//------------------------------// // Recovery Phase Once More // Story: Clash of Worlds // by Gunner59524 //------------------------------// UNSC Infinity, Bridge, Several miles above Canterlot, Equestria. "Captain Lasky. Incoming report from Doctor Glassman in engineering," Roland reported as his hologram appeared on the holoterminal. "Patch him through," Lasky ordered. "Sir." ============================================================== UNSC Infinity, Engineering, Several miles above Canterlot, Equestria. "Doctor Glassman, you have something to report?" Lasky's voice asked over the comms "Yes Captain," he replied, "I think you'll be glad to hear this one." "Lay it on me." "While repairing life support, me and my crew managed to upgrade it and several other systems ranging from electronic warfare suite firmware updates to weapons system's software updates." "So Infinity's combat effectiveness on her own is better than it was before the crash then?" "Essentially, yes. Plus, I think, based on analysis of the enemy ships and the readings we got on them during the battle, I've identified the real flagship." "Send me the data, I'll look it over ASAP." "Roger that," Glassman replied as he sent the data up. "Got the data Doc, and excellent work." "Thanks Captain. I'll keep you posted." "Roger that, Lasky out." The transmission ended. ============================================================= UNSC Infinity, Infirmary, Several miles above Canterlot, Equestria Gunnar sat next to Twilight's bed in medbay. He frowned sadly as he waited for her to wake up. He felt horrible. I... wasn't ready to command... Yes you were, otherwise they wouldn't have picked you. I failed. No you didn't. Twilight is injured because I didn't think ahead in that one critical moment.... I'm not ready for this! Hey, mistakes happen, especially when you're commanding a team in battle. It was likely to happen to someone or somepony. She'll forgive you. No she won't.... shes hurt because I failed. You completed the mission. Captain Lasky entrusted you with the command of one of his best Spartan Fireteams. And yet I still couldn't keep her out of harm's way.... He was so busy battling his conscience that he hadn't noticed her stirring, waking up. He was looking at the ground, sobbing and feeling like a failure. Twilight woke up fully and the first thing she noticed was a terrible pain in her leg. She bit back the urge to gasp or cry out when the pain first hit. Then she heard the sobbing stallion and looked at him. "G-Gunnar...?" She asked, her voice raspy and her throat dry. The sound of her voice snapped him out of his internal conflict and he looked up at her, surprised that she was already awake. He felt a mixture of relief and regret now... relief in the fact that she was still alive... but still regretting that she had wound up in the Infirmary in the first place. He felt he could get them all back unharmed, especially her. He saw anything less as a failure on his part. He was in command, and he was responsible for those in his command.... and still he failed her. "I-I'm sorry Twilight...." He said. "For what...?" "For failing you...." "H-how did you fail me?" "I was in command.... It was my responsibility to get you all back safe and unharmed while completing the mission.... If i had been more cautious you wouldn't have been injured like that...." "It's my understanding that this sort of thing happens in the battlefield." "No... anything less than getting you all home safe and unharmed is a failure on my part." "But I'm fine... I'm alive... hurting... but alive." "Do you have any idea just how close to dying you came!?" Gunnar cried out, voice cracking. Twilight fell silent there. "If that Jackal had any better aim, you would be dead right now! I wasn't cautious, and it nearly cost your life!" he yelled, crying now. "I could have lost you...." He sobbed, turning his head away and unable to forgive himself. "Gunnar.... It's not your fault.... and worse things have happened. I'm still alive thanks to you. I saw that creature about to fire the kill shot when you took it down. If it wasn't for you... I really would be dead," she said, trying to console him, "That's the third time you kept me alive in the face of death.... I owe you everything." Gunnar looked up at her in surprise. He hadn't seen the Jackal about to take the kill shot at all. All he saw was a sudden change in primary targets when he felt an instant need for vengeance the moment the Jackal shot her leg. He gave no thought to the fact that it was about to pull the trigger again. He just killed it with a sudden, but brief, bloodlust. She saw the truth in his eyes, the regret, the lingering thoughts of bloodthirsty vengeance.... he couldn't hide it. He was terrible at hiding it... at least from her. She wanted to do something to alleviate the guilt, to help him see that he had done the right thing, did the best he could do, saved her, and completed the mission..... but she could think of nothing else to say. She suddenly felt another wave of pain coming from her leg as it throbbed. This one was stronger, and it made her noticeably cringe, sucking the air in between clenched teeth as she tried to resist it. Gunnar noticed this and was right there at her side in an instant. He checked over her leg.... the bandages were soaked in blood. She was lucky that the Beam Rifle bolt hadn't shattered her bone completely, but the mere heat of the beam had still caused the bone to crack. Apparently the bleeding had started again... maybe when she was tossing and turning in her sleep. "DOC!!" Gunnar called out, and a medic was there in seconds. The military stallion felt the fear and concern seeping into his heart again as he pointed at the bloodied bandages around Twilight's leg. The medic wasted no time getting to work. It was a few minutes later when the bleeding was finally stopped and fresh bandages and painkillers had been applied. Gunnar had visibly felt relieved after seeing Twilight relax, the pain no longer causing her to suffer, and the bleeding having been stopped. Though, significant blood loss over the past few hours combined with the fatigue of adrenaline fueled combat had left her visibly weaker. Seeing this only made the fear and worry return to Gunnar, his heart nearly shattering under the stress. "That's the best I can do. The bandage's are extra thick and packed so they should act as a cast for her too now," the medic explained. "Th-thank you....," the soldier stallion said slowly, looking down at the floor and feeling the grief of failure hit him again. The medic saw his sorrow. "Hey, buddy, listen. I've seen leaders of all kinds come in here and act the way you are now. They felt like failures for a number of reasons. I can already see yours considering who you're here to see. Point is, it isn't your fault," he said, trying to be supportive, "The fault belongs to the enemy. You did your job, completed the mission, and got your charges home ALIVE! That's more than can be said for a lot of soldiers that are put in charge. It would have been a goddamn miracle if you had brought every single one of 'em back without a scratch. So cheer up. You deserve a medal for how you did. Captain Lasky was definitely right to trust you." To hear an experienced military medic say this to him... in such a way. It alleviated alot of the pain in his heart... just not all of it. Gunnar still managed a weak smile and looked at the human medic, giving him a thankful nod. The medic smiled and saluted in return without another word, then left to continue carrying out his duties. "He's more wise than he looks," Twilight managed to say with a small giggle before turning to Gunnar with a gentle smile, "and he's right. You did great." She pulled him into a hug. "I'm proud of you Gunnar." That shattered all of his doubt. His guilt was little more than an insignificant speck in the back of his mind now. He closed his eyes, smiled, and hugged back, holding the mare he loved close. He was happy again.