War for Freedom

(Chapter 29)/A Break From Daily Nonsense

Chloe's POV:
April 26th, 2093, 10:00:
Vanguard Base:

In the Alpha Quarters, I was sitting on one of the seats in the dining room, looking around at the others, who also happened to be awake. Rena, Mariana, and Ruby were sitting on the couches in the living room, discussing what they would plan to do with the time they had off. Via and Zero were in the kitchen, with the latter cooking something for us for brunch, and the former was leaning against the fridge, watching him.

Douglas was nowhere to be seen, likely still in his room, sleeping despite spending two whole days unconscious. Upon waking up, I learned that we were given shore leave for a week, and allowed to do whatever we wanted, including leaving the base and going somewhere in the US. I was also informed that Zero and Rena woke up yesterday and spent a day at a town called Whitefish, with the latter apparently getting drunk.

Honestly, to be given this much shore leave was just a matter of convenience, since our pelican was so messed up from that travel through the portal Zero made. I can still remember it, especially when the Darkness came up onto the roof of the pelican with us. He showed Zero some sort of move, and when Zero reflected it, his powers reacted and created a portal in front of us. It was quite impressive watching him make that, even if it did cost me two whole days.

Looking back into the kitchen, Zero had the entire stove covered with pans and pots, cooking up something that had the mixed scent of bacon, eggs, potatoes, sausage, and flour. Besides that stove was some toasters he bought while in town, along with all the food he was preparing. When I asked about where he got the money, since I knew he wasn't being paid, he told me Rena gave him the money.

When I asked Rena about why she gave him her money, she said that she wanted to give him some sort he can buy stuff and be normal. Hearing that made me wonder if I could even get him to feel normal, since I didn't really have enough experience with a normal life before becoming a Spartan. Before I could think more on this, a plate was placed down on the table in front of me, which broke my train of thought.

Looking up, I saw Zero setting up the table, bringing out the food in containers, and getting glasses for everyone before saying loudly,

Zero: "Alright, breakfast is ready, get your ass's seated."

After he said that, everyone else, with the exception of Douglas, got up from their spots and approached the table, sitting down afterwards. As they did, I noticed that they intentionally left a spot next to me open, likely for Zero. As they sat down, I gave them a nod of appreciation before Zero started running around the entire table using his powers. Before I could even pick up a fork, my entire plate was set, with two sunny side up eggs, three strips of bacon, a side of hashbrowns, and about five sausages.

Looking at the others, they too had their plates with the same palettes, making me wonder what the flour was used for. Turning to the spot next to me, Zero wasn't sitting on the seat, so I turned back to the kitchen and saw him leaning against the counter, looking at the clock on the wall. Just as I was about to ask what he was doing, the four toasters suddenly sprang alive, shooting out many pieces of toast.

At the same time, the oven alarm suddenly went off, and I barely was able to watch what Zero did very quickly. He took out what looked like biscuits out of the oven before throwing them in the air. At the same time, he pulled out a butter knife, cut up some butter, and covered each individual piece of toast with butter. Afterwards, he threw each piece onto our plates, making a loud clank before he proceeded to grab the platter of biscuits and set them on the stove.

Afterwards, he pulled out a pouring glass that had gravy in it before grabbing the platter and running to the table. Afterwards, he placed a biscuit on each plate before pouring gravy on it, racing back into the kitchen, and placing each individual dish the sink before racing to his room, likely to wash his hands, before racing back and sitting next to me. This whole process took a total of thirty seconds, with him spending most of the time in the bathroom, a solid fifteen seconds to be exact.