(\FILES CODE-NAMED "WHITE"
(\LEVEL ALPHA CLEARANCE REQUIRED
(\ACCESS GRANTED BY A.I. DESIGNATED "KRYSTAL"
((LINK ESTABLISHED TO [ERROR NAME MISSING]
(\TRANSFERRING FILES TO [ERROR]…
(( And…you're in.
)) Thanks Krystal. What exactly am I looking at?
(( This? This is the records I have from our friends in cryo.
)) How far do these records go?
(( How far do you want it to go?
)) You A.I.s are so cynical. Just give me what happened before the Operation RED FLAG briefing.
(( You're the boss. Pulling up the files now. Happy hunting.
)\ACCESSING FILES...
0800 Hours, August 26, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ in orbit on Paris-class Heavy Frigate UNSC Saratoga - Reach
Voices pierced his eardrums. "Let's hurry before he regains consciousness." said an unfamiliar voice as he could feel himself being carried. He opened his eyes slightly and saw a man holding his body. Why was he seeing himself in third person? Had he died? The man carrying himself laid his body back onto the bed then turned to face him.
"Looks like our little friend here on Harvest is resistant to sleeping agents." The shadowy figure said. He was holding his body. But his body was sleeping in the bed. A sharp pain shot from his neck through his body as the other figure gave him another dose of the tranquilizer. His mind dove into a trance as he began receiving visions of his parents, brother, and even the cat. In the vision he could see his parents crying over his corpse yelling at the top of their lungs. "Cody!"
Cody exited his cryogenics chamber and landed on his knees coughing. The liquid, injected to prevent their organs from freezing, exited his mouth with each cough and disappeared into the grate. The metal floor felt cold on his naked body as he felt the chill run up his spine. He closed his fists and coughed out the last bit of liquid.
"White Team report to the bridge," an automated voice sounded over the loud speakers. He grabbed his head as the loud speaker boomed inside his head. He itched the scar tissue that covered the left side of his head with his robotic hand. His gaze drifted to the side and saw two of White team's four members, Katelynn and Alex, already up and dressing into fatigues that brandished the Spartan insignia of an eagle with wings outstretched holding arrows and a bolt of lightning. A five pointed star rose above it.
Katelynn and Alex also known as Kate-112 and Alex-125 respectively. They were augmented super soldiers belonging to the Navy called Spartans. Named after the Greek civilization in ancient times these warriors where trained from birth and molded to be the perfect weapon.
First their mind; then their bodies. Their bodies were outfitted with augmentations and neural interfaces to make them stronger, faster, and more durable than an average man.
He stared at Kate for a moment, she turned to look at him and gave him a smile. He smiled back before realizing a shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see a robotic hand stretched towards him. He grabbed the hand and the figure pulled him to his feet.
Jeremy-115, a Spartan that had been on his side for ever since he was conscripted into the Orion II, also known as the Spartan II, program. He was tall and bulky and Cody had to look up at him.
"Up and at 'em team leader. I know you hate cryo but you're looking weak in front of Alex." Jeremy said pointing back at Alex with his thumb. Cody-060, his callsign Six, looked over to see Alex. Alex looked at him and shook his head in sarcastic disappointment. Six smiled at them and gave Jeremy a warrior's handshake.
"Let's get to the bridge, I think the Captain is lonely." Six replied. Jeremy nodded and walked to get his clothes. He turned to join his team and Kate tossed him his clothes. He noticed something underneath her shirt as he was putting his pants on. His hand glided over to her and he pulled up some dog tags. It was a second pair that was not her own. It simply read Deborah-113.
She snatched it away and put it back. She swiftly turned to exit the room shoulder bumping Six on the way out. Jeremy put a hand on Six's shoulder, "She'll be fine sir. Right Alex?" He said to Alex. Alex nodded. Alex 125 was a man of few words. He only spoke when necessary.
"In the struggle between stone and water. In time, the water wins." Alex spoke in an oriental accent.
"Yeah, sure buddy." Jeremy said patting Alex's back roughly. The three Spartans left the room entering a busy hallway. All the naval personnel gave quick glances at them as they passed around them in a hurry. Spartan-060 felt like a giant next to them. He always felt that way ever since the augmentation process. The stares of the navy personnel always made him uncomfortable. Not many people knew what Spartans were. Before the Covenant came into view they were the Insurrectionist's boogie man.
The Spartans were secret until morale was at an all-time low. They were exposed and even in death they were still inspiring. Instead of listing the Spartans as K.I.A., they were listed M.I.A. so that a Spartan would never die.
The three caught up with Kate and they all stepped into the bridge together. It was crawling with staff that whizzed around. Six wasn't sure what was happening but he did know that the Captain of the UNSC Saratoga was nowhere to be seen. The bridge crew looked to not notice the hulking Spartans. Even though Kate was a foot shorter then himself, she was still taller than all the crew.
Zero-six-zero moved towards the captain's chair with his team in tow. He gazed at the planet looming before them: Reach. That was his home. Not Harvest, the planet he was taken from…from his family, but it was Reach. His new family was Doctor Halsey, the one in charge of the Spartan-II program; Chief Petty Officer Mendez, their drill instructor that taught them to be warriors; and his brothers and sisters of the seventy-five fellow conscripts. They were his family.
He looked to Kate and gazed at her. She caught his gaze and gave a stern look that eventually morphed into a smile. "So, Six?" She said to him.
"Yes?" Six responded.
"Where's the captain?"
Six shrugged. Suddenly the door out of the bridge opened to reveal the captain and the lieutenant. "Right here." She spoke. Captain Sarah Woods was a veteran of the campaign to retake Harvest. Six and his White Team fought with her before and she was a good friend of his.
"Captain on deck!" Said Six. White Team snapped to attention.
"At ease." She laughed. She moved to the Captain's chair and immediately went to work barking orders. Six stood parade rest next to her chair as the others parked themselves behind him. "We are ten minutes from being at your destination Spartan. ONI hasn't told me why you were being recalled but we have orders to park in orbit until otherwise."
"Sorry ma'am but that is classified." Six responded.
"Of course it is." She huffed. The truth was he didn't even know why he was coming home either. Like her, he wanted nothing more than to be back in the front lines. "I have a Pelican prepped for your teams descent. Bay Two"
"Yes Ma'am!" Six saluted then turned on his heels. His team also saluted and did the same. They followed Six out of the bridge and down the bustling hallway.
"What do you think the spooks have in plan this time sir? I don't think I can survive getting bigger." Jeremy said as he ducked under a low bearing duct. Six stayed silent. All he knew was that the Spartans were being recalled back to Reach; by the woman in charge herself, Doctor Catherine Halsey. The four Spartans entered the Pelican hanger to the site of pilots and grunts shoving boxes around and making repairs on the pelicans and other vehicles in the bay.
Kate spotted a woman in pilot gear waving at them. She tapped Six on the shoulder and pointed at her. The team approached the scene to find the pilot on top of the pelican and she knelt down. "Don't suppose you're the Spartans I'm tasked with haulin' 'round, huh?" she asked with a southern American accent.
"Well we are the only massive beings on this ship." Six said as a marine past by admiring his stature.
"Don't know 'bout that. I thought Spartans were armored cybergs that run on steam and eat Covie babies fer breakfast?" She responded.
Six smiled and looked to Kate. She shrugged her shoulders and said. "Do you have any idea where it is we are going?"
The pilot woman squatted and moved her hands on her legs. She stared at her for a moment then jumped to her feet and yelled, "Nope!" She moved to the middle of the Pelican air and space transport and lifted up a panel. She looked back and spoke again, "Time to get yer metal booties inside. First class ticket to unknown location to Reach coming up!" she hopped inside and disappeared from view.
The team looked at each other in surprise in what just happened. "Well," Jeremy said, "She seems fun." The team laughed and the loading ramp to the Pelican hissed open. Their cue to get stepping.
The team entered the Pelican and Kate, Jeremy, and Alex moved to the jump seats and strapped in while Six moved to the cockpit. He held on to a rail as the Pelican lifted and flew out of the ship. He looked to see the pilot in the pilot seat while a man sat in the gunner seat. "Greetings." The man spoke to Six.
Six nodded then gazed out the front to spy a fleet hanging out in orbit. He saw the horizon of Reach and the system's star peering over it. The windshield polarized to take care of the glare. The atmospheric phenomena, much like what people told him the aura borealis was like back on Earth, littered the sky. "Beautiful isn't she?" the man said. Six nodded. "What's your name? I'm Hunter Travis, and the lady in the cockpit is Danielle."
"Spartan Zero-Six-Zero." Six responded.
"Got a real name?" Hunter asked. Six was silent. He wasn't good at small talk. He was that way since he was little. It took him days to get the hang of talking to Jeremy and he was in the same Spartan team as him.
"Alright." Hunter said as they hit the atmosphere. The craft took on heat as it descended. The clouds quickly escaped and revealed a view of mountains full of snow, rivers rushing through the landscape, and plains of lush grass with dots of civilization.
Danielle began to speak, "This is Pelican 225 landing cargo at delivery point, over." She waited for a response.
After a few seconds a voice spoke back, "You are cleared for landing at zone 35-niner. Coordinates transferring."
"Coordinates received, Pelican out." She said as she zoomed over the treetops and landed in a clearing. She turned to face Six in her seat. "Have fun with the spooks, Spartans. And welcome home."
Six nodded and gave an archaic gesture of the thumbs up. The pilots looked at each other then back at him.
He exited the cockpit into the cargo area. The team was already standing. He moved past them and faced the loading ramp as it opened. The pressure cleared with a hiss and Six's ears popped. The door lowered to reveal a lone M831 Troop Transport. A variation of the M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, or Warthog. There was no one inside and the Pelican lifted off and vanished into the Reach fog. Six and his team investigated the Warthog. The dash was flashing brightly. He leaned over and tapped the display. Coordinates popped up with a waypoint and a line of travel.
"Guess we still have a ways to go." Kate said as she hopped in the passenger seat.
"They sure like to give us these scavenger hunts don't they Six?" Jeremy said as he hoped in the back and stood up. His body was too massive to use the seats as intended. The whole vehicle sagged then returned to normal as the shocks aligned to counter the weight. Alex hopped in the back also.
"I'm sure the surprise is worth it." Six responded and manned the driver's seat. He looked over at Kate who was looking out the side enjoying the view.
She noticed him staring and punched him in the shoulder playfully. "Get going, I'm sure we are already late." She teased.
"Yes ma'am." He responded and tapped one of the many pedals. It dug into the grass and blew dirt behind them as they sped to their location.
The team approached the military complex that were on the coordinates. They skidded to a halt. Two armored sentries approached them. "This is a restricted area. Identify yourselves immediately or we will be forced to neutralize." One of the sentries spoke.
Jeremy stood up from the back and hopped out of the Warthog. His body made a thud in the ground. Dust shot up and surrounded the Spartan. He stepped out of the crater he made and sized himself in front of the sentry. The sentry looked up at him and the look of shock could be seen on his face. Six hopped out of the Warthog then put a hand on Jeremy's chest backing him up. "That won't be necessary." Six responded. The other Spartans exited the Warthog also and a size difference could be distinguished between them. Six lifted up his dog tags and put them close to the sentry's face. The man read the tags then snapped to attention and saluted.
"The doctor is waiting for you Spartans." Six nodded to him and looked back at his team. They all nodded to him one by one.
Six turned back to face the sentry. "Show us."
They followed the sentry into the complex. The hallway led into a room with four doors. A woman with short, gray hair down to her shoulders stood in front of one. "Doctor Halsey." Six spoke as him and his team stood at parade rest.
"It's good to see you Spartans again. Cody…" He twitched at his name. It reminded him of a time lost. She then pressed her hand to his face. "It seems you still refuse my recommendation on that cybernetic eye implant." Six gave a half smile as she moved to Jeremy. Six's eye was lost due to a lucky, or unlucky one could say, fuel rod blast that burned the side of his face and left the scaring that throbbed from time to time.
She looked Jeremy up from toe to head and spoke, "And you, Jeremy, I think you gotten bigger the last time I saw you."
"It's the veggies ma'am." he joked.
"I'm sure it is." She said walking to Kate. She held out her hands in front of her and looked Kate in the eye with compassion. Kate was confused but took the hint and placed her hands on top of Halsey's. "I know what it is like to not be able to see a loved one anymore…. All of the Spartan deaths weigh heavy on me as each of you." She looked at Six who gulped. Kate pondered and a tear rolled down her face. Six hadn't seen her cry ever since the incident. Halsey continued, "The reason the K.I.A status for every Spartan is changed to M.I.A is to keep Humanity's faith alive." She let go of Kate's hands and continued talking, "But I like to think the real reason is because that 'Spartans never die'. Because they gave their life for the oath they swore. So to Humanity, they never died." She reached for the second pair of dog tags and looked into Kate's eyes. "She would be proud, Katelynn."
"Last but not least." Halsey said as she walked in front of Alex. She looked at him and then reached up and touched the scar on his ear. "Even when you were a small child, Alexander, hugging on my leg you were quiet. Because you knew what to place your focus on." She turned around and faced the doors. "Your team is to enter the doors separately. Cody, you're following me." She entered through one door and the door automatically slid shut behind her.
"Well." Jeremy said smacking Six's back. "See you on the other side, sir."
Six nodded as Jeremy entered in one door. Alex nodded to him as Alex entered through another door. Six moved towards the door Halsey spoke of but was stopped by a soft, slender hand on his wrist. He looked back and it was Kate looking into his eyes, searching. She was holding Deborah's dog tags tightly. Six wrapped her in a hug and buried her face in his chest. He could feel the tears soak through his shirt and could hear the timid sobs.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She looked up at him with tears still in her eyes. "Why?" She asked.
"I wasn't fast enough, I should have been faster." He said as he moved his robotic limb from around her and closed it. He remembered Deborah's words as the fuel rod blast went off between them.
"Hey." Kate said snapping his attention from the hand. "It's not your fault and you know it." She punched him in the shoulder and wrapped her arms around him under his. "Things happen for a reason and…I think I understand that now with Deborah. It may still hurt but Spartans never truly die anyway."
Six saw something in her that he hadn't seen in years inside her: Hope. Her face lit up and he smiled at the change in her demeanor.
He huffed then spoke, "Well," He looked at his door, "Let's see what awaits." She smiled then walked to her room. The door closed behind her.
He entered a room which contained a table, Doctor Halsey and a man in a lab coat, and a one-way mirror. Based on the window size it could be used by a group of several people.
"Did you get lost, Cody?" Halsey asked as she flicked the needle of a syringe.
"No, ma'am." Six responded.
"Good. Now strip down and lay on your chest." She ordered as she gestured to the table.
Six nodded and did what he was told. He took his shirt off and revealed his battle scars to the room. Then his pants and boots were next. He laid on the table as he was told.
Halsey began to speak to him as a sharp prick was felt in his neck. "We are going to make some upgrades to your neural interface. This is the latest state of the art technology."
Six felt the cutting of tools and the poking of hands. After a few minutes Six was given a chance to sit up.
"Now come with me, the others should already be there." Halsey spoke, grabbing his wrist and leading him to a different room. His team was there and what lay before them was four suits of armor, identical except for the helmets. They were being held up by wires and cranes. "The Mark Four armor you wore throughout your campaigns is terribly obsolete compared to the newer Mark Five that is on display before you now. This. Is the real Mjolnir armor."
White Team stood mesmerized. Six walked toward the armors and touched the chest plate of the one that had 060 etched on the podium it stood on top of.
"Go ahead." She spoke. "Try it on."
White team spent the next hour getting fitted into the suits. They all stood around each other holding their helmets. Except for Six. Doctor Halsey held the helmet in her hands and approached him.
"We have upgraded the Mark Five to incorporate two major functions: the first is a shield generator. If your shields go down, find cover and wait for them to recharge."
"What's the second?" Kate asked.
She smiled and turned Six's helmet around and showed them the back of the helmet. She pointed out a slot on the back. "This here is the interface port for the A.I. core in each helmet. What allowed you to take an A.I. into the field has been upgraded. This can be a positive thing." She said shooting the statement at Six.
Six never like A.I.'s and the Doctor knew it. She motioned him to kneel down. He did and she put the helmet on him. The helmet's gel inside formed to his head and created a seal. The Heads-up Display, or HUD, blinked to life. His health indicator, motion sensor, and shields blinked blue. He also noticed his team's Friend-or-Foe, or FOF, tags also. He moved around getting a feel for the HUD when the system finished updating and the Spartan-II roster lit up. It contained every Spartan-II, dead or alive. Deborah-113 caught his eye. She was listed as M.I.A.
"Head to this room." Doctor Halsey tapped in her data pad and a waypoint showed up in everyone's HUD. "I will get started with the real reason the Spartans were recalled." She finished.
The team headed down the hall towards their objective. They all sported their own helmet variants. Jeremy's integrated his love of heavy weapons, Kate's helmet covered her support role on the team, and Alex had a helmet which put into the Close-Quarters Combat, or CQC, aspect he favored. It felt good to be back in armor. Six hated the feeling of casual fatigues, too loose. Their armored boots clanked against the metal floor. They entered the room filled with their fellow Spartans all clad in the Mark V armor with various helmet variations. They stopped their walking to admire the room. Almost all of his brothers and sisters under one roof. It's been years since they were last together.
Six scanned the room and spotted a Spartan making his way towards them. He was dressed in the same helmet Six had.
"Hello White Team." A familiar voice spoke. Six recognized it as John-117, their leader. They all snapped into attention and saluted the olive-armored soldier. As a Master Chief Petty Officer he was the highest ranking member in the room. "At ease." He spoke.
They relaxed and then Jeremy spoke, "Where's everyone else?"
"Most of the others haven't arrived yet. But the briefing should start soon." Chief responded.
"I heard you uncovered something interesting on your last mission with Blues." Kate said.
"That—" John was interrupted by Doctor Halsey and a man Six recognized but couldn't place. Everyone snapped to attention as they spotted the captain bars on the man's uniform.
"At ease." He said as he walked through them to get to the podium. A blue human figure with data codes swirling through her body stood from the holo panel on the podium. An A.I.
Halsey stood in place behind the podium and leaned to give out the briefing. "Spartans." She started. "As you know, the Covenant is an alliance formed by a number of alien species." She then ordered the A.I. to pull up holograms of the species: Elites, Grunts, Jackals, Hunters, and Brutes.
Six remembered when he first met the covenant. How strong their Elites were. He thought he was tall until he met one of them. Eight feet tall is what the data gathered on them said. The cannon fodder that was the backbone were called Grunts. They wore masks on their faces, something about only breathing methane. The Jackals had shields on their wrist that could reflect kinetic energy. Then the Hunters were the heavies and were made up of colonies of worms that bonded into indestructible armor. Brutes, like the name suggested, were unpredictable rampaging machines that could rip a chain gun off of a Warthog if he had the mind too.
A hologram of a new species popped up into the frame, "Now ONI has verified the existence of two other species. Engineers…"
The creature looked like a floating squid with a snake-like head. Familiar.
Halsey spoke again and finished her last statement, "…and the Prophets."
The holo shifted to a creature with a crown and what looked like ornament robes.
"They are the leadership caste viewed by the lower castes with religious reverence." Halsey continued. "Which brings us to the point of this meeting…Operation: Red Flag. Nearly all Spartans have been assembled for this operation and your jobs will be to do the impossible…capture one of these Prophets."
Six noticed the emphasis on the word capture. John raised his hand. "Ma'am? Capture? Not kill?"
Alex whispered to Six, "She is right by wanting to capture, a Prophet could be seen as a martyr."
Halsey spoke at John, replying to his comment, "ONI intelligence suggests that killing a Prophet would lead to escalation. Capture, however, allows us to broker a truce. Possibly even peace negotiations."
"The Covenant will never want Peace." Jeremy said from behind Cody.
As if John heard Jeremy he spoke to Halsey, "Peace? Why do we think that's an idea the Covenant would entertain? The Covenant don't give a damn about peace…Ma'am."
Jeremy grunted in response. Six felt the same way, there was no negotiating with those monsters. After what he seen on Harvest, his old home, he believed this mission was a waste.
"It is my opinion, and that of ONI, that we have a matter of months…" Halsey spoke, her words felt heavy. She continued after her pause, "…At best a year, until the Covenant locates critical population centers. That means Reach, then Earth…" She lowered her head. Six could tell she agreed with them but held that hope that Humanity could survive. "This mission…" She continued. "As high risk as it is, with as many unknowns as it carries…this mission's how we stop that from happening."
She walked off the podium and faced Chief, who saluted her. "Master Chief, you'll be reporting to Captain Jacob Keyes, aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn for the duration of Red Flag…have your team ready to ship off in the hour…"
"Yes, Ma'am." Chief responded. He did an about face and faced the rest of the Spartans, "Spartans, we meet in the armory in ten minutes to assemble our gear."
"What about me?" asked the A.I., directing its figure towards the Chief.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I didn't get shot at for nothing. We're a team now. I'm coming with you." It said crossing its arms.
"Ma'am?" He looked at Halsey.
"Good hunting, Master Chief." Is all she said as she smiled and walked away.
Great. Six thought. An A.I. was tagging along on the mission. Jeremy nudged Six to get his attention then pointed at Halsey. She was talking to a man in ONI attire. They would periodically glance at them.
The other Spartans shuffled out the room and Halsey and the man approached White Team. They saluted then stood at attention waiting.
"These are the Spartans you observed." Halsey spoke gesturing to White Team.
"Wouldn't have been able to have known that with the new armor." He extended his hand, "Pleased to meet y'all."
Six broke his concentration to look at the hand then hesitated. He then gingerly shook it, careful not to break it.
"You are being relieved from Operation: Red Flag and assigned to a different task."
What. Six thought. What could be so important that they need to take away four fully trained Spartans, especially with the amount of experience they had?
"You are to report to briefing. Dr. Halsey will mark it on your map. Good day." The man left as Halsey began typing on her tacpad.
Six spoke up, "What are we to expect, ma'am?"
Halsey smiled then looked up into his faceplate. Her eyes that of a mother who lost her child. How he imagined his own mother would have looked like. She said simply, "I don't know."
The waypoint popped up in their HUD as Halsey moved past them with no further conversation.
"Well that was ominous." Jeremy said what everyone was thinking. The team would have to put it behind them for the next task. A feeling at the back of Six's head said that their whole world was going to change.
The team crept through the halls toward their destination, passing ONI personnel on the way.
"Why do you think ONI is taking four Spartans away from the mission of capturing a Prophet, Six?" Kate asked seeming to sense the struggle in his mind.
Six shrugged. Who knew why ONI ever did anything? Why did they kidnap over a hundred children, put them through more intense training than the best soldiers, and then kill half of them through modifications.
Six didn't realize that they reached door until Jeremy grabbed his shoulder and prevented him from slamming into it. Six gave a nod then opened the door. The doors slid open to the sides hissing with pneumatic pumps.
There were two figures in the room, dressed in what looked to be MJOLNIR armor. Their attention was focused on a large screen picturing an older man. His hair was graying and his face shown wrinkles from years of strategy. A deep scar came down from his forehead, across his left eye and hit the top lip. He had the stars of a general and he looked up upon seeing them. Six recognized this man, he was the man they encountered during their training on Reach.
"Ah," the man on the monitor started, "Our guests have arrived."
The two individuals in MJOLNIR armor looked at White Team from their casual sitting positions. One was a woman with a short, platinum hair. Her eyes shown a luminescent blue, most likely from augmentations. The other was a male, dark skinned with the same blue augmented eyes.
White Team entered the room and stood at attention. "White Team reporting for duty sir." The subtle contempt in his voice was only recognizable by his team.
"Good. As I was saying, we had a close call with insurrectionists at the Visegrád Relay. So. As a precaution I am ordered to send you all on an escort mission. You will escort an item to set up defensive procedures to protect our orbital platforms." He shifted and cupped his hands together and leaned his head on his extended index fingers. With is mouth covered he continued, "Those MAC cannons are our first and most powerful line of defense. If those go down and the Covies show up we will all be dead within hours." The general spoke with fervor.
"Why us then?" the female soldier spoke up. "Don't escort missions fall into common soldier territory not Spartan?"
Six wondered if she was referring to his team or herself. "Permission to speak freely Sir?" Six asked.
"Go ahead Spartan." The general approved.
Six took off his helmet assuming it was warranted with the casual way they are sitting. "I agree, Sir. This is a definite waste of resources which would have been better spent on OPERATION: RED FLAG. Sir."
The general stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. Six started wondering if what he said was out of line until the general spoke, with a hint of anger in his voice. "I knew I recognized the team color."
Six stood straighter.
"It's been too long. Zero-Six-Zero." The general spoke, he leaned closer. "You remember me?"
"Yes Sir. Captain Adam Scott. Office of Naval Intelligence." Six spouted, looking straight.
"It's General now. I'm hoping past grudges will not conflict with your assignment. Because—" Scott gave a smile behind his fingers. "Because this mission is definitely suited for Spartans. Krystal, say 'hi' to your new friends."
After a brief moment a blue figure surrounded in light materialized on a small podium. It formed into a woman in a lab coat and adorned glasses and a top knot bun. Six usually saw A.I.s in ancient Greek attire like Deja from his youth.
"Hello all. I am A.I. KTL 1795 dash 7, but you can call me Krystal." The little A.I. beamed.
The room was silent with all of White Team looking at Six to gauge his response.
"What function does it perform sir?" Six said while looking at General Scott.
"Um, she?" KTL 1795-7 said.
"It." Six emphasized, shifting his gaze on it now.
"The A.I. has defense algorithms to be integrated into the orbital platforms. It will take a few days to accomplish this so you and your team will need to stay on board and help out. Spartan insight will be paramount." Scott informed. He gestured to the two individuals in the front. "These are new additions to your team. Spartan three's from Alpha Company. That is all I am at liberty to say. That applies to you all too. Word of Spartan threes never leaves this room."
White team nodded. Six knew that phase three of the Spartan project would happen. But from conversations he heard from John and Dr. Halsey, he thought it was scrapped.
"Also Spartan Zero-Six-Zero, you are promoted to the rank Lieutenant, active immediately. This way no rank complications happen. Get to know the Spartans…and the A.I. They are a part of your team now." He lowered his hands and gave them a nod, "Scott out."
White Team saluted as he blinked out. They relaxed and Six put his helmet back on. The hiss of the seal sounded. He walked towards the podium that displayed the A.I.'s avatar.
"I am Krystal," It started, "I have thousands of danger scenarios and contingency plans for each one." It smiled, happy with itself.
"Are you travel ready right now?" Six asked sternly.
"Yes I am, why—" Six yanked the chip out of the console before it finished its sentence. He stuffed the chip in one of the belt pouches and turned to the Spartan-IIIs. They saluted the newly ranked lieutenant.
"At ease." Six said. "Who are you and what are your qualifications?"
The female stepped up, "My designation is Alpha Company Spartan Two-Two-Five. Vehicular maintenance and motor specialist Sir." She smiled with a salute.
Six looked at the male.
"A101-Tyrone, Sir, Explosives." Tyrone said.
"Welcome to White Team Spartans."
(A/N: Thank you for reading. This is the first story I ever posted and am a little nervous. The formatting did not want to use "" or "" for the beginning code conversation so I replaced them with parenthesis. This is one of my original stories I created years ago and modified it extensively. I am currently re-working a different fiction so that is taking all of my hobby time. I do however have chapter 2 already made so expect that in the future. Your reviews are appreciated.)