Outpost Discovery

"Fun fact – this ship used to be called UNSC Discovery. But after everything that's happened in the past year, I figured that Deliverance was the better title."

"Deliverance. Right." Jasmine Singh lay back in the co-pilot chair of the blockade runner. "What, you some kind of Robin Hood?"

John leant back in the pilot's chair and smirked. "Robin Hood? Nah. More like a Lidya Cromwell."

Jasmine stared at him.

"Lidya Cromwell? Mars?"

Jasmine stared at him.

"Helped liberate the people of Tharsis Montes in 2163 from the Frieden?"

Jasmine stared at him.

"She had, like, the sixtieth movie made about her made in 2556. Tara Howard had the role."

"Yeah, I…really don't go to the movies much." Jasmine shrugged. "I mean, not that anyone goes to movies now, but even then, holos were more my thing."

"Right. Sure." John swivelled around in his seat and returned his gaze to the dark of space. "Philistine."

She wanted to shoot a retort back. Nevertheless, she bit her tongue. Only a day ago, she'd been on Io, as part of a supply raid gone bad. The Prometheans had found them. The Lucky Dipper had been reduced to its constituent atoms, and while she'd managed to survive the blast by virtue of an airlock, floating in space in a vac suit wasn't exactly an escape plan that promised long term survival. It was only in the nick of time that the Deliverance had picked her up. That she'd been brought aboard and been treated to air, food, drink, and right now, a place in the cockpit.

Which was just as well, considering that she was leading John home.

"So," Jasmine said eventually. "Assuming that you're telling the truth about Lidya-"

"Which I am."

"…how exactly are you like her? You, what, been storming the forts of the Created?"

He shrugged. "Something like that." He got off his seat and picked up a can of Spark Cola. "Want one?"

"I'll pass, thanks."

"Suit yourself." He took a sip, before saying, "it's more like blockades. Prometheans control every major UEG world, and as far as we know, every former Covenant world as well. And if they aren't controlling them, it's because they've pounded them into dust."

"After evacuating the populace," Jasmine murmured.

"Yeah. Pretty much." He sat back down. "Little baby's been in its share of scrapes. Used to do supply drops for UNSC forces under siege during the last war. Now?" He took another sip. "We rescue people."

Jasmine said nothing. She instead just got up and helped herself to some cola.

"Thought you didn't want any."

She broke it open and took a sip. "I lied."

She knew it was poison. But in the rock she and over 600 people had been living in for the past year, amenities were hard to come by. If people like John Castle were going to offer her forbidden fruit, she was damn well going to take it.

"So, anyway," John said. "Your home's in the Kuiper Belt right?"

"Mmm." She nodded as she drank more of the cola.

"And you've been doing supply raids ever since the Prometheans took over."

She nodded. God this stuff is good.

"Kinda funny," John said. "You're right under the Prometheans' nose, and they haven't found you."

She shrugged, finally taking a break of the cola. "Most of their eyes are on Earth and Mars. People like us…" She trailed off, and not just because she wanted more cola.

"Yes? People like you?"

She finished her sip. "Belters, scientists, vagabonds, even a few escapees from the inner planets. The Guardians knocked out the power grids, but ships in deep space managed to keep functioning. Long enough to go to ground and plan our next move."

"Which is?" John asked.

She sighed, glancing back into the dark of space. "Used to be to fight. Didn't take us long to realize that that wasn't going to work."

"So…surviving?"

She nodded. "Surviving. Places like Io…" She took her last sip. "That wasn't meant to happen. Quick in, quick out. There weren't meant to be Knights there. Or Crawlers. Or…"

She crushed the can in her hands – it was a great way to get them to stop trembling.

"It's okay," John said, as he patted her shoulder. "You're okay now."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Got any more cola?"

He handed her his can. After a moment's hesitation, she took it and started drinking.

"You know, it's funny," John said. "I was actually on Earth when it all began."

She didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes as she drank the cola said "what?"

"Yeah. You heard of it? Some travel show for the UNSC, training the next generation of heroes and all that." He shrugged. "Fat lot of good that did when the Guardian showed up."

"But you escaped," Jasmine said.

"Well, yeah. Power surge wasn't permanent – only long enough for the Prometheans to be deployed and remind people that it was the end of life, liberty, and everything stuff like Outpost Discovery claimed to represent. So me and some others, we escaped. Since then, it's been one blockade run after another." He held out his hand, and after some hesitation, Jasmine handed him back the cola. He took a sip. "Funny how I end back here." He finished it off and crumpled it. "Still," he said. "Earth and Mars are two of the most populated worlds out there." He looked at Jasmine. "I mean, if we could save more of them, get them to the Kuiper belt like you did…"

"I'm not the person to ask," she said.

"No. Guess not. But you can make some introductions, right?"

Jasmine looked back at space. "Soon enough."

Soon, as it turned out, was two hours and six minutes.

That was how long it took for the Deliverance to get within comms range of Ulysses Station. A piece of dust, rock, and ice orbiting the sun at over thirty astronomical units. Talking to Captain Alexander, it turned out he was all too pleased to learn that Jasmine was alive, but she'd brought a blockade runner with her. So, the two of them sat together as they watched part of the bolide open to reveal a hanger.

"Nice," John said. He looked at Jasmine. "Very nice."

She fought the urge to blush. "Not much. It still relies on de-pressurization rather than shielding tech. Makes getting in and out a bitch sometimes."

"Yeah, well, not as if the Prometheans are going to find you anytime soon."

"No." She smirked. "Right under the bitch's nose, and she hasn't seen us."

She saw something flash in John's eyes, and she understood immediately – he clearly hated the leader of the Prometheans as much as she, and everyone else on Ulysses Station did. Not to mention the rest of humanity.

"You go on ahead," John said. "Guys will be waiting to disembark."

"The guys?"

"Hey, I'm a space hero. Got to make a good entrance, right?"

"Right…" she said.

He winked at her.

Yep. Right.

She got to her feet and headed out of the cockpit, down to B deck. The Deliverance had three decks, and so far she'd seen the first two. C deck was where its armaments were stored, A deck crew quarters and the cockpit, B deck, everything else, including exit hatches. Heading through the corridors, she saw men and women in gear, wearing body armour and carrying various weapons. All of them heading for Hatch 6. John had told her that the ship's crew were a mix of military and ex-military sorts – Marines, Army, Navy, even Airforce and colonial militias. Men and women who'd escaped the Prometheans and wanted to give it their all back. In nothing but an undersuit designed to help insulate her from the cold of space, she felt slightly naked compared to the people around her. And given how she saw one of John's crewmates glance sideways at her, she wasn't the only one who'd noticed.

Perv. She looked away towards a woman, decked out in helmet, body armour, and rifle. "You do this often?" she asked.

The woman looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Like, the whole grand entrance thing?" Jasmine looked around. "Must be thirty people here."

"Oh yeah. John likes to make a grand entrance."

"Damn right I do."

Jasmine looked at him. He was dressed in much the same way as his followers. Still, there was a way he carried himself. Kind of like…

Robin Hood.

Did that make her Maid Marian? She didn't know. All she knew was that right now, she was feeling giddy as sin. And all the more so when the hatch opened, revealing the light of the hanger.

John looked at her. "Shall we?"

Jasmine nodded.

"You first."

"Okay," she said, her voice unusually high.

She led him onwards, along with the rest of his men. Up ahead she could see Captain Alexander, his senior staff, and a smattering of faces familiar and otherwise. Regardless, all of them were clapping.

"Jasmine."

She smiled and ran over to the captain. She gave a small salute. "Made it back sir."

"Looks like it. After we lost contact with your team at Io…" He smiled even further as John walked over. "And this is the young lady's hero, yes? A John…"

"Just John, please. I'm happy to be on a first name basis."

You and me both, Jasmine thought.

"Well, John…" Alexander lingered on John's soldiers, fanned out in formation as if on ceremony. "It's obvious that we of Ulysses Station owe you a great debt."

He shrugged. "Just doing the job sir. Just like in the Covenant War."

"Hmm." His gaze lingered in the Deliverance. "Blockade runner, right? So, you're, what? Ex-navy?"

"No."

"Marines?"

"No."

Alexander's smile quivered. "Army then?"

"No."

"Then what-"

"Tell me," John said, as he looked at the crowd behind Alexander. "Jasmine says you've got over six-hundred people here. That true?"

"Yes." He looked at Jasmine, who shrugged, then back at John. "People from all over the Sol system."

"Right. "He glanced back at his ship. "Same everywhere," he murmured. "People running scared, short on weapons…" He sighed. "We do what we can, but…" He looked back at Alexander. "What about you? If it came to a fight, could you hold your own?"

"We…" Alexander took a breath. "We've got some ex-military personnel. No shortage of guns and the like. But no proper warships."

John gave him a sad smile. "Must be hard, right? Ex-navy man, right?"

He nodded.

"Saw action at Earth I bet?"

"Where else was everyone when the war ended?"

John shrugged.

"Well, fair's fair," Alexander said. "You haven't told me what branch you came from. What you've been up to."

"Oh, I'm not from any branch," John said. "And what I've been up to is outpost discovery and deliverance."

Something had gone wrong with the life support system, Jasmine reflected – it was suddenly feeling very cold in here.

"I'm sorry?" Alexander asked.

John smirked. "Captain, I'm not from any UNSC branch. I never was."

"Then you're…"

"Let's cut the crap. You're outside Promethean control. That can't be abided, especially when you're right under the Blue Lady's nose."

Oh my God.

"So, in the name of the Mantle, I'm taking control of Ulysses Station." He rose his hand up and the men and women behind him pointed their rifles at the crowd. "Question is, how difficult are you going to make that for us?"

No-one said anything. Not Alexander. Not the people behind him. Not the security guards he'd brought with him, and not any of John's people.

"Well?"

Jasmine looked at John. He looked at Alexander. The captain, his lips quivering, his hands forming into fists, finally spoke, "you've got thirty men with you."

"And women."

He smirked. "You really think you can take the station with just those them?"

"Course not. That's why the Deliverance always carries heavy armaments." He looked at Jasmine. "From C deck of course."

The hell?

There was a flash of light. Then a second. A third, fourth, fifth…

Oh no.

Sixth, seventh, eighth…

Please…

Ninth. Tenth. Eleventh, twelfth, and-

"No!" Jasmine screamed.

Prometheans. Knights. Wardens. Soldiers. Appearing in flashes of light in the hanger. Creatures of steel, staring at the people before them with inhuman malice. Wielding weapons beyond the scope of human technology. Weapons that were pointed at the crowd.

"You're outside the Mantle," John said. "But fear not. The Blue Lady is forgiving. There's room enough on Earth and Mars so that once you are returned to society, you can begin contributing to-"

Alexander punched him.

"Alex, no!" Jasmine screamed.

John cursed, but he didn't kill the captain. A Knight's blade did the job.

"No!"

Someone else screamed. Someone let out a shot. One of John's men, one of her people's, she couldn't say. But it didn't matter. The shot was heard around the world, and the world now ran red with blood as the Prometheans and their human allies opened fire.

Jasmine screamed as well. She tried crawling away as her people were slaughtered.

"Don't."

John grabbed her by the neck and pulled her back, as he crouched down. "Don't fight," he whispered. "It'll be over soon."

Jasmine struggled. He tightened his grasp.

"You…lying…"

She couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe. As the air was choked out of her, she began to lose the ability to see as well.

But she still had the ability to hear the screams of her people dying. And even as blurs, she could see them as well.

After that, she saw nothing.

When Jasmine awoke, she found herself in a small cell. Likely on the Deliverance, because it wasn't like any cell on Ulysses. Not that they'd needed cells there. Instead, her people-

Ulysses!

She sprung up from the ground and looked around. Three walls. One set of bars.

"Good. You're awake."

One lying bastard standing there, armed with nothing but a small bag.

"You son of a bitch!" She slammed herself against the bars and shook them. "You…you…"

"Get it out Jasmine. You'll feel better."

She took a step back and put a hand to her mouth, in a bid to stop herself from weeping. The bastard didn't even have the decency to sound smug. He just stood there, his eyes emotionless. His voice a monotone.

"I didn't want it to go down like that," he said.

Jasmine turned around so that he wouldn't see her tears.

"For what it's worth, the survivours will be settled on Earth and Mars. They'll have lives. Families. They can work towards the Mantle and build a better future for the galaxy."

"How many?" Jasmine whispered.

"Excuse me?"

She turned her head around, uncaring that John could see her tears. "How. Many?"

"How many lived? Or how many died?"

"How many?!"

"Two-hundred and thirty-three people died. Three-hundred and seven are awaiting transfer. Seventy-nine are wounded to the extent that I can't be sure if they'll survive. Chances are they will, once we-"

She slammed the bars again. "Io," she whispered. "Was that a setup?"

He shook his head. "No. I just happened to be in the area. Once we detected your bio-signs, I decided to see if there was anything I could get out of you."

"The Prometheans…they give you free reign?!"

"Me and my crew."

"Fuck your crew." She turned round again and bit her lip. Kicked the wall. Screamed inside her head.

"Jasmine…" He sighed. "You're angry. I get it. But I want you to know, I-"

"Don't," she whispered. "No more lies. You've lied about everything so far."

"Not everything."

She glanced back at him and spat.

"I was on Earth when it happened," he said. "At Outpost Discovery. Marvelling at the cynicism of it. The brilliance. A new generation of heroes, for, what?" He took a step forward, his hands taking the bars. "This from the same government who could never let go of its colonies when they wanted freedom. The government who let them die when the Covenant arrived. A government who couldn't even protect Earth properly, and only survived because those aliens started killing each other."

"The UEG-"

"…is dead," John said. "It's dead, just like every other empire in mankind's history. The same tyrants that everyone from Spartacus, to Robin Hood, to Lydia Cromwell, to Robert Watts, fought against."

"And now you serve another tyrant."

"I serve the Blue Lady. I serve the one person who might actually give the galaxy peace. Because humanity has had two-hundred thousand years to do that, and it's failed at every turn."

"You're insane," Jasmine whispered.

"Take a good look at me Jasmine," John whispered. "Am I insane? Because insanity, as I understand it, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If my crew and I, if the people like us can discover outcasts like you, and deliver them to greatness, then…" He trailed off, before taking something out of his bag. Something large, brown, and by the looks of it, heavy.

"The heck is that?" she whispered.

He tossed it in front of her. "A book. You might want to read it."

She could read the title at least – Humanity: A History. She looked up at him. "This your New Testament?"

"No. Just a book," he said. "I…" He stopped talking, and pressed a hand to his ear. "What? Really? Fine. Fine, I'm on my way." He looked back at Jasmine. "Time's up." He gestured to the book. "You can have that," he said. "It's a little gift."

Jasmine snorted. "John Castle," she murmured. "Is that even your real name?"

He shrugged. "I serve the messiah. So if that makes me John the Baptist, then John is a name I can go by. Certainly it's a name the Blue Lady has fondness for." He fished something out of the bag. "Also got you this. Not exactly holy water, but I think you'll like it." He tossed it into the cell and Jasmine caught it Her eyes widened as she saw the letters on its aluminium casing.

SPARK COLA

"I hope I'll see you again Jasmine," John said. "Even if the perfect world the Blue Lady strives for won't be achieved in our lifetimes, I hope that you and I will be able to taste it before we depart this world."

"Go to hell," she spat.

He shook his head. "I've been there," he said. "I've no desire to return when I can help build Heaven."

He turned and left. Leaving Jasmine alone with a book, and a can of Spark Cola.

A sweet drink, whose bitter taste could not wash away the salt of her tears.

A/N

So, is it just me, or is Outpost Discovery (the actual in-universe thing, not the real-world thing) kind of a form of propaganda? Like, "yes, we, the UNSC, are going to tour Earth to show everyone how great we are, and get new people to join up." Like, y'know...

Anyway, drabbled this up.