Halo 3: ODST Operation Cup o' Doom

Chapter Eight

After the second attack, the ship suffered enough damage that repairs would put them roughly a year behind schedule. With the ship docked at the Refit Station that orbited near Concord, the crew was able to take time off and explore the outer colony and they all welcomed this time off. Some of the officers even rented houses in the meantime, just to get off the ship.
****
"You still got that video of Chief, Serge?" Muhmep asked George.
He nodded.
She grinned from ear to ear. "Hey, Chief!" She called to Yuri.
He turned to her as he closed the door to his room. "What is it, Corporal?"
She walked up to him. "Wanna make a bet?"
"A bet? With you? What kind of bet?"
"I bet you get drunk off water."
"Water!? Corporal, do you have any idea how silly that sounds? Who gets drunk off water?"
"I bet you do."
He snickered. "What is your wager?"
"If I win, you will dress up as a unicorn and I will ride you."
He raised his thick brows. "What kind of wager is that!?"
She shrugged. "Call it my fantasy."
"You fantasize about me dressed as a Unicorn?"
She nodded. "With me riding you."
"Okay... that's a little scary."
"That is a little scary, and you said my fantasies were disturbing?!" George question.
She ignored him. "What are you afraid of? It's not like you are going to get drunk or anything, right?" She held her hand to him. "Is it a bet?"
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, it's a bet. What if I win?"
"If you win?"
He nodded.
"Name your wager, Chief."
He thought for a second, his finger pressed to his lips. "Okay, if I win, you will be my maid for the remainder of this trip."
"Hmm, be your maid for the next four and a half years?" She held her hand toward him. "De...!"
"Ah!" He interrupted. "And you have to dress as a French Maid." Chief smirked.
"I have to dress as a French Maid? Hmmm." She tapped her finger against her lips as she thought it over.
"What, you having second thoughts?"
"Chief, I don't think this is a good idea." Lilith spoke suddenly as she showed herself.
"Oh, hush, Lilith. I know what I'm getting myself into."
"Do you now?" She questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at George.
He snickered and placed a finger to his lips.
She just smiled and shook her head.
Yuri ignored her comment and looked back down at Muhmep. "Are you backing out of our bet, Corporal?"
"Heck no! Deal!" She gushed, holding her hand out.
He took her hand, shaking it. "First thing, after I win, will be my whites. Let's see if you can get the sweat stains out of them."
"And the streaks out of your whitie tighties? No problem, but trust me, you will not win this one, Chief." She held her hand toward George. "Phone." She demanded, wiggling her fingers at him.
He chuckled as he handed it to her.
Yuri looked a little concerned. "You're in cahoots with her, George?!"
"In a way, but I don't fantasize about her riding you, with you dressed as a unicorn. I'm more or less here as a witness."
He shifted his stance uncomfortably. "You know, I don't have time for this. I was asked to meet with Ultra Bahtiyaree."
"Nope, too late, Chief!" Muhmep interrupted. "You're not getting out of this one. A bet is a bet. Ah, here it is." She found the video and hit the play button, passing it to him.
His face nearly paled, seeing his drunken self. "You're lying! That's not water!"
"Oh, but it is, Chief. It is." George replied with amusement in his voice. "I got it myself. You can even ask the bartender that worked that night, or just ask Lilith."
She looked at Yuri and nodded. "He is absolutely right, Chief. I scanned it myself. He gave you water."
His jaw was nearly to the floor. He knew she would never lie to him. "Off water!?" He hollered, throwing the phone.
"Careful!" George managed to catch it, fumbling a few times before getting a good grip on it. "This cost me almost a grand, Chief!?
"No one gets drunk off water!" He hollered, ignoring him.
Muhmep smirked and pointed at him. "No, but you do."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You are enjoying this, aren't you?"
She folded her hands together and grinned. "Oh, you have no idea." She moved past him, grabbing his waist armor. "Come on, we have a prior engagement, Chief."
He reluctantly followed her. "Off water!" He nearly cried. "It's not possible!"
"You saw the proof." George called after him.
"Why would you allow her to do this to me?!" Yuri cried, glancing back at him.
"Correction, you did it yourself, Chief. I did not agree to that bet." He snickered.
"Off water!" His distraught voice cried, echoing down the corridor as they disappeared around a corner.
****
Aria hummed silently as she exited the chow hall, George tailing her.
It had been two weeks since her stitches had been removed. Though she still had a little pain, she went back to her regular routine.
"Ahh, that was a good lunch!" He boasted, rubbing his full stomach. "What's next on the agenda, Aria?"
"Well, I planed on heading down to the recreation room, if you care to join me?"
"Sure, you wanna play a friendly game of Go Fish?"
"Seriously, George?! You remember what happened the last time we played? I won, and you flipped the damn table."
He scoffed. "Battleship?"
"You threw the pieces across the room after you lost."
"Rock'em Sock'em Robots?"
"Wound up in the incinerator. You see a pattern here?"
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to walk away. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Aria." He lied.
She shook her head and laughed, following after him. Her laugh ended abruptly as she looked past him.
They stopped as they tried to get a grasp on the scene before them, dumbfounded looks on both there faces.
Aria raised her eyebrows, seeing Yuri acting rather funny with Muhmep on his back. He had a unicorn horn taped to his forehead and rains hanging off each ear, with a bit in his mouth. Five Unggoy trailed behind him as they tried mimicking him moves.
"That is not what I imagined when she said she wanted to 'ride him'." George whispered under his breath.
"Oh, god!! Don't put that image in my head, George!!" Aria whined. "Ugh, too late. It just popped in." She made an odd face before a shudder worked its way through her. "What the hell is going on anyway?!" She questioned as they neared her.
"Chief lost a bet!" Muhmep blurted.
"I get drunk off water." He grumbled, chewing the bit angrily.
"That night you got drunk, you challenged Chief to a drinking contest. The vodka wasn't working on him, so I got some water."
"Water?!"
"Yeah, apparently he really cannot hold his water."
"I want to laugh right now, but this is just too weird. I'll just pretend I didn't see that." She replied, making a funny face.
"There has to be a rule about this sort of thing!!" Chief cried. "She's abusing a senior rank!!"
"Even if there was such a thing, you made the bet. You are on your own!" George teased as he folded his arms across his chest. "You know, I kinda feel sorry for you, Chief."
"Hahaha, giddyup, Chief!" Muhmep ordered, cutting off any further conversation. "Onward to the bridge!"
"Wait, sympathy's gone." He muttered, watching them depart.
Aria snickered and took a glance at him. "You had a hand in this, didn't you, George?"
"No, just a phone." He replied sarcastically, pulling out his cellphone and waving it slightly.
"On a serious note, we should get Corporal Hicks some professional help."
He started laughing. "It didn't work, remember? She is well beyond that, Aria! She is too far gone!"
"Yeah, I'm not going to argue there." She sighed. "Come on, I know what we can play in the recreation room!"
Rha' had spotted them and decided to see what they were up to as he followed without their knowledge.
They made their way down a few levels before reaching the recreation room, chatting and laughing the entire time.
"Let's play foosball." Aria said as she walked up to the table. "Best two out of three wins."
"You are on, girlfriend!!"
Rha' entered the room as they started their game.
For an hour they were locked in a foosball battle. Rha' had grabbed some water and taken a seat near the door as he watched them. At first, they were having fun, but soon George was starting to get angry.
Loss after loss he got more and more angry.
Aria won one last time and that was it for him.
"Damn it!!" George yelled as he grabbed the side of the foosball table and flipped it onto its side. "I hate this game!!"
Aria took a step back as she tried not to laugh. "He is such a sore loser!" She thought.
He cried in rage and kicked the underside of the table as hard as he could. He completely forgot he was wearing tennis shoes and ended up hurting himself. He fell backwards as he grabbed for his foot. "Son of a bitch! Mother fucker!!" He hollered.
Rha' didn't know how to respond to what he had just seen, but it was slightly amusing.
Aria just stood idly by as his rampage took its course. Once he calmed down she went to his side and offered a hand to help him up. "Do you see a pattern now?!" She snickered.
He grabbed her hand and pushed himself up as she pulled him to his feet. "Okay. Okay. Yes, I see what you mean."
She giggled and looked towards the door, seeing Rha' seated at the table. She smiled and waved at him before looking back at George. "I'm done playing. I'm going to chat with Ultra Bahtiyaree."
"Okay. I think I will try hunting down poor Chief and see how it's going. Heck, maybe I'll record it and save it for a blackmail or perhaps a little reminder of this embarrassment."
"You are evil sometimes, George. Don't have too much fun."
"I was just about to say the same thing to you." He teased, winking at her.
****
"If you don't mind my asking, what kind of relationship do you and Sergeant Waters have?" Rha' asked as they walked down the dim corridor.
"I don't mind at all, Sir. You may ask me anything. He's my best friend. We grew up together on Reach. A few years before the glassing, we joined the police force. We did everything together. Heck, we were darn near attached at the hip! We were even partners during our time in the police force. There was a time when we tried to get romantically involved. We did ended up sleeping with each other, but it nearly ruined our relationship and we mutually broke it off to save it. Once the attack began, my father drafted us into the UNSC and the rest is history."
"Do you still share feelings for one another?"
She looked up at him. "Do I hear jealousy, Sir?"
He looked away from her. "Perhaps."
She giggled and grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks. She moved around in front of him. "Sir, that was in the past. He's like a brother to me now, and when I think back on it, it makes me cringe. It was a mistake, and we learned the hard way. We were young and very horny. What happened between us was more of a, how do I say this? It was an experiment more or less. We were curious and it just happened one night. It made things extremely awkward between us for a very long time. Eventually, we both grew up and accepted our past, and in a different way, we bonded and that bond has only grew stronger. He has had his fair share of girlfriends. He's definitely over me in that sense, but it won't stop him from teasing me."
He chuckled. "What about you? Have you had many boyfriends?"
"No. I've had my fair share of crushes, but that's as far as that's gone. After that mistake, I vowed to wait for the right one."
He smiled inwardly. "I hope I am the right one." He thought. "What about Chief?" He asked suddenly.
"Chief?!" She nearly gasped before she started laughing. "Look, Sir. He may be an attractive man, but there is no way I'd ever try dating him. He's far too outgoing for my taste. Plus, he's a heavy drinker when he gets the chance. I don't drink very often and don't want to be subjected to that on a daily basis. He may try flirting with me all the time, but he has realized a long time ago that it was pointless. He only does it for fun. Besides, I'm pretty sure he is in love with his A.I., but don't tell him I said that."
Rha' felt great relief with those words, washing his doubt from his mind. He chuckled. "Mums the word."
She smiled and looked down at their hands as she realized she still held his, and he was holding hers. She subconsciously raised her other hand to his and began to play with his fingers.
He looked down at her, observing her actions. "She is fighting her feelings." He thought.
She pulled away from him suddenly. "Sorry, Sir. I'm a hands kind of girl, and I love your hands." She whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her face.