It was the 29th of October, 2549. SPARTAN Fireteam Gemini, who scored the lowest on tests, were stranded on the icy planet of Enkao II. SPARTAN-012, Daniel, SPARTAN-009, Ashley, SPARTAN-189, Kaleb, and SPARTAN-199, Lindsay, were holed up in a cramped, snowy, cold, dark cavern of Mt. Ecksomin. Their only source of light being from their helmets, and a small fire. They had crates with some supplies in it, thanks to a nearby downed pelican. The wind howled loudly and eerily, their only protection from any invading Jackal pirates or any other enemy being the pelican parts, which Lindsay dismantled pieces and used them as cover.
The time was, if Ashley was right, currently 0321. "The hell are we supposed to do here?" Kaleb jeered.
"Wait." Daniel responded.
"That's all we've been doing!" he snapped back.
"Kaleb, don't get your panties in a bundle," Ashley remarked, earning a small and light giggle from Lindsay, who was working on getting the communications up, "Lin's got our backs, okay?"
"Whatever you say, Ash…" Kaleb conceded, brandishing his knife to get rid of the recent Jackal blood which stained it.
"Kaleb, watch your tone." Daniel ordered, running checks on his armor, "we can't afford to fight amongst ourselves."
"Alrighty then, Colonel Sanders." Kaleb said, calling Daniel a chicken.
"Run that by me one more time, Kaleb. Couldn't hear what you were saying with that head of yours so far up your ass." Daniel responded, sneering.
"Good one, cap." Ashley said, smiling behind her helmet.
"Kaleb, you've always been the butt of our jokes ever since we were kids, huh?" Lindsay said, a partial bit of her Chinese accent slipping in her voice.
"Yeah. I'm proud of that." Kaleb responded, sounding a little sarcastic.
"You don't sound too proud of that." Daniel snorted.
After that, silence. Everyone stopped talking. Be it lack of anything to discuss or sheer worry of not being able to make it home alive. The wind howled again. The members of Fireteam Gemini were scared. Scared of dying? Maybe. But what they were most afraid of: was losing one of their own...
Corral of the Uon System, orbiting Vexi IV
Barracks of Fireteam Gemini, personal bedroom of SPARTAN-012
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Daniel sat on the bed in his cabin on the UNSC Eye of the Storm in his standard military uniform. The tag on the breast section of his uniform saying in bold letters. "LANCE 012" He laid on the bed, and reached down under it. He pulled a handle; opening a drawer and rummaging inside it.
He pulled out a notebook and pen, clicking the writing utensil so the sharp ink blade was unsheathed, and he began to write.
"September 15th 16th, 2549
Dear diary. Today was...Well, another boring day. Nothing really happened. We ran lots of drills, however. Though, the CO can be a bit of a pain in the ass jerk. He always hounds me for making some small mistakes. At times, I wish he could understand me a bit more. The other soldiers are always so gruff and the fighting type. Me? I'm a little soft. Hell, my mom said I can wrestle with the toughest, but my heart shatters at the sight of a kitten or a puppy in need of a good home. Kind of weird how I'm the one who decided to join the UNSC. I guess it may just be wanting to uphold my father's side of the family. Historical wise. My father's side of the family has a keen sense of honor with the whole...Military thing. It can be a little really disheartening hearing your father think lower of you for not having a passion for military careers As a kid, I wanted to be a writer or an artist; that kind of went away after I got more self-aware and older. I think my mom still has my drawings on the fridge. Man, if I could go back to the simple times...At least my childhood friends are here, sharing the burden with me…"
Daniel closed the notebook, clicking the pen and holstering the ink blade once more. He clipped the pen to the notebook's spirals, put it back into the drawer, and closed it shut. He laid on the bed, relaxing his arms behind his head and daydreaming. Was it daydreaming?
It's hard to tell in the blackness of space that was his window view. What time was it? Daniel glanced at his clock. In red digits, it read: 0834. Okay...0100 is...1 AM...I think...So add seven...8:34 AM? Daniel thought in his head.
He shrugged it off and got out his headphones from the bottom drawer, plugging it into his phone and turning on one of his favorite songs. The song is roughly 500 years old or more. Daniel loved old music. He pressed play and sang along quietly. "Oh, Texas can you hear me? Speed up on the dawn...To the plains and blues of Houston...In the sun...Where home is a rust...In the parish of space dust...Where the mountains die...And today...is golden…"
As he sang, he felt himself drifting off to sleep slowly. Recalling the memories of today, and what brought him this today. This set of events. He was always a thinker. Always. He didn't like it sometimes; he even tried to force himself to stop at times. But, you can't stop a human from doing something humane.
He fell asleep.
16th of September, 2549 (0911)
Corral of the Uon System, orbiting Vexi IV
Barracks of Fireteam Gemini, personal bedroom of SPARTAN-189
Kaleb had never been a fan of trips that were too far from home. As a kid, whenever he, Lindsay, Ashley, and Daniel would go on trips with his family, he would get homesick. He wanted to play video games or play outside with his neighborhood friends. Today, for him, was no exception to this.
He found himself constantly sitting near his window and spacing out to the sights of said space. Maybe with a bagel and a mug of coffee. The coffee was always destroyed with creamer or sugar or both. Kaleb has always had a tough exterior, ever since elementary; but he's always had an undeniable sweet tooth. Black coffee, to him, is bitter enough to even hear, let alone taste.
Kaleb sipped his coffee. The rich, tasty, vanilla creamer rushed along his taste buds like a raging tsunami of flavor. He cherished every bit of it, before indulging into his cinnamon bagel with cream cheese spread about its toasted surface. For a military frigate, the breakfast ain't half bad! Kaleb thought to himself. As they traveled, the rocks of meteors and moons of the planets in the Uon system drifted by.
Kaleb loved beautiful views.
As someone who is a loudmouth, hot-head, and aggressive, you'd expect his "tastes" to be less for beauty but for dangerous environments. Not Kaleb. Kaleb, as a kid, used to go on hikes with Daniel, Lindsay, and Ashley. Not a day goes by that Kaleb doesn't think of his adventures with his friends. He missed those days. It's all because of that.
When thinking of it, Kaleb sometimes can't sleep. It haunts him. What he saw that day, he can never unsee. Being only a teenager, Kaleb will forever remain scarred by it. He wish that that truth wasn't a reality; but it will forever be on his mind.
Lost in thought, Kaleb didn't hear the knock on his door. After several times, he finally snapped back into reality. "O-Oh, come in!" he said.
The door opened, it was Lindsay. Her blonde hair was messy, her uniform was wrinkled, her pant legs uneven, and her eyes looking tired. She was hugging a pillow. "Lin? You okay?" Kaleb sat up.
"...Yeah." she responded, looking away.
"...Can't sleep?" Kaleb inquired.
"...Yeah."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"...Yeah."
Kaleb took a mental note on Lindsay's behavior. She had never acted like this before. During 5th grade, Lindsay would always help out Kaleb or be his personal therapist, so to speak. She always handled him gently and helped him keep a cool head. This time, it may be the opposite. Kaleb figured that that was why he's always had a little crush on her.
Lindsay walked in and sat on his bed. It was usually against regulation for women to be in men's rooms. However since this was only a personal room, the rules are up to the person staying in it. Kaleb sat next to her, his arms resting on his legs. "Um. So, what's up?" Kaleb started.
"...Can't sleep." she responded, a little late.
"Bad dream?"
"...Yeah."
"What was it about?"
Lindsay soaked in the nightmare she had. Recalling every bit of it reluctantly, she just wanted to feel okay again.
"...It was that day."
"...That day?"
"...Yeah."
"...Yeah, it...It still haunts me, too, Lin…"
"...I was horrified…"
"You and me both…"
Kaleb felt better knowing he wasn't the only one haunted by that day. That day was the day when the four bestest friends would be met with similar fates...And one person would meet their fate without making it out alive. Kaleb scolded himself almost every day since then for not being able to stop it.
Kaleb remembers her everyday. They met after being kidnapped by ONI. He remembers her screams of pain. They resonate deeply in his scarred mind. Blood. That's what was there. In that room. Lots of it. Ever since then, he has had hemophobia. Even a small papercut on his finger can freak him out. He learned that he was afraid of dying that day.
"...She was so young…" Lindsay said, her voice choked up.
"...We all were…" Kaleb reminisced.
They sat next to each other in silence for a little while; they soaked in the harsh reality they witnessed years ago. It was such a horrifying sight to behold. The sight was so bad, Kaleb couldn't keep his breakfast in his stomach. "I...I still have her autopsy…" Kaleb finally spoke.
Hearing this, Lindsay looked up a little. Kaleb reached under his bed and pulled out a small case folder. He opened it and examined the papers.
Name: Isla Barnham
Age: 16
Blood Type: A-
Race: Caucasian
Height: 188.82 CM (6 feet, 8 inches)
Weight: 246 pounds (112.4 kg)
Date of birth: May 16th, 2510
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Ginger
Cause of death: Strength augmentation
As Kaleb read on, tears dotted the papers. A close friend of his, who became part of the group of his childhood friends, was gone. Forever. Nothing he could ever do would change that fact.