1200 Hours September 21, 2517 (Military Calendar)/Phi Daedris System, New Eden capital, town square, New Eden.
The capital of the small agricultural colony of New Eden had a towering skyline, with dozens of skyscrapers and buildings tall and small raising into the sky around her. One young woman sat in the square, wearing a pink chifon dress and a very ornate pink hat. Her blue eyes were locked onto the playground of the Sleeping Willow orphanage ahead, a bright, clean structure with marble steps and a fountain in front of the main sliding doors.
Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, the youngest research officer ever brought into the fold of the UNSC and, more specifically, the Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI for short, stared calmly from a distance at a group of three kids. Two, a girl and a boy, were playing together, while the third, the last boy, kept his eyes on them. The three were orphaned, apparently, as they almost always were on the outside of the ONI-owned Orphanage here on New Eden. This place was mainly used as a cover to test children for Halsey's top-secret Special Operations unit, the Project:ORION-II.
So far, she was not impressed... But these three kids, they were... Different.
The black-haired woman known as Halsey, she herself wasn't getting any younger, despite what the pink dress, the strange hat and her age may say, she'd only age on from here. Her gaze locked upon the trio of kids once more and she sighed, before hearing footsteps behind her. She looked back, to see the young Lieutenant Keyes approaching the bench. The man sat down beside her and shook his head. "Those the kids we're recovering today?" He then asked sarcastically. Halsey nodded and said "Always condescending, Lieutenant... These three are different. More so than most we've recovered. Similar to John, even..."
"At least the Flash Clones are a thing you didn't have to bother with for them..." He joked, holding a bottle of orange liquid, presumably a soda, in his right hand. "What do I tell the people at the reception? I want to adopt those three?"
Halsey nodded and said "It should work."
The man sighed, then nodded, stood up and said "Let's get this over with..." before walking toward them. Halsey watched as the man spoke to the children, a smile on his face. The young doctor sighed, looking at them as thoughts ran into her head. A lot of kids they've gathered. Out of all of them, these last few are... Special... The first of them, Adrian, the one sitting on the side, spoke of his past life to some ONI officers a month ago. It was almost scarily accurate to a 17-year-old that died in 2017, right at the end of the 21st Century's 2nd Decade. The Army of a state back then had records of the boy saying he wanted to enroll within the next year, 2018... He died suddenly just after placing the paperwork. This young boy knew everything and spoke of it in high detail... He didn't say a word since.
"Just what are you?" She muttered to herself, eyeing the child, Adrian. He had black hair, auburn eyes and sickly pale skin. He looked distraught as he stared at his two friends play, at least until Keyes walked up to them. Showing no emotion, the boy had stood up and gathered with the others around Keyes. He simply stared, listening to him and nodded when spoken to. He seemed distraught...
The doctor watched Keyes walk inside the massive, clean orphanage building with the kids, her eyes locked onto the boy-girl couple as she remembered their names. David Larsson and his close friend, Nelly Blom. The two had known each-other for their entire lives and both were of Swedish descent(Fact obvious by their names). David was a fair young boy, with light skin, brownish-green eyes and blonde hair, while Nelly had rose-red hair and bright blue eyes. Both of them were smiling and clearly excited as they walked in... Halsey finally locked gazes with Adrian.
The young man stared at her from away with a condescending, strangely dark look in his eyes. A chill shot up Halsey's spine... Not an ounce of humanity was left in the boy. She could just tell from his ice-cold glare, his unflinching, straight posture and the eerie silence, he was a malevolent force to some extent... She just felt it. She just absolutely felt it from the way the young man stared at her... He sighed, then went about and entered the building and at this point, Halsey had finally noticed she was holding her breath. Exhaling, the woman placed a hand on her forehead and wiped some sweat away.
She stood up, then placed her com bead into her ear and spoke "This is team one... We're a-go for extraction..." before walking toward the Orphanage to meet the Lieutenant halfway, as a van approached from behind. She'd have to talk to the trio in private aboard the ship, until they got to Reach. She sighed, then heard the van stop behind her as the four walked out.
2300 Hours September 23, 2517 (Military Calendar)/Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, planet Reach
The amphitheater was a large room with a vaulted ceiling, all of it made of the tough Titanium-A plating that held as the standard armor against all weapons of their foes. Halsey, now wearing a turtleneck, tight jeans and work shoes, as well as a labcoat to top it all off, ran over her thoughts as she looked at holoscreens of each of the 75 candidates' she'd selected. She sighed, then looked to the ghostly figure of a blue hologram, clad in a ceremonial gown and with a laurel wreath holding her black hair in a bun. "Déjà'... On second thought, don't save that last diary file... And please summon Chief Petty Officer Mendez. I'd like for both of you to be present when I address them." She said as she heard boots clanking onto the floor.
Looking ahead, she saw the kids, led by a man in a black dress uniform, chest riddled with campaigns ribbons and stars and medals on the left side, with the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer etched onto the shoulders and on his collar. A grizzled veteran that had seen action against the Insurgents many times before, CPO Franklin Mendez walked on-deck, with the kids closely following him. From the idle chatter, a great many of them seemed confused, worried even.
Mendez mounted the steps of the platform and then stood at ease next to her.
"You have read my psychological evaluations?" Déjà asked Dr. Halsey, part of her voice sounding of concern, despite Halsey's belief an AI couldn't show many emotions. Halsey nodded, then said "Yes. They were quite thorough, thank you." staring at each kid individually as they walked up the amphitheater's outer concentric semi-circles of benches and found themselves seats.
"And?" Déjà pressed on, looking at the Doctor. The woman rolled her eyes, then said "I am forgoing your recommendations, Déjà. I'm going to tell them the truth." sternly. The AI gazed upon her master, then cautioned "The truth has its risks..." to which Halsey simply replied simply "So do lies. Any story fabricated to motivate the children-Telling them that their parents were abducted by pirates, killed or wasted away by planet-wide plagues-would backfire. If they found out the truth, they'd later turn against us... No, the truth is the only option."
"It is a legitimate concern," conceded Déjà with a deep sigh, similar to a humans. "May I suggest selective neural paralysis? It produces a targeted amnesia-"
"An amnesia that may spread to other parts of their brains. No, Déjà, I've already made up my mind." Halsey promptly returned. Déjà nodded, then said "Very well, doctor..." Before backing off and letting Halsey speak. The children had circles of fatigue around their eyes. They had all been collected, rushed here through Slipstream space, and only recently brought out of cryo sleep. The shock of their ordeal must be hitting them hard, Halsey realized. She stifled a pang of regret. The woman inhaled, then took a small step forward, hands behind her back and spoke stiffly "As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN-II."
The words stuck in her windpipe... She looked at the children, each now with a handler beside him or her, a Navy officer clad in camouflage fatigues, each child with a stare of shock and awe. She'd have to make this as simple as possible, so they could understand. Hell, she barely understood what possessed her to create the Project in the first place... She sighed, then shook her head. It was all for the greater good, for humanity... Then, continuing, making it as simple for them to understand "You have been called upon to serve," she explained. "You will be trained... and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies."
A handful of the children sat up straighter, no longer entirely frightened, but now interested. Dr. Halsey spotted John, subject Number 117, the first boy she had confirmed as a viable candidate. He wrinkled his forehead, confused, but he listened with rapt attention. Her eyes then locked upon Adrian, David and Nelly, numbers 025, 017 and 081. Adrian seemed calm as he stared at Halsey, arms crossed. David and Nelly weren't far behind, clearly enthused by the prospect. Halsey sighed, then continued "This... May be hard to understand to some, to others it may be easier, but... After this, you will not be able to return to your parents..."
Most of the room stood silent. Those who still had parents stared at Halsey indignantly. The woman stood stern, firm on the outside, but slowly weakening on the inside. She nodded, then continued with as soothing a voice as she could muster "This place will become your home... Your fellow trainees will be your family from now onward. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it."
Patriotic words... Too bad they rang hollow in her head. She looked to Mendez, nodded and said "Get the children..." She bit her lip, then continued "Get the candidates to the barracks. Feed them and send them to bed... Make sure to keep their heads off of what we've just done to them." And with that, she walked off. Mendez looked at everyone, then sighed and yelled "Get everyone moving! To the Barracks!"
Adrian felt a sudden strike and suddenly, his entire body jolted up. Pain was a foreign subject to him by now, but still, the shock made his entire skin feel like needles pricked at it. He opened his eyes in a snap and looked up, to see a man with jet-black hair that was greying on the sides, his green eyes staring at him with inhumane hatred? A wish for the boy to die? Nah. He was probably just being like their Gym teacher... Except with a cattle prod. The strange silver device off in the man's right hand sparked with electricity, making Adrian snap up to his feet and off his little cot.
"Well, I'll be damned, Trainee!" Yelled the man with a gruff voice, his breath stinking of cigarettes. "You got up faster than the other two of your gang! Mendez' orders, get your ass to the showers, wash, get here and gear up! MOVE!"
He rushed through, following the stampede of 75 kids silently, his friends beside him. David looked at him and asked "You okay, dude? You look like you're stumbling." to which Adrian gave his friend a nod. Nelly smiled, then said "He's taken worse, David. I think he'll be able to walk off a small shock."
"Guess you're right." David nodded, then he looked to their friend. The Trio quickly jumped into the showers, washed via a lukewarm jet of soapy water, topped off by a freezing jet of cold water to awaken them, swiveled about and then rushed for their beds. Each one of them had training gear(A Tank-top with their number and name on it, green sweatpants, white socks and combat boots, each fitted to the kid in question).
The words screamed by Mendez made everyone jumped "Trainees! Training starts now, outside! Triple time... MARCH!"
Going outside, the team saw the light barely come. The sun hadn't even risen and the sky was a strange shade of indigo. The boys and girl breathed in the cold air and began to finally awaken. The grass was wet with dew. There were dozens of rows of barracks, but no one else was up and outside. A pair of jets roared overhead and arced up into the sky. Far away, John heard a metallic crackle.
Chief Petty Officer Mendez barked, "You will make five equal-length rows. Fifteen trainees in each." He waited a few seconds as they milled about. "Straighten those rows. You know how to count to fifteen, trainee? Take three steps back." And the trio lined up into the third row. Adrian looked toward 117. John. Behind him was Kelly. 087. Not much of a fan of his from the looks of things. Mendez barked again, sternly "JUMPING JACKS, GO!" and one kid refused. His instructor was quick to the draw, hitting him with the cattle prod. He doubled over and "Get with the program, boot," the trainer snarled. The boy uncurled and started jumping.
Jumping Jacks. Classic military exercise. Not to say the boy's arms didn't feel like they were about to fall off, his legs about to break from under him and his abdomen was burning with pain. He looked to Dave and Nelly, both of whom were basically flowing rivers of sweat. The boy himself was sweating profusely after such a long length of exercises.
"Ninety-eight-99-100." Mendez paused. He drew in a deep breath. "Sit-ups!" He dropped onto the grass. "Count off to one hundred. No slacking."
Everything burned... God damn it, did it burn... Their bodies were nearly broken... Everyone panted as they stopped in the final exercise. Oh shit...
"A good start, trainees," Mendez told them. "Now we run. On your feet!" The trainers brandished their batons and herded the trainees along. They jogged down a gravel path through the compound, past more cinderblock barracks. The run seemed to go on forever—they ran alongside a river, over a bridge, then by the edge of a runway where jets took off straight into the air.
They ran into a courtyard of smooth flagstones. A pole in the center flew the colors of the UNSC, a blue field with stars and Earth in the corner. At the far end of the yard was a building with a scalloped dome and white columns and dozens of wide steps leading to the entrance. The words NAVAL OFFICERS ACADEMY were chiseled into the arch over the entrance.
A woman stood on the top step and beckoned to them. She wore a white sheet wrapped around her body. She looked old to John, yet young at the same time. Then he saw the motes of light orbiting her head and knew she was an AI. He had seen them on vids. She wasn't solid, but she was still real. "Excellent work, Chief Petty Officer Mendez," she said in a resonant, silk-smooth voice. She turned to the children. "Welcome. My name is Déjà and I will be your teacher. Please come in. Class is about to start."
A few kids grumbled at the noise. Adrian was just happy to leave PT behind. He always hated it. David patted him on the back, then coughed and said in a raspy voice "Let's go. Better than sitting around like idiots waiting to die." and he looked to Nelly, taking her by the hand. Adrian panted, then nodded and wiped the sweat off his brow and walked inside. Trays of milk and crackers awaited every one of the 75 kids inside... Adrian felt only good to eat something and drink.
"Well... This is certainly better than before." Nelly smiled radiantly. She struggled to chew down on the food and gulped down on the milk quickly, refreshing herself. The boys followed suit. A holographic countryside appeared in the classroom. The children walked around the miniature mountains and hills and let the edge of the illusionary sea lap at their boots. Toy-sized soldiers marched toward what Déjà explained was Thermopylae, a narrow strip of land between steep mountains and the sea. Thousands of soldiers marched toward the three hundred who guarded the pass. The soldiers fought: spears and shields splintered, swords flashed and spilled blood. Déjà explained that the three hundred were Spartans and they were the best soldiers who had ever lived. They had been trained to fight since they were children. No one could beat them.
Most kids cheered as they saw the broken Persian army retreat. "That's all for today," Déjà said. "We'll continue tomorrow and I'll show you some wolves. Now it's time for you to go to the playground." "Playground?" John said. That was perfect. He could finally just sit on a swing, relax, and think for a moment... He ran out of the room, as did the other trainees. Chief Petty Officer Mendez and the trainers waited for them outside the classroom. "Time for the playground," Mendez said, and waved the children closer.
"It's a short run. Fall in."