Sent To Protect and Serve Humanity

Chapter 10: Truth and Reconciliation

3rd POV

Godspeed quietly sat in his office, doing nothing but lose himself in thought. His eyes slowly scanned the room for the hundredth time, eventually landing on the picture hanging on the wall. He eyed the photo, doing his best to remember each characteristic of the ships that are and were a part of the Martian Defense Fleet, all while reflecting on his time spent in service.

"Some sodding two hundred years in service, aye?" He quietly muttered to himself with a melancholy expression. "Though, you lot made it worthwhile."

This time, he analyzed the features of four ships standing between UNSC Manitoba and UNSC Oklahoma. The first was a darkly tanned woman with short black hair just beneath her shoulders and bright amber eyes, the second was a blonde-haired man with a pale complexion and bright blue eyes, the third was a slightly tan man with sharp, brown eyes and a military buzzcut, and the fourth was a dark-skinned woman with black eyes and long, illustrious black hair.

The memories of the first couple of days he was pressed into service as a colony ship filled his mind, and eventually, the more recent memories of his first steps as a man took over. Trusted as a leader for his captain's former fleet, the old man was thrown into the fray alongside the ships he was now in command of, all of which were young men and women who were ready to die for Earth and humanity.

"One day, I'll finally buy the farm." He whispered under his breath. "But not anytime soon." He broke his gaze and focused on the paperwork in front of him.

Right as he pressed his pen against the paper, he heard a knock on the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Sighing, Godspeed set down his writing utensil and called out. "Come in."

The old man saw the door gently creek open and a pair of brown bunny ears poke out from around the crevice. Stepping out, a familiar bunny girl awkwardly stepped into the room.

"Ah, Miss Scarlatina. How may I help you?" Godspeed asked politely.

"Uh, e-excuse me, Professor Hood, b-but have you seen A-Arktis?" Velvet sheepishly responded.

Godspeed scanned the girl, noticing she held something behind her. "What's the occasion?"

"U-uh..." Velvet slowly turned her head to the door to view her teammates behind it and took a deep breath. "T-there was something I m-made for him, and I was h-hoping you knew where he was." She spoke, gripping the gift much harder than before.

The old man eyed the girl with curiosity that soon turned into a subtle smile. "He should be in his dorm with his older brother. If not there, check the infirmary."

Velvet looked thankful at the answer. "Thank you so much!" She quickly said before quickly leaving, shutting the door behind her.

The old man smiled at the door, internally rejoicing. "I guess you inherited your captain's luck with women too."

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Onwards, who wore the outfit from yesterday, sat at the edge of his bed, caressing the bandage patch on his grazed cheek while Oklahoma, who wore his new outfit, whistled as he brushed the destroyer's tail. Defiance sat quietly at a desk with the deactivated hilt of an energy sword, a disassembled plasma rifle, and several neat rows of varied dust vials in front of him.

Oklahoma's outfit consisted of a red t-shirt with a brown, unzipped, jacket covering it, a pair of black jeans with a brown belt, and a pair of white sneakers with red stripes.

"There." The heavy cruiser set the brush down. "You're good to go, Onnie!" He ruffled the boy's hair, scratching the base of his ear.

The light destroyer remained still to bask in the attention of his brother. "Danke, Okie." He said with a smile.