Status?" He signed.

Cornelius held up 4 fingers. He stepped out from cover for a moment, fired, then stepped back. He looked at Denzel again and held up 3 fingers.

Eyes on 3 more hostiles. Closing fast.

The stone behind Denzel shook again from another blast. "Phase Hostile Status?" Denzel asked aloud, wondering if anyone could see where the man with the rifle hid.

"Negative!" Corn and Tuck both shouted.

"Where's Chief?!" Denzel yelled.

Cornelius spun to the tree next to him.

"He was right here!"

Tucker tried the Comm's in a panic. "They're Jammed! He yelled as another chunk of the tree stump behind him exploded into splinters.

The three remaining savages had cleared the last of the distance towards the rock. They circled around both sides, trying to pin Denzel. Tucker had a good angle and picked one off with his phase rifle.

They were unrelenting. Fearless... or suicidal.

The two remaining savages let loose at 10 feet with their bows. It didn't matter how good Denzel's exo-suit was, at 10 feet it knocked the air out of him. And it hurt.

That was alright though. He didn't need to breathe to fire up his Phaseblades and close the distance between them. He cut them both down before realizing he had been foolish. He had left the cover of the boulder. Shit.

He paused for only the barest fraction of a second, but no blast came. No phase bolt took his head off. Everything was remarkably quiet.

He retreated and hunched down, trying to catch his breath in deep, painful gasps.

The comm's came back online suddenly. It was Chief.

"Phase hostile eliminated... Regroup at the boulder."

Chief was breathing heavily but he sounded... off. Hollow. Like there wasn't any emotion left.

Denzel made a split-second decision. He ignored the regroup order. He pulled up Chief's geolocation and sprinted as fast as he could towards it.

Tucker and Cornelius shared a curious look, before following in his footsteps.

100 feet down the treeline, they found Chief.

Well, technically they found two Chiefs.

One Chief lay on the ground, in what Denzel recognized as a sniping position. He wore a suit decorated with leaves and grass for camouflage. But his face was visible. He had turned his head around, probably at the last second from hearing Chief sneak upon him. The backside of his spine had been blown out by a phaser blast. It still smoked. But the face... The face was unmistakably Chiefs, just with more facial hair.

The other Chief, their Chief, stood over him in his black exo-suit with his rifle in hand. There was no expression on his face. No sign of any emotion.

Had there ever been a more fitting moment for some fucking answers?

"Did you Jam the Comm's just now or did he?" Denzel asked. Chief looked up, as if out of a trance. He eyeballed them all.

"I said to re-group at the boulder, Cadets." But Denzel pressed on though without hesitation.

"Did you Jam the Comm's or did he?" Denzel repeated.

Chief looked back down, his face blank.

"I did, as a precaution. But it turns out it wasn't necessary. He doesn't have his command helmet anymore."

"Is that... what I think it is..." Cornelius started. "Or are you... what I think you are?" Denzel watched as he made the leap in his head.

"Please tell me you have a twin brother Chief..." Tucker asked hopefully.

Chief said nothing. He didn't look up. He refused to make eye contact.

"Chief, you're scaring us." Denzel eventually said.

"Noted," Chief replied. Then he grabbed the enemy's rifle, slung it over his back with his own, and walked off, back towards the boulder.

They stared at the Dead Chief with facial hair.

"A clone." Denzel finally said. "Chief has a clone." It sounded absurd. Human cloning was highly illegal.

"Or Chief IS the clone?" Tucker stated.

"Fuck. We need some answers." Cornelius eventually said.

"And we'll get them...." Denzel said coldly. "We currently have 3 prisoners of War. the first 3 hostiles I took down... I had my rifle set to stun. They should be coming around in a couple more minutes. Let's get them cuffed and--"

Denzel broke off when he heard the "WHUMP" static noise of a Phase rifle set to 'lethal' in the distance.

"Make that 2 prisoners of war...." Tucker said somberly.

Denzel sprinted once again through the treeline, back toward where they came.

"Chief! Hold! I repeat hold!" Denzel tried the Comm's but there was no answer.

WHUMP

Another phase charge could be heard going off in the distance. Denzel ran as fast as he could. His lungs burned with the extra oxygen. He burst out of the foliage just in time to see Chief leveling his rifle at the last unconscious savage's head.

"Stop!!!" Denzel cried out.

Chief slowly looked at Denzel. Then he slowly raised his rifle directly at him.

Denzel froze.

"Chief... what the fuck!?"

Chapter Two: Agreement

"You've disobeyed a direct order. I told you to leave Phase rifles on Lethal under wartime protocols. Section 3, if I recall. So do you mind explaining this?"

"Sir, you don't have to--" Denzel began.

"Don't have to what!?" Chief interrupted, raising his voice.

"You have no idea what I do and don't have to do. I just killed myself, Cadet. Do you really think I won't eliminate you as well if you prove to be a hindrance to this mission?"

Denzel paused. He suddenly felt a little delicacy was in order.

"The mission absolutely takes priority, sir... We both agree on that. I just thought since we have so little information at this point anything we could drag out of a native would be--"

"Noted, Cadet. Any other suggestions?"

Cornelius and Tucker came bursting out of the undergrowth. Both of them froze at the sight of Chief's rifle leveled on Denzel.

Denzel was going to try another angle of logic when the Native at Chief's feet started to come too. He was a well-built man, probably 30 years old, he wore furs and moccasins, his hair was long, his beard thick. He looked like a caveman. But even though he was groggy, and slow from the stun phase, the first words out of his mouth were undeniably English."

"Please... oh, Talson. Thank god--"

WHUMP.

Chief shot him in the face at point-blank, shouldered his rifle, and walked away as nothing happened. "Warzone protocols apply 24/7 from here on out. And remember. There's still one more member of this scouting party out there somewhere. We counted 11 at first, didn't we? Well, I only count 10. Set rifles to Lethal, Cadets. And stay on your guard. That's an order. " He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

"What did you do?" Tucker dramatically flared his arms in sign language at Denzel.

"Is Chief losing it?" Cornelius signed Denzel.

They all turned and stared at Chief's back as he kept walking away.

"I think so... I don't know. There's a lot he's not telling us. Stay close. We might have to initiate Ascension protocols." Denzel replied.

Tucker and Cornelius both rolled their eyes and chuckled in unison. Denzel raised a patient eyebrow. They paused. Thinking it over. Denzel could watch the gears turn. Excitement for a change of leadership. Fear of changing the status quo.

Cornelius signed first. "But who? You?"

Denzel took a deep breath. His fingers moved quickly as he signed. "Does it matter at this point? But just so we don't fight about it, my vote's on Brianna."

Tucker whistled at that.

Cornelius rolled his eyes.

Great. They were in agreement. Denzel idly wondered if having a chain of command was really even necessary at all with a group this small now. Everyone had the same objective after all. Regardless, having a Chief give orders was something they were all used to. It had been that way for as long as they could remember. It was some small semblance of order in this cruel and beautiful world. Plus, Brianna would make a great Chief.

"Alright then."

Denzel had 2 stun grenades left, along with his modified EMP grenade, in case they came across any more robots. Then he could disable them instead of having Chief just break them.

He gave Cornelius and Tucker one stun grenade each.

"Stay together. Watch Chief. And if we find another native, capture them for questioning. If the Chief tries to kill them.." Denzel's hands stopped moving as he considered the gravity of what he was going to say next. He looked over his shoulder at Chief in the distance, just to make sure he wasn't watching. Even signing this next part could be considered treason. "If the Chief tries to kill them... stun him."

They both nodded their heads with an uncertain agreement. Before, they might not have been so receptive to this idea, to put it mildly. Now... Now it was apparent that the Chief was withholding information regarding the mission. They felt betrayed. Unsafe. Unsure. After all, the closest thing any of them had ever had to a father figure... was keeping secrets on their most important mission to date. Big secrets.

"I don't like this. Any of this." Tucker signed.

"Noted. Now let's move out." Denzel replied. He didn't mean to be short, he just didn't know what else to say.

It seemed none of them did. The next 3 hours spun along in near silence.

As they moved, Denzel pointed out plants that were known to have medicinal qualities. Both he and Tucker collected samples.

It was the only relaxing thing he had done in the past 12 hours.

Tucker, bless his heart, at some point in time decided he was going to smell every single new flower he ever came across. Denzel watched as he now picked up and sniffed a Lavandula. "What's the big deal--" Denzel started, but Tucker simply thrust it into his face. Oh my god. It was. Amazing. Like nothing, he had ever experienced.

He felt like a blind man seeing a new color.

"What did the Old World Denizens call this one?" Tuck asked.

"Lavender..." Denzel recalled after a moment. "The oil was used sometimes as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent."

"Well, I like it. I'm taking extra samples of this one." Tuck whispered to himself as he stooped down to pick more.

They spent a bit of time collecting and comparing flowers after that.

"These ones alright, it's kinda plain..."

"Wow, try this one..."

"Oh yeah that's a good one, pocket that for sure."

And so on.

After Denzel's nose was opened to the wonders of Lavandula, there was simply no going back. He had also made it a personal goal to sniff each and every new flower he ever came across, just in case.

Denzel didn't know how to describe it. The Lavender was almost offensive but in the most pleasant way. The only thing that came close to it on mars was the artificial citrus cartridges people would place on their air vents in order to mask the bitter, metal smell of the recycled air. Denzel had never cared for them. He thought it was something most women did.

But this... he pulled the purple gem out of his pocket for a brief moment, catching a quick sniff before putting it away again. This was something very special.

He would take this home and tie it proudly onto his air vent.

If he ever got home...

The thought had been wearing away at him the past few hours. They had no means of communication with Mars. Maybe if Zander, Danvers, or Williams had survived, they could have jimmy-rigged something from the parts aboard the Phoenix.

And for the hundredth time... he hated the specialization of skill sets that the HUD had given them, seemingly at random.

He understood the theory, of course. The human brain can only fit so much stuff in it, so instead of learning a little bit about a bunch of topics, it would be better if a bunch of people would learn a lot about a smaller number of topics. As a unit, this made them stronger... But it had its drawbacks. For instance. If someone died, that knowledge died with them. It just all seemed so arbitrary. He had thought about it over and over, and there was nothing during the trials of TItan that would indicate he would make the best biologist. Or tucker the best languages analyst, E.T.C.

On their 10th birthday, the day they sailed for their new home on Mars, everyone was given a list of specialties and skills and expected to learn them in detail. Chief was certified as Chief, and in order to communicate effectively with his team, he was required to dabble in all the topics of study, however, he had only needed to learn the bare bones or the basic essentials of each course. A man of many skills, but a master of none.

It didn't make sense. Denzel sighed... he had been thinking that a lot lately. He was broken away from his thoughts when Chief put his fist up, motioning to stop.

A small herd of 4 legged animals meandered lazily across the landscape before them. There were around 20 of them, 26 if you counted the babies trailing behind their mothers. Denzel couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the silver glint of another rolling robot meander through the tall grass. It rolled directly past the animals, but they paid it no attention.

Did Denzel see that correctly? He turned to ask for his binoculars from Cornelius when he heard the Chief whisper to himself.

"I wish Groggins were here...."

Denzel looked at the Chief. His eyes were ever so slightly glassy. Denzel noticed. He thought for a moment. Groggins was the mammalian expert. But this animal wasn't so exotic that Denzel didn't know of it.

"They're Cervidae. Prey animals, not a threat." Denzel said quietly. Then he searched his memory banks... "Old world folk called them 'deer'" He added a second later.

The Chief looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite read, then simply turned and started walking again.

"Can you eat them?" Cornelius leaned in and asked Denzel after a moment.

"Only one way to find out..." Denzel replied.

"Yeah, why don't you try one and let us know?" Tucker Chimed in. Cornelius just sighed, rolling his eyes before following off after the Chief.

"But really, are they edible?" Tuck asked after Cornelius had walked out of hearing distance.

"Yes. Humans used to hunt them for their meat all the time."

"Hmm. I think I'll stick with my MRE's for now. Those things look so hairy... how is one supposed to get past all that fur?"

"I believe, with a knife of some kind," Denzel replied with expert neutrality. This earned him a second, suspicious glance from Tuck. "...Gross." Is all he said though before he dismissed Denzel and followed off after Cornelius.

Did literally no one study anything outside their assigned specialty sets??

But at the same time, Denzel couldn't blame them. There were no butterflies on Mars. No deer. No flowers. And therefore, no reason for the average Martian to memorize their names and utilities. Electrical engineering was the thing everyone wanted to know. That was the type of skill that held real value, or at least that's what Denzel used to think.

Until yesterday, all his research on plants and biology had been equivalent to reading a fantasy novel. They existed as ideas only. Ideas of some far off forgotten time and place, a million miles away. Irrelevant. Distant. The lessons were tedious and filled with cold, passionless memorization. In all honesty, it was soul-crushingly boring research. After all what good did it do him to read that a Lavandula smelled of floral, berry, and fine wood notes? On Mars, there were neither flowers, berries, or wood!

It felt like looking up a word in the dictionary, and then being referred to look up another, slightly different variation of that same word. Then, upon turning the pages to search for the new word, you find the page it was printed on ripped out. You knew the words... but still didn't know the definition. It had been maddening.

But now... he thought as he ran his fingers across the tips of a Tracheophyta, he felt as if his dictionary was finally complete. Now he understood the definition of a floral smell. Now he knew why lover's in the Martian base still referred to each other as "blossom" and "flower" even after 300 years underground. It was written in their DNA. It had to be. It seemed written into his.

Denzel spotted a Gardenia Jasminoides. That was one of the few plants the Old world humans showed some sense in naming. Their pet name for it was simply the abbreviation of its full name. "Gardenia", he recalled.

Denzel tried to remember the last time he had given so much thought into his sense of smell. Never? Sure, he had become hungry when he smelled grub cooking occasionally.

But when he smelled the Gardenia he didn't become hungry. Instead, he became... calmer. More centered. It made him think of Brianna. Soft, delicate, velvety, and intoxicating, but full and bold at the same time. He couldn't wait to show it to her.

It made him want to stop and savor the moment before it inevitably passed. To lock it in his memory banks so tight that he could never forget. Could never have it taken from him. He raised the flower to his face for one last inhale before he would pocket it.

Just as it touched his nose, Chief opened up the Comm lines.

"Where the fuck are you Denzel? Give me those Cornelius... There. I see you. My god, are you seriously smelling the fucking flowers? Don't make me shoot you, Denzel. Just hurry and catch up already. This is still a military operation, after all. Let's finish it. Over and out."

Denzel sighed. Those were his binoculars.

"Roger that." He said softly to himself as he pocketed the Gardenia.