A snippet of Reborn, a Halo fic

[cortana]

So, I don't know that I'll ever get around to posting this Halo fic (which would have been--is probably still is?--my Big Bang story) that is epic in proportion. (I've already got 5 or 6k--it's all written on paper, so I'm not sure. LOL) But I thought I should post a snippet.  Maybe it will help inspire the Muse, LOL.  Completely unbeta'd and not even edited that much really...LOL

The Chief slowly felt his consciousness returning. The darkness that greeted him when his HUD activated confirmed his fears; he and Cortana were still floating in the Forward Unto Dawn, stranded in deep space.

As he floated out of the cryo-chamber, the injuries he sustained on the Ark reintroduced themselves to him. His chest ached from the blast of Guilty Spark’s plasma shot, his ribs were still tender from slamming into the floor on the ship when the Scorpion nearly crushed him. Despite being in cryo-sleep for five years, the Chief still felt exhausted.

He looked at the holoprojector in the center of the room expecting a warm, if not sarcastic greeting from Cortana. The only problem was, she wasn’t there.

Instantly his adrenaline spiked. Had someone taken her as he lay there in his living tomb?

“Don’t let her go. Don’t ever let her go.”

John shook off his fallen friend’s words and pushed aside his worry. Surely if something had happened to her, she would have awakened him. “Cortana?” he called on a private COM channel.

Two long seconds before she spoke. “Initializing holoprojector systems. Please stand by,” she responded mechanically.

John frowned. What was wrong with her? When she didn’t appear moments later, John spoke again. “Cortana, where are you?”

There was a longer pause. Finally she said, “I’m in the Forward Unto Dawn’s core. Attempting to interface with holoprojector 49-H with CTN 0425-9. Stand by.”

The Chief knew when Cortana operated at lower power levels her personality traits were diminished a bit, but there was something more than that going on.

He looked at the holo-emitter, waiting for her. Several seconds later, her avatar appeared. His gut tightened as the broken image of Cortana appeared before him. She continuously flickered as the mathematical calculations that had effortlessly slid over her body now moved sluggishly over her frame, trailing off in mid-air.

“Cortana?” he asked in disbelief.

She offered a sad smile to him. “I’m dying,” she said simply.

John shook his head slightly. “No, you’re not."