The Greater Good

War was messy. No matter the motives, no matter its nature, a mess was always made that would result in collateral damage and a loss of human life that came with the stupidity that war is.

In one of the hangers of the UNSC Spirit of Fire however, Sergeant John Forge couldn't help but appreciate that for once, mess was a good thing. That components of various UAVs, mainly ARGUS drones and JOTUNs were scattered around the makeshift targeting range was a sign of the effectiveness of the Galilean nonlinear rifle, colloquially known as the "Spartan Laser," courtesy of how well the three super soldiers onboard the ship had handled it in the fighting on Harvest. Still, that didn't mean that normal humans couldn't handle it, the scattered components being testament to the firing squad's skill.

"All targets destroyed," came the voice of Serina, the ship's artificial intelligence. "One hundred percent accuracy."

Behind Forge, both Captain Cutter and Professor Anders radiated satisfaction, though Forge could tell for different reasons. Cutter was satisfied because he had another weapon to engage the aliens still on the surface that still could not or would not accept defeat. Anders was satisfied because…well, she had helped design the weapon. Seeing it in action like this would make anyone feel proud.

Guess she has some uses after all, Forge thought to himself. He'd taken a dislike to Anders from day one, an impression not helped by her presentation of the Cyclops battle armor. A remarkable evolution of the MJOLNIR Mark III, but surely attaching some kind of projectile weapon to it wasn't too much to ask?

Still, at this rate, we may not even need the Cyclops…

"Good shooting men," said the captain, walking over to the squad in front of him. "Care to give it another go?"

A chorus of affirmations greeted him. After six years of hell on Harvest, Forge's men were understandably eager to shoot at targets that didn't shoot back at them. With Cutter giving orders to Serina for a more challenging shape of movement to the UAVs and Anders answering the marines' questions about how the rifle operated, a new scenario was set.

"Here you go boys," said Serina as another set of UAVs came out while Cutter and Anders returned to a safe distance. "Have fun."

Forge could tell from the outset that it would be harder to hit these targets. Not only were they moving more erratically than their predecessors, but the sergeant suspected that the conversation his men had struck up with Anders hadn't been entirely out of curiosity, or at least a curiosity that was not entirely directed towards the weapons they were using and would detract from their concentration as a result. Still, he was willing to let it pass. After all that had occurred in recent times, opportunities to relax and not worry about being killed by genocidal aliens were few and far between. As such, he was willing to let them have their fun. He was willing to let them miss a few times, scarring the far hanger wall…

What he wasn't willing to do however, was stand by as one of his men was reduced to a smoldering heap, his weapon backfiring.

On instinct, the rest of the squad scattered. On instinct, Forge ran forward towards the man that he knew was already dead. Taking a direct chemical laser at point blank range would have killed even one of those super soldiers he'd seen back on Harvest and while the death would have been painless and had the benefit of a lack of blood, the fact remained that Private Alessio Cooper, age nineteen, had been killed by his own weapon.

It was a fact that Forge had trouble comprehending.

"Don't bother sergeant, he's dead," said Cutter. Forge glanced over his shoulder, the captain and professor coming to join him while Serina and the marines looked on in shock. Shock that Forge felt one second and was immediately replaced by anger.

"What happened?" he whispered, slowly getting to his feet. "What the hell happened?"

"A malfunctioning interface," said Serina. "Based on analysis, the weapon's power requirements were overloading the targeting mechanism and caused fatal feedback, the result of which-…"

"Shut up Serina," murmured Forge, not wanting the AI to go into the details. "I wasn't talking to you…"

Given that he'd come face to face with Anders by this point, there was no question as to who he was talking to…

To her credit, Anders stood her ground, her expression unreadable. However, she was clearly under as much stress as Forge. After all, she'd helped design the weapon…

"We all knew this was a possibility," she said, trying to convey a sense of control. "Defect incidences are down three-fold from unmanned testing and will be corrected in time, but-…"

"Alessio's dead!" Forge yelled. "You gave him a weapon that shouldn't have been in the field for years and now, thanks to your incompetence-…"

"Damn it Forge, you think I spent six years developing battlesuits and lasers only for them to blow up!" yelled Anders, her rage matching the sergeant's own. "Of course there's a risk! But in case you haven't noticed, we're fighting a race of-…"

"We!?' asked Forge incredulously. "Don't give me that bullshit. We do the fighting, while you sit up here and-…" He trailed off.

White haired and looking akin to someone's grandfather, James Cutter always had the look of a father figure, which may have explained how he was able to rise to captaining the Spirit of Fire. A firm grip on Forge's shoulder and an equally firm look in his eyes, Forge had no doubt that was the case.

"That's enough John," he said firmly. "Stand down."

"Stand down? Alessio's dead and-…"

"And many more will be dead if this weapon isn't deployed," interrupted the captain. "We all saw what the Covenant can do and people like Anders have developed technology to ensure the damage they can dish out is mitigated. And while losing a few lives to faulty technology is regrettable, it's far better than losing hundreds to a technological disparity. He lifted his hand, turning to address the marines. "We have to think of the greater good here. All of us."

Forge blinked, unable to believe what he was hearing. Not because of the nature of the information, but because that the information was true. Years ago, such notions would have been unthinkable but now…

"I'll get a med team here sir," said Serina, breaking the ice. "We can have a burial detail at your discretion."

"Agreed," answered Cutter. "Private Cooper died for the greater good. He should be honored as such."

Forge nodded, turning and walking away from the scene a second later. He needed to be somewhere on this ship. Somewhere else. Preferably a longue area with alcohol. Lots of alcohol.

"Sergeant, is this alright with you?"

Forge didn't break stride, only increasing it.

"Sergeant?"

"Yeah, it's fine," he said, not turning back, but only walking. "We all have to think of the greater good…"

Exiting the hanger, John Forge wished he could believe that…