HRP reboot - Chapter 2: On the Run

In the void of slip-space, the Hammer Time drifted through the alternate dimension on the wake from the December. The reactor now cooled, the coolant dumped in to quell the rising, the crew went about assessing the damage. But they could not do such a thing while in slip-space. "Activate the slip-space drive now!" Oswald barked. "Get us back into normal space!" The bridge staff nodded, and went about activating the slip-space drive. Nearly ten minutes later, the ship dropped out, though they simply left one pitch black void for another as they entered empty space.

The launch of the HEV pods was canceled, the doors sealed. Everyone got out and was now anxiously awaiting news, Lin among them. Once the ship was out, sensors came online, and long range scanners searched to pinpoint their position. They were far away from where they had entered slip-space, that much was certain.

"The Hammer Time is behind us." Requiem announced.
Siri frowned, then keyed the comm.

"Attention, UNSC Hammer Time. First, I'm not gonna listen to your speech about returning and giving up and shit so don't try. Second, were there any casualties onboard and are you able to move on your own power, or are you stranded?"

Rika watched Siri, but said nothing. The other spartans looked between each other, waiting.


Requiem looked at Jaryd. "Deck Five, rooms Six, Seven, and Eight are open to space. We have dents and bullet holes on the spine, but otherwise we are intact."

Jaryd groaned lightly. "And I'm assuming we don't have any spare pieces of outer hull to slap into place do we?" He sounded slightly hopeful, although part of him realized that he actually probably have any pieces of metal that big just lying around. He tended to cut them up into smaller bits for more uses.

"Sir!" the communication officer shouted. "We're being hailed.....by the December." Oswald considered his options, before sighing. "Patch them through." Moments later, the message came through, and Siri's voice came in over the radio. Unfortunately, a glitch let the message be heard over the ship intercom, so everyone, mainly Lin, heard it. When she heard Siri's voice, her blood went cold and her expression froze. Then an all too familiar anger began to claw it's way up from her stomach. Only years of training helped her keep it in check.

"This is Captain Oswald of the UNSC Hammer Time. we have no intention of asking you to come back ma'am. We have a job, and we will see it through. Though I'm touched you cared so much to ask for a casualty report. But I'm in no position to hand one over to you."

"We'll have to make due next place we hide at." Rika answered. "So we'll block off the sections and preserve our hull integrity. This thing is built to lose parts and still work in space or underwater remember."

"Then I will assume no one died." She let out a sigh of relief. "And again. Are you able to move by your own power?" She paused. She...no. Lin...Lin probably hated her. Wanted her dead.
She deserved it.
"If so, I'm sorry. But you left us no choice. I don't want to spill any blood Captain. Please. Don't put us in a position where we must. I...I don't want to fire upon the Hammer Time." She weighed the consequences of explaining why.
But that would reveal too much.
"if you attempt to pursue, our engines will be ready in two minutes. So don't try."

"We have no choice here Saorise. You have stolen a valuable UNSC asset in the middle of a war, and ONI wants it back." Oswald's voice took on a hard edge. "So whether you like it or not, we will pursue." And with that, he ended the message. "Pour whatever power we have into our engines, and put us on course for that ship. Ready a MAC round stat!" The bridge responded with a "yes sir" and went to work.

The ship began to move, albeit sluggishly. She brought her gun to bear, aiming it in the direction of the December as the engines pushed forward.

Jaryd was about to respond, when his console lit up. "Shit they're moving to follow. Requiem how long till we can jump?"

"You tried." Rika said simply.

As the Hammer Time attempted to follow, the Long and Dark December moved forward for ten more seconds, then entered Slipspace, leaving the Hammer Time behind.

"Where are we going?" Siri asked Requiem.
"I set curse for Alpha Centari; once we arrive, I'm going to send us to Athera. It's agricultural, and the only real military presence is a few corvettes and a destroyer, plus the ONI lab under the southern sea." He calmly picked up a chess piece from his chessboard. "Any questions?"
"No." Siri said. "None."

"Dammit....." Oswald growled, as the December left the system. "Can we track them?" His navigations officer began working at their console. "Not a hundred percent. I can maybe narrow down their course to maybe a dozen systems, but its a big hay stack. And we still need to do a full repair on our systems, get the reactor back up and running to its peak efficiency. Estimated time should be.....a little under an hour."

Unbeknownst to the ship, the region of space they entered was in fact very close, to a Covenant outpost. Detecting the slip-space disturbance, and not recognizing the profiles, a single ship was sent: a lone frigate, and it would reach them in under forty minutes.

As the Long and Dark December traveled through slipspace, Siri left for her cabin.
She couldn't stay on the bridge. She...she should have asked Oswald to send Lin a message. Even just a single word. Two words.
"But we can't turn back..."
"We could. But then we'd probably get caught."

Saoirse jumped, and looked over to see Rika. "Rika?"
"We can change course. But again, five minutes. And the fact we're probably gonna break something."
"But we'll get caught. There's no reason to turn back."
"If it means giving him two words to send Lin, it's worth it."

Siri shook her head. "The others...they'd get mad."
"Requiem doesn't care, Michael and Lina will protest, Jaryd might throw a hissy fit, but Ren will back me."
"Ri -"
"Get your message ready."

As she left, Siri wondered how the fuck she let her adopted daughter bully her around like that.

As repairs were underway (which were limited solely to the reactor) the ship was on alert. They were in unknown space and cut off from any allies, practically adrift in space. Oswald stood on the bridge, overseeing affairs. "What's the status on our reactor?" MC flickered to life. "Captain, the reactor is powering up and is currently generating 70% of the power we need. Engines were slightly damaged, but repairs are going smoothly so we should have mobility in the next ten minutes." Right as the little AI finished, a slip-space portal opened, and out popped a Covie frigate. It's engines flared and weapon pods warmed as it began moving towards the Hammer. "Well....that was unexpected." MC stated. Immediately the captain began barking orders. "ALL HANDS REPORT TO BATTLE STATIONS! ENGINEERING, GET OUR ENGINES ONLINE NOW, AND SOMEONE GET OUR WEAPONS OPERATIONAL!"

Thought the ship, bulkheads began to slam down over sections as the ship prepared for a fight. The ODST's suited up and prepared to repel any possible boarding parties. As the Covie ship drew closer, it's pulse laser turrets flared and fired. Pulses of energy splashed over the hull, melting through Titanium armor. Engineering managed to get the engines online and the ship moved, though not under power from its engines. They fired the emergency thrusters, sending the ship flying to the right. Weapons came online, and the Archer missiles fired. Some were shot down, and the rest impacted on the shield. But this fight was not in favor of the Hammer.

As the Long and Dark December continued to fly back to the Hammer Time, Saoirse felt bad.
Like, intuition gut bad.

Or maybe, it was that feeling one got, inexplicably, when their love was in danger.
"Lin..." she said softly.
"Two minutes." Requiem informed her.

Mitchell was once again cursing a blue streak as he prepped, and Marcus swore that his cursing alone could be used as a weapon against the hinge-heads. Marcus, however, was a model in calm under fire. Lily had gotten herself collected, and Jose was carrying his MA5B like he'd been born with it.

Alexia, even with her helmet, looked and felt like cold death. If the Covenant ever sent boarders, they'd have to deal with a very mad mother bear in her. And everyone in Wolf Squad knew not to fuck with Alexia when she was mad.

"Damage report!" Oswald shouted as sparks flew in the bridge. MC spoke in an urgent tone. "Captain, we've taken significant damage on the port side. Armor plating is just gone and fires are breaking out in sections of the ship." Oswald turned to face the AI. "Vent those sections now! Tell anyone alive to get out of there and vent them!" Without speaking t the captain, MC did just that, sending an alert and giving personnel time to evacuate damaged sections before the seals came down and the were vented of atmosphere. The ship then turned, bringing her MAC gun to bear. Targeting solution completed by MC, the gun fired, the round deflecting off the shield, but draining enough that the next salvo of missiles managed to get through. But it wasn't enough, and the next salvo of pulse laser turrets hit the HEV bay, penetrating the armor and creating a breach. Most of the ODST's inside were already out, but a few crew members and one ODST were in the vicinity.

--One minute Earlier--

Lin and two other crew men for the ship were trapped in the deck. As they tried to run, the bulkhead came down and locked their escape. She was the only one fully suited, and thus was the only one prepared when the pulse lasers hit. The breach resulted in a suction that yanked all three out of the hall and into the bay. Both men, without suits, suffocated and died. She lived only because she had her suit on and sealed, and the suction didn't last long due to the seals. "Dammit....gotta get somewhere safe." Gravity was gone, so she floated into the bay, and found herself a small glimmer of hope. Climbing into her HEV pod, and the doors sealed and she now had access to a supply of oxygen. Limited maybe, but there was some. But the hope soon turned to panic when another blow hit the ship and the clamps holding her pod suddenly released, and she was thrown out into space.

Like the cavalry of legend, the Long and Dark December came out of Slipspace...and saw the battle.
"Dammit! Requiem, get us a firing solution! Load a full load!" Rika ordered. "Ren, give me a status update on the Hammer Time and see if you can't locate Lin's signal! Siri will lose it if she's hurt."
Ren scanned as Michael and Lina worked in tandem, bringing the frigate to bear.
"One minute until MAC charge complete." Requiem calmly said. Rika nodded. "Jaryd, I need you to get every ounce of power we have and make sure we are running as best we can. MOM!" She finally screamed into the comm. "Lin's in danger!"
They all, calmly, counted to five, which was when Saoirse slid into the room. "Where!"
"She's not on the ship! Requiem?"
"Firewall breach using ONI Backdoor Routine BLACK REBELLION. Streaming lifesigns..."
One screen showed Lin's lifesigns. "Saoirse. She's not in the ship."
Saoirse was off the bridge and running as the Long and Dark December came to bear.

"This is Long and Dark December to Hammer Time, we're gonna be your motherfucking saviors. So for the love of Poseidon, don't fucking bother us." Rika said savagely. "Requiem. Target their hanger with Archer Pod B. Aim the MAC and plot three seperate targets: the engines, the center where the bridge would be, and the third needs to hit the nose." The purple-haired Spartan checked the schematics of the frigate, or, well, what they gave right here." She pointed at the profile.

Requiem nodded, moving the queen forward. "Opening Hangar Two. Pelican is released."
As Saoirse's Pelican roared out, the December fired it's MAC gun, and the enemy frigate shook violently...but when the Archer missiles hit the hanger, it actually moved from all the explosions.


Saoirse's Pelican flew at top speed, locked onto Lin's biometrics.
"Requiem, five minutes! Save the Hammer Time and give me five minutes!" she hit a button, locking her into the cockpit and sealing it. "I almost got her!"

As Lin tumbled in her pod through space, she gained control, gripping the joysticks inside the pod and activating the thrusters, firing in bursts to stabilize her movement. But she still tumbled in space, and the most she accomplished was simply ending the spinning. She tried to fire the thrusters so she could get back to the ship, but it was pointless. So she broadcasted a message, what she thought would be her final one. "This is Lin. I'm in an HEV pod, tumbling through space. If anyone gets this.....just, tell Siri I'll be waiting for her on the other side." And then she ended the transmission, and closed her eyes.

Oswald stood on the bridge, stunned by what he saw. The ship they were chasing, was coming to save them. So for now, he did nothing but have the ship move away.

"I am so going to yell at you all later!" Jaryd yelled as he diverted all the power he could spare into the systems, trying to fight the urge to just punch the console. It was a bad habit that he was trying to break himself of. He didn't want to hit the one thing he could actually trust, that'd just be rude.

"I'd rather wait for you in bed!"
Saoirse's Pelican loomed over the HEV, turning to present the back. The ramp lowered. "If you have a helmet, pop the hatch and jump! If not, then we'll have to make this work! I'm not losing you, not a second time!"

The Long and Dark December was charging down the covenant frigate, which was turning to fire.
"MAC ready in twenty seconds."
"Fire the rest of Pod B." Rika ordered. "Then aim the Mini Mac at the hanger again. See if you can't angle it to the bridge."
The missiles impacted the Covie ship. "This is Ren - 278 onboard Long and Dark December to the UNSC Hammer Time. We're about to pull out, so get your asses out of here. Our Pelican is saving one of your ODSTs, so you have a choice: Wait at a distance and we can attempt to give her back, or save the many and damn the few, like you condemned so many Spartans." He gritted his teeth. "Either way, she'll find her way back to the UNSC. Alive. Healthy. Now, as you don't trust us, it's your choice. Just know we're in a lot better shape then you."

When Lin heard Siri's voice, she was torn between jumping to safety,or letting herself die. No thanks, I think I'll just suffocate. But common sense took over and she popped the hatch, and kicked her legs out from under her towards the pelican. "I advise you to stay in that cockpit Siri, because I'll fucking kill you if I see you."

Siri looked at her control panel.
"I know...and I deserve it. I know I do."
As soon as Lin as in the Pelican, the ramp shut and the cabin pressurized.
"Lin. I'm going to try and get you to the Hammer Time. I can't ruin your life further. it's not fair."

The Pelican's engines roared, and it started to accelerate gradually, as Siri didn't know if Lin was secure. "The December is getting ready to leave...if we miss your ship...I'll take you to UNSC Space. I..." She fell silent, and just flew the Pelican.

Lin, safely inside the dropship, walked up to the cockpit bulkhead and slammed her fist down on the door repeatedly. "NO! DAMMIT NO, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME AGAIN SIRI. NOT WITHOUT A FUCKING EXPLANATION!!! I....DESERVE.....THAT.....MUCH!!!" She screamed and yelled as she pounded, rather pointlessly, agains the door. She began to cry. "I loved you.....I loved you Siri. I.....god fucking dammit, I still do! So you don't get to leave me, without saying goodbye, without telling me why! You lost that right a month ago!"

Siri sat there for a moment, slightly shocked but able to focus enough to continue. She took a second to gather her thoughts.
"That girl...that purple haired girl..." Siri began. "She...she stole my heart...she...she's..." Siri took a deep breath. "Lin. She's like my daughter. And when she said she wanted to live in peace...live without being treated as disposable, without seeing her friends die left and right..." Saoirse started crying. "I couldn't...I had to save her Lin. Even if that meant leaving you in the dark I had to. Leaving without goodbye was the only way to protect you Lin. I love you so much. I couldn't destroy your life. I couldn't."

The Pelican neared the Long and Dark December as tears splashed onto the controls. "You deserve so much Lin. I love you, I always have, and I always will. But I can't make you run from the UNSC. That burden is mine...so please...let me take you home. Because I can't condemn you to living in fear and running." She rubbed her eyes. "I want you to never stop loving me...but it's not fair to you babe. You...deserve more then a rebellious girl who chose to save a girl she sees as her daughter...but who's not."

As the Pelican settled down in the hangar, Siri let her hands go limp at her sides. "I couldn't get her discharged Lin. I begged my dad, but he couldn't even find her file. I had no choice. I wanted to forever be yours. I want to live with you until the end of time, but I...I..."
Siri gave up. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" she concluded.

Captain Yang looked at his pilot, "Track the Hammer Time down, now. We need to help them at once!"

The pilot nodded, then the Captain got back on to the intercom, "All personnel, report back to your regular duties. All Marine, and ODST, report to your barracks. All squad leaders report to the war room, immediately!"

As the Captain put down the mic, the Hornet's pilot entered slipspace, and was sent to somewhere nearby them. The pilot spoke up, "The is the UNSC Hornet, to the UNSC Hammer Time, is anyone there? Over! I repeat, UNSC Hammer Time, what is your location, and status. Our radar is down, so we are using the ships windows to look around. Please, anyone, respond!"

Marcus felt each shake as the ship was torn apart at the seams. And now he heard the announcement: and it had him riled. Mitchell's cursing had died off, and Marcus was pacing about, unable to do nothing. He wanted to call the Spartans...and tell them something. Something that they'd understand.

And then Mitchell, spoke up, "Sir...I got something for you. I've been sitting on this for a month." He held out a small file, and Marcus was stunned, Marcus just said, "You...are the ballsiest man I've met." Mitchell then fiddled with the comms on Marcus's helmet. Unbeknownst to both groups, Mitchell was sent to the Engineers as a replacement, and was a comms specialist in the Marines for a few months.

And within a minute, Mitchell had a direct line to the runner ship's pelican. He then keyed the Pelican's frequency and said, "You got a minute Doctor Monroe? Or are you too busy?"

"She's in! Okay, let's get out of here people! I'm bringing us around." Jaryd yelled, typing into his console. "If you're goign to bitch at me to stop now's the time to do it!"

Lin stood there in silence. Hands at her sides as she quietly shook in anger. "You know what Siri? You know what's really ironic here? If you had just told this all to me before, given me a chance to make a choice......I wold have said yes. Because it was you. And I would have followed you. Because I loved you then, like I still do now. Only now.....now I think it's too late."

Hearing that...Siri screamed. She banged on the controls, screaming and crying at the same time.
She had lost Lin.

All because she was afraid.

Saoirse just cried and screamed into the controls, feeling the skin break on her hands as she just bashed the controls, accidently hitting the button that opened the door, revealing to Lin Siri's loss of all sense, all control, and anguish.
And probably the blood, too.


Rika rubbed her eyes. "Jaryd, don't jump us. Get us alongside the Hammer Time so we can transfer Lin over."

One of the crew members aboard the Hornet commed the Pilot, "SIR! We've got eyes on the December and Hammer! Also, it looks to be a pod out in the middle of space..."

"Copy! Moving direction"
The pilot commed to the December, "This is the UNSC Hornet, to the UNSC Long and Dark Dece-"

The Captain turned it off, and looked at the pilot, "Let them sort this out."
Yang comm'ed the Hammer Time, "Oswald, this is Yang. Just letting you know, we are here to assist. Just let me know, and we and we can get your ship outta here."

He turned around and headed for his chair, "Just drift for a bit Lt. I want to see, and hear how this turns out. Also! All ODST and Marine units, report to the pods, and pelicans, immediately!"

Jaryd grumbled and started moving them towards the Hammer Time. "I better be paid overtime for this..." His console beeped and flashed as they went, telling him where debris was an alternate courses to properly avoid them.

Behind the visor, Lin was shocked. Shocked at seeing Siri like this. She never meant to hurt her like this, she only wanted an explanation. And when she got it......she acted like an idiot. Removing her helmet, and slowly walking forward, she placed a hand on Siri's shoulder. "It's okay Siri, I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere." Granted, she actually couldn't. The pelican was still sealed and she was on a different ship. Not much elsewhere she could go.

Oswald responded to Yang, his voice clearly angry. "Took your sweet ass time getting here didn't you! Nearly lost my goddamn ship for fucks sake!"

Yang chuckled, "Well, not my fault you were being an idiot and got sucked into splipspace."

Achilles Squad was prepared at the pods. Marines were prepared at the Pelican Bay. "This is MSgt. John Do'Tree, to Captain Yang. We are awaiting orders sir."

Yang smiled, still thinking Oswald was being careless, "Copy Achilles, I'll give the word."

Siri stopped, looking around. Her face was streaked with more tears then should be possible, making her makeup run. Her maid uniform's front had some stains from blood, and her little headress was askew. She just looked at Lin.

Saoirse Monroe's voice couldn't convey anything.

She just stared at Lin, crying, her hands bloody and uniform a mess. She hadn't even gotten a chance to change before hell broke loose.


Requiem finally got alongside the Hammer Time.
"UNSC Hornet, if you would be so kind to go nuke that Covenant Frigate for us while we ensure the safe return of a few survivors, we'll not resort to highly drastic measures." He said calmly.

Captain Yang looked around, "Why isn't my Sensor Array partially fi-"

The sensor's came back online, and everything was kind of visible to the crew. "That's better... what Covenant Crui-"

The pilot turned to him, "Sir! We've got a Covenant Cruiser on the port side!"

"Get the Harpoon Nukes online! Fire Harpoons A-C. And target that cruiser!"

"Yes sir!"

The nukes went from the ship towards the cruiser, "Lt, turned this ship, and hit it with the MAC. Our mission is going to be delayed for a bit."

"Right away sir."

Lin was the first to break the silence. "I said 'I think it's too late,' yeah......but now.....now I'm not so sure anymore." Sighing, she placed both hands on Siri's shoulders. "It's too soon for me to say I forgive you, Siri. But I.....I'd be lying if I said I stopped loving you."

The Hammer Time, severely damaged, managed to get her engines running and moved towards the December. Oswald got on the horn. "December, we are not moving to attack, yet. But I believe you have someone of ours."

Siri looked at Lin.
She lurched upwards, arms going around Lin and Siri kissed her. She knew she'd probably get hurt, maybe even shot.
But she needed to do that.

The kiss conveyed her sorrow and love at once, and she held it for a few seconds...waiting to see what Lin would do.

Lin was surprised at the kiss. And her anger at Siri at first wanted to shove her off, slap her, do everything she had thought about doing before. But.....but she couldn't. The hardened ODST just couldn't. So she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Siri and holding her tighter.

Daniel and the rest of Dragon were currently in one of the halls on A deck, waiting for news on Lin.last they knew she had been jettisoned out of the ship and was picked up by the December.

Siri finally pulled away from the kiss, but not Lin.
"I'm sorry Lin." She began. "I know it doesn't do much...but it's where I can start." She moved closer to rest her head on Lin's shoulder plates.
She didn't continue. She'd just end up repeating herself, and that would just annoy Lin.

The Hornet turn towards the Cruiser, "MAC cannon charging up, Captain!"

"Good, make sure you hit it directly, we might have only one shot at this"

As the gun charged, it fired a bright blue beam at. Hitting it directly onto the side, splitting it in half.

Doc looked outside, "Kind of weird they never took to notice us... or even fire one shot... Strange."

"Siri..." Lin whispered. "What are you going to do? About this, about us?" She stared at nothing but the console of the pelican.

"Repeat, we'd like our soldier back.," Oswald said into the mic.

"I'm sorry Captain, but you're gonna have to wait. As the AI, I can't get two lesbians to move faster." He said nonchalantly.

Siri closed her eyes. "I have to send you back. I can't take you with me, no matter how badly I want to or how much I love you." She sniffed. "I want us to remain...I promised to fight for us, and I will...but I can't let that girl be treated as just a piece of property that can be wasted. Damn the greater good, damn the many. How can we win if we treat children like tissue?"

Siri didn't let go yet. "So please. Lin. For now, please. Go back to the Hammer Time...but I beg you. Believe in me. I'll find you, I'll come back. Once these kids are safe, away from this hell...away from the UNSC...I'll come find you. And you can do whatever you want to keep me from leaving again. Collar, leash, handcuffs. Anything. Just please."

She leaned back to look Lin in the eye. "Let me save my daughter."

"Oh no," Lin said, wrapping her arms around Siri tightly. "I said it would be a long time to forgive you. But I think we can shorten it if you let me come with." She pushed back a little to look in Siri's eyes. "I did not wait for so long, or come this far, just to kiss and say goodbye. If you want me to stop, you're going to have to knock me out and leave me n the pelican. But there's no way in hell I'm letting you go again."

Siri looked at Lin somewhat sadly.
"Lin. Please. Don't throw your life away. I can't let you..." She closed her eyes tightly. "I can't ask you to be on the run. I don't want you to be hunted." She covered her face, trying to hold back tears. "I'll accept a long road to forgiveness...but not at your expensive Lin. Not at your expense."

"Well...." Lin started to say. "My pod was adrift. And there's no real guarantee that I was ever found. Or found alive in the pod. For all anyone knows, I could be MIA. Or KIA." What she was proposing was effectively desertion, but she didn't care. She was one soldier, among legions of soldiers who died every day in this war. Her absence wouldn't effect the war, at least not the way she saw it.

"That's the thing..." She sniffed. "'We already informed them we have you Lin...we...I...assumed you'd hate me...so...we're...alongside the other ship by now..." She finally sobbed. "They know you're alive. And I can't live knowing people think I'd kidnap you, or you'd leave."

Siri pulled away. "Lin. Please. We were going to make a long distance relationship work somehow." She lowered her hands. "So I'm begging you. Not to throw away your life just yet. If we're caught...if we're caught, you could be shot. Lin, I can't live knowing I could condemn you to death."

"No, we were barely making a long distance relationship work. And when I last saw you I......I was going to....." But she knew it was pointless. Her crew knew she was alive, and she couldn't run away just yet.

"Going to...what?" Siri looked curious. "Please...tell me. And when you're done I'll take you home. And I promise. I promise, on my heart. On all the love I have for you...I'll come for you, and you can tie me to our bed and never let me leave. Just please. Let me save my daughter before I save you."

"Siri.....I had an apartment. And well...." She didn't have a box, not anymore. But she held onto the key, the spare me, that she had planned on giving Siri. Taking it out of her pocket, she showed it to Siri. "Was going to ask if you wanted to move in. Pretty pointless now though." And it was time for her to go. She needed to leave, get back t the ship. But she waited for for a response from Siri.

Siri reached out to touch the key.
"No...No, it means...It means...so much..." She started crying again. "Lin. I swear. I...I'll earn it back. I'll do anything you want to earn your forgiveness...just...please." She reach out to hold Lin's cheek. "Let me finish my mission before I take on another."

Lin shook her head and pressed the key into Siri's hand. "You keep it Siri. Keep it so that.....so that yo have something to remind you of what's at the end of this journey of yours. Because I'll be damned if you forget me along the way, or so help me....."

Siri held the key to her heart.
"Not even amnesia will keep me from remembering you." She promised. "Now...Please. I'll fly you over." She kissed Lin, then winced. "Then get my hands fixed." She looked like a mess, glittery makeup all over her face. "I might even wear a clean maid outfit for you, ok? You just gotta...gotta believe I'll come back."