1341 hours, June 3rd, 2532 [MILITARY CALENDAR]\ Hovorta system, Planet Juve, Kilo Elementary School
Waylen steps out of the pelican and takes a civilian transport vehicle to an elementary school's park. She sits on one of the benches surrounding the playground and smooths her grey formal skirt. "If I might ask, ma'am, who are we looking for?" Commander Henry Fairgate asks her. She scans the playground and finds a lone boy with jet-black hair sitting at the base of a tree, watching the other children play. He regards them with a wary eye.
She picks up her holo-pad and smiles. That was him.
Subject-332. He was five years old with jet-black hair and crystal blue eyes. He had a skeptical personality. But a smart and calculating mind which makes up for his distrusting demeanor.
"This boy," Waylen says, handing the Commander the holo-pad. "Subject-332. Jackson," Henry reads.
Without warning, Waylen stands up with one fluid movement and makes her way towards the boy who sees her stand and watches her until she reaches him.
He doesn't stand up, he just watches her with skeptical eyes that judge her every move. Waylen can't get a read on the boy. His face is void of all emotions. It makes the woman uneasy. She can always get a read on her test subjects. But not Jackson.
"What do you want?" he asks her, locking eye contact. She returns the firm gaze, but he doesn't back down. "You're all alone up here. Why don't you want to go play with the others?" Waylen asks, kneeling down to eye-level. Jackson has a cold gaze, one that is very abnormal for a 5 year old. "I've tried. They say I play too hard. I scare everyone away," He says. "Look, lady. I know you're here to offer me something. So can you please get to it?"
That startles Waylen. She wasn't expecting that. But she recovers quickly, trying to not let Jackson see it. "I just wanted to say hi. Nice talking to you, Jackson," She says.
Jackson watches her like a snake as she leaves, and doesn't stop watching her until she had disappeared with the Commander.
"Will he do?" Henry asks Waylen. Henry has been accompanying Waylen for her "selections" for about a month now. And Jackson was the last.
"Yes. He is a smart young boy. He will do perfectly for Project Freebird," She says and steps into the pelican.
I can't believe i remember that day. it all seemed like so long ago. When I had parents and friends. Another lifetime, it seems. But I do remember when I first met Waylen which marked the beginning of a hell-ride that would jerk me from what I knew and break me into nothing. But it was all worth it, in the end. I can't even remember my old life, it's been that long.
That very next day after meeting Waylen, i would be taken from my home, right under my parent's noses, and taken to a facility on Reach that would become my home. I was taken along with 73 others. But eight of us were separated for unknown reasons. Four of us formed a team almost as soon as we met each other. The other four became our rivals and enemies as we would progress through our Spartan ranks. But my squad, my beloved friends, would pull through no matter the cost or situation. And I can't ask for anything better.