Welcome to this new fic! I've had this idea floating around my mind for a while now so I thought, why not! There is a lot of room for interpretation around the history of Six; origins, and after being reassigned from Beta. There is a massive gap between January 2544 (OPERATION: Cartwheel) and July 2552 (Events of Reach) which I aim to exploit. There are a few places where cannon can be assigned, be even then its patchy and leave you to make of it what you will. I have tried to stick as close to cannon as I can (Halo Nation is a haven of information) and have learned, already, a lot I didn't know before. One extra side-note, I have't the greatest track record with uploading, but I am older, and hope to be more consistent. That being said, I do have a lot of work to do outside of FF so my updates will be weekly, if not, fortnightly. Anyway, enough of that, please enjoy the fic and I thank you for visiting!
-SS
28th December, 2544
"You're being reassigned." What. He didn't realise that he'd said it aloud. "You heard me right, B312, you're being reassigned." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Reassigned? To where?" the Spartan asked, incredulously. Kurt Ambrose, the towering Spartan-II, shifted his weight so that he was leaning on his left leg, crossing his arms in the process. "To wherever you're needed." The Lieutenant Commander replied, dancing around the truth. B312 snorted. "Right. Of course that's what they want." Shaking his head, the Spartan turned to leave. Kurt sighed, unfolding his arms as he did so. He gripped the right shoulder of the 13 year old. "Dex, wait." Spinning the Spartan around with the hand on his shoulder. "Look there are those, myself included, that think that using Spartan-III's as expendable soldiers is not the solution to the problem at hand. We think that you're worth more than that." The smaller Spartan refused to look at his superior. "We want more than just a number on a sheet, we want good soldiers." Kurt was desperately trying to get the young Spartan on board. Dex finally turned to look at him. "If you want so much for me, why are you taking me out of the company right before an OP?" Kurt's face dropped immediately. "Where did you hear that?" A serious tone apparently obvious. "Come on Sir, you know I can't give away my sources." A smirk playing at the young Spartan-III's lips. The older LC gripped both of his shoulders, his face betraying his apparent worry. "I'm serious Dex, I need to know where or who you found this out from. That is as classified as it gets." B312 dropped his smirk, realising the seriousness of the situation. "It was Kat sir, she found it whilst scanning comms going around the facility, we're the only ones that know." His eyes dropping to the floor, guilt very apparent in his posture. The older Spartan dropped his head to Dex's eye level, looking for any hints of false truth. Seemingly finding none he let go of the young man's shoulders, standing to his full height, a hint of a smile on his face. He heaved a sigh, full blown grinning now. "I swear, B312, if I didn't like you so much you would be in so deep now. But I do like you, so get your gear." The smile that was on Dex's face dropped once again. "My gear, Sir?" Kurt's smile turned sinister. "Yes private. You." jabbing his finger in Dex's chest "Are doing laps."
~SB~
29th December 2544
"So, you're leaving." It was more of a statement than a question. The Slavic accent was very pronounced in the young woman's voice. Dex turned from his duffel bag to look at her. "Yeah. Don't know where I'm headed, but this is the end of the road at Beta for me." He turned back to his bag, lowering his head. He was going to miss this bunk. It was all he had known. It had been there from the beginning. Through his initial conscription. Through training. And finally through the augmentation. The supplements, given nine months before, forcibly induced early puberty to help their bodies adapt to the drastic changes that were about to be made. While the augmentations were now in drug form, rather than the invasive operations in the Spartan-II era, the needles that contained the drugs were very large. Very large and, possibly even worse so, very many of them. He can still remember the feel of the needles entering his veins, the feel of the concoction drugs coursing throughout his body. It's not something that one forgets very easily. The 'retina-inversion stabilizer' (significantly improving colour sharpness and allowing 'night vision') had the worst side effect on him. He had to be treated for migraines for a week before it died down. While it occurred with other members of Beta, he was out for longer than they had been, thus earning him the fond nickname 'Brains' among his squad mates. Through all of that, his bunk was a constant. A respite for him. And Kat, a small voice reminded him in his head. A gentle hand on his shoulder, from the aforementioned Spartan, brought him back to the room. "You okay?" she probed gently. He sighed. "I will be." I think he added to himself. He zipped up his military standard duffel bag, containing only the essentials. Standing up, he threw the bag over his shoulder. "Don't worry about me Kat. You just focus on leading the squad, we both know I couldn't do it." winking at her, he made a move to leave the room, but an arm across his midsection stopped him. It rested just below the UNSC insignia on his shirt. "When do you leave?" he paused in his advance not looking at her. "The Warthog leaves in 10, the Pelican in an hour." Not long. Still, she made no intention of removing her arm. "How long are you out?" Are you coming back? The message was hidden, but clear. He paused, unsure of how to reply. "I don't know." he replied, somewhat truthfully. "Details are very scarce." She eyed him for a moment but eventually lowered her arm, content with his answer. He continued out the door, away from everything he had known. "Dex!" She called after him. Turning, he saw her leaning on the frame of the door. "Good luck." She smiled. "I don't need luck! I have ammo!" He returned the grin before turning and walking down the corridor and around the corner. Exiting the barracks door, he saw the Warthog waiting for him. The driver, leant against the Hog, was chatting with one of the guards on duty. They stopped as he got to the vehicle. The driver nodded toward him "Spartan." even though he was only 13 he was still half a head taller than the driver, at six foot three. "You ready to go?" Dex threw his bag into the seat of the Hog and turned to look at the camp that had been all he'd known for half his life. "Yeah. Lets go."
~SB~
The Warthog ride to the Pelican was uneventful, passing only minor farm settlements on the way to the Spaceport. Seeing the fields of crops reminded Dex of his previous life, living on a farm on the planet Skopje in the Urtha system. A life he had before he was an orphan. A life where his parents were still alive. A life where he wasn't a machine, engineered for destruction. A life where he wasn't a Spartan.
According to his file, that he and Kat had stolen, he was actually born on Arcadia, July 5 2531. The same year the Covenant would attack the planet. Even though the Covenant were driven off the planet, with the aid of the UNSC Spirit of Fire, Dex's parents would still move away from the system to a new planet. Skopje. They bought a small farm in the Magol region of the planet, in November 2531, where they hoped to build a new life. Sadly though, it seemed that the events on Arcadia had effected them more than they had thought. They enlisted with the UNSC in December 2534, 3 years after the move. The question of what would happen to Dex, who was 4 at the time, had already been solved. His uncle had already been on the planet for 10 years, and so it was arranged that Dex would move to stay with his uncle and the farm would be sold. Simple.
Except it wasn't. Though he couldn't remember much of his previous life, what he did remember was that his uncle was away a lot of the time. He also remembered that, when he was there, he and his uncle didn't always see eye to eye, being that he got in trouble a lot of the time. The arrangement wouldn't last, however. On March 18 2536, a military issue Warthog pulled up outside his uncle's house. His parents had both been confirmed KIA. The man in uniform told him how, but he wasn't listening. His parents were dead. That was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. He couldn't live like he was for the rest of his life. And so he ran away. Escaped his uncles house whilst he was away on business. He lived as an orphan from then on. He may have been only five years old, but he was one of the most successful orphans he knew. He knew just how and who to steal from to get by. And he did for over a year until July 13 2537 where he was picked up by men in black suits. That was ONI. They offered him a place on the Spartan-III program. He only had one question for them. "Do I get to kill Covenant?" He was conscripted a month later. And transported to Onyx
And then he found himself where he is now. In the passenger seat of a Warthog, coming up to the spaceport. He almost did a double take, not realising how much time had passed. Before he knew it the Warthog stopped, the driver turning to him. "This is your stop Spartan." The phrase was simple but held so much meaning. This was the next step in his life. He collected his bag, raked a hand through his short blonde hair, and set off towards the Pelican. He was faintly aware of the Warthog leaving, but didn't pay it any attention. He was too busy staring at the Pelican awaiting his arrival. The loading ramp lowered, revealing a man in uniform standing in the bay. Getting closer, he recognised the colours of the Officer as Colonel. He immediately snapped to attention as he reached the bottom of the ramp. "Colonel, Sir!" the Colonel smiled, "At ease, soldier." Dex lowered his hand to his hip, maintaining his posture. "I'm Colonel Hetfield. And I'll be you're superior Officer from now on." The Colonel offered his hand. Dex eyed it for a second before relaxing his stance and shaking the Officers hand. "Spartan B312, sir." The Colonel let go of his hand, turning to offer the Spartan om board. Dex moved up the ramp just behind the Officer to the seating. The Colonel stuck his head into the cabin "Pilot, we're ready to leave." The pilot nodded, "Sir, yes sir." and began to start the Pelican up. Colonel Hetfield returned to the seating area, where Dex was already seated. The Officer sat across from the Spartan, putting his safety harness on. "Well Spartan." Dex lifted his head to meet the mans gaze. The Pelicans engines whirred alive. "Welcome to your new life."
Wow I didn't expect the chapter to be that long, but I wanted to get across as much origin as I could. I didn't say before, but these are going to be like a short story per chap. So expect them to be long. Anyway I hope you enjoyed! Right now it is 23:01 so I need sleep. Don't forget to review if you found anything that is out of place/needs work. I am open to constructive criticism. Thanks again!
-SS