ambidexter | CONTACT: IC

Before the Ishimura.

before charon, sir?

[ and then, immediately after that one: ]

she's my copilot.

In the city.

I see. Is there anything that the two of you require?

construction supplies, sir. we're re-purposing a few places into living quarters.
could do with electrical wiring tools, too.

actually, sir.
an off-grid comms system. anyone done that here yet?

Stop by my classroom for whatever I have left after I set it up. It's [location].

Spartans use encryption especially for UNSC. If you contact [ CORTANA ] , she might be able to assist you. However, I highly doubt that even with our communications systems that COMPASS wouldn't find out.

[ He saves the contact number for future reference, and takes a moment to drum his fingers against his knee. He has a lot of questions he wants to ask, but isn't sure if this is the best time for them. ]

i don't trust them. this COMPASS.
anyone with this much tech to pull from several universes on a regular schedule can't be out for anything good.

Distrust isn't a strong enough word.

you're not gonna scrub my mouth, sir?

I'm not your CO.

still just a ranger, sir.

[ What he means is that he respects the rank, especially when PPDC rangers know the value of respect when it comes to building trust; really, any friend of Mako's is a good man in Raleigh's book.

And he's not asked anything from Raleigh yet. Raleigh understands what that could mean. ]

It doesn't matter.

can i ask a personal question, sir?

Depends what it is.

why us?

[ Why are you helping us? It's out of pure curiosity. He's grateful, and not just a little surprised, but he can't help wonder.

(He says us because they don't come all singly; you pick up one ranger, you get the entire lot wholesale.) ]

We're soldiers. We look out for each other.

[in the end, we all fight for the same thing: humanity. it doesn't matter if you're fighting aliens in space or from the bottom of the ocean, they sacrifice their lives for the greater good.]

understood, sir.

[ He doesn't know why, but the answer loosens something in him, and Raleigh thinks, it's okay. This is someone he can follow. ]

thank you.

There's no need to thank me for something that I'm supposed to do.

that's more of a reason to say thanks, sir.
not everybody thinks that way.

Civilian or soldier?

both. they killed the program the minute we started losing.

[ Raleigh says losing because that was the word the UN had used — that, along with costly and unsustainable like they hadn't lost so many pilots and J-crews and J-techs and people just to keep the world safe. Raleigh's latent misanthropy didn't just come to life out of nowhere. ]

It isn't my place to give my opinion. [needless to say that he disapproves of canceling any program that would help humanity.]

i wouldn't push for one, sir.
i just wish i could deck a few for the crap i've had to hear over the years.

You proved them wrong. That's more satisfying than punching them.

with all due respect, sir. i wouldn't be hitting them for me.

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