(Author's Note: So to all who read this story, this is the continuation of Raven Squadron. I strongly suggest you read it before you read this one as you may not understand what is going on halfway. To the readers who have read this, I apologize but I need to create some backstory with the cast of characters now entering the stage, so there will be some past stuff happening again in a way. Legal rights still apply, don't own halo franchise or those characters, simply the ones I have created in both of these stories, Elena etc.)
Raven Squadron: Pandora Protocols
[1100 hours, February 9th 2535 (Military Calendar)/ Sol System, San Francisco, Marin County]
The boy never knew what hit him. One minute he was with his parents checking on the action figures behind the store, hearing something about some girl wanting a fighter, and the next minute he had a gag in his mouth and a bag over his head as he was pulled out the back.
He was trying his best to scream and kick, desperately trying to fight back any way he could.
"Fucking hell, he's a tough one! Give him another shot damn it!" he could hear through the bag as the sound of the girl crying in the background for her fighter diminished to the sounds of a van opening its door. He felt a prick against his skin and he started to feel drowsy, but somehow, some way he knew if he fell asleep he'd wake up in a nightmare.
"That's two; if we give him another it could kill him! We need to get going now!" some guy said, but the boy couldn't see. He was afraid as he was lugged into the van and the doors closed, with multiple hands pressing his legs and arms to the ground. Even with whatever it was they shot him up with, the six year old seemed to push through the effects somewhat, which surprised the men who had just kidnapped him.
"Guess they really want him for this…" someone said. The boy's head felt hazy and his hearing seemed off. Someone pressed something down on his chest with their hand.
"No wonder… check his heart rate. I've never seen any adult be able to do that" one voice said.
"Me either… isn't that some sort of tachycardia arrhythmia?" another said.
"Yet he seems fine, feisty, but fine. Let's get him out of here pronto" someone said, a female voice. The boy felt the van start as he breathed heavily, trying to figure out what to do. He wanted his mother more than anything, and he didn't know where they were taking him.
They drove for what seemed like hours, until finally the van stopped and he could feel himself being hefted out of the van. He tried to struggle, but the arms were just too strong. He didn't stand a chance against adults restraining him.
"I believe he could in fact survive another shot my boy. It would make your lives a lot easier" he heard a british voice, a man.
"Hey, you want to kill him, that's your problem, we're just bringing him here per orders" the female voice growled.
"Oh my dear, I don't want to kill him. I'm hoping he may be part of my project alongside a few others. Were you able to observe the little girl?" the british voice asked.
"She's fine doctor. She's definitely capable from what we saw. What the hell with the boy though? He isn't interested in airplanes, he was looking at the action figures" one voice said.
"Sometimes the skills are what matters, not the enjoyment. Here, I'll give him the shot. Sleep well Seth…" he said as the boy felt another prick on his arm and he started to fall asleep. He fought it every step of the way.
"That's incredible… I've never seen anyone be able to burn through that amount of sedatives… extraordinary…" the british voice said as Seth continued to slowly struggle. He eventually calmed down as they carried him somewhere, unknown to him or his parents.
They seemed to walk up a flight of steps and into what felt like a cabin of some sort, and then turn. The air in the area changed and the sound of pressurization happened. It was almost like he was on a plane. They set him down in a chair and strapped him in, and he seemed to feel someone sit next to him and keeping an eye on him.
"Do you feel that?" someone said near them.
"Yeah, ignore it. This is why they want him" the female voice said.
"But… is he emitting that? I mean… no human should be able to do that right?" the same voice asked.
"I said ignore it! It's probably the plane you idiot, not him." What were they talking about? Seth remembered some counselor at his school asking him questions, something to do with what he thinks about or the dreams he had. He had one dream involving waking up in his room, but it wasn't his room, someone else was living there. He seemed to see things that everyone told him were just him half asleep, and to ignore it. He never did.
"But didn't they do tests? I mean… didn't he move a bed or something with… with his mind?" a voice asked.
"That's bullshit and you know it. Humans can't do that, so stop reading those comic books. There was no concrete proof, now shut it" the female voice growled. Seth slowly fell asleep as the plane took off.
[Unknown time, February 9th 2535 (Military Calendar)/ Sol System, unknown area]
Seth woke up to a white room with almost blinding lights around him. He squinted and looked around to see he was strapped to a bed with a mirror on the wall. He had no idea why he was there, but he wanted out. He tried to struggle but it seemed to be of little use until he tried to think clearly.
He slowly wiggled his left hand out of one strap by pushing his thumb as close to his palm as he could. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but he could get his hand through the wrist strap and then pulled at the Velcro holding his other arm down. He then removed the straps from his legs and hopped down from the bed.
He walked over to the mirror and looked into it, trying to see anyone on the other side. He had seen a one sided mirror before, and his eyes were good enough at such a young age to see a ghost of chairs behind it, but no one inside the other room.
Seth walked to the door with bare feet. His clothes were gone, where he didn't know, and he was wearing some sort of white pajamas. He tried to open the door but it was locked. He hung on the door, hoping his weight would break it in some form, but nothing happened. He didn't have anything else to do and he was worried he was being kidnapped like in the commercials. He never talked to strangers, so he didn't know how this could have happened.
Just as he was about to let go of the door handle, a man opened the door and walked in, but didn't see Seth hanging on the door still. He looked around and behind the bed just as Seth made a mad dash out of the room and down the hallway. An alarm went off almost immediately as he ran, and two guards with weird uniforms ran towards him. They were a lot faster than he was with his small legs, but he did his best, and slid through one of the guard's legs and continued on.
"Stop him!" he heard as he continued running for all he was worth. He was breathing extremely hard, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as they chased him, and he could see some… thing, floating by him and then land in front of him. It was some woman, but she was see through and had wings with a halo over her head. She put her hands out to try and stop him.
"Easy, calm down. No one is going to hurt you Seth. Don't worry" she seemed to say in the softest voice, so soothing. He didn't know what to do. The guards caught up and grabbed him, and he realized she was just stalling for them to get their hands around his legs and carry him back. He struggled and tried to kick, even bite, but they were too strong.
He could see doctors coming out of another hallway towards them, or he thought they were doctors, with people in uniforms that seemed to say ONI on them.
"Are you sure this was a good idea?" one of the doctors asked.
"Just do your job doctor, Dr. Wright wants the information for later use. Figure out if he's viable for it, and then move on" one of the ONI personnel growled.
"Where is he anyways?" one of the doctors asked as the guards carried the screaming and struggling boy back.
"Observing some girl in a toy store, look, keep your mind on this, stop worrying about what your superior is doing" the ONI officer said.
"But isn't he being watched for something else? Like… not you?" the doctor asked.
"I said keep focused!" the ONI officer barked. The doctor nodded and walked up to Seth as they pinned him to the bed in the white room.
"Now, this will only hurt a bit" he said as he pulled out a syringe and filled it up from a bottle. Seth hated needles, he was absolutely horrified by them. The only reason the first three sedatives had worked was he didn't know about what the pricks were. Now he did. He screamed and struggled harder as his heart raced faster and faster.
"Take a look doctor… his heart rate… this is incredible…" one nurse said as the doctor moved towards the bed and aimed the needle at Seth's arm. He screamed as loud as he could, and then everything went black.
[Meanwhile]
"Aleph Six Niner Recon reporting in, they have him in there" a lone radio voice responded outside, of what range there was no clue.
"Understood, they shouldn't be playing with fire. ONI is gonna get burned this time" another voice said over the coms.
"Copy that. Expecting a show soon. Roll in welcome party?" the first voice asked.
"Negative, wait for-" the second voice was in the middle of saying just as the entire base that was in visual blew up, an energy ball completely enveloping the land.
"Son of a bitch!" the first voice screamed as it had a front row seat.
"As I said, they're gonna get burned" the second voice said as the ball dissipated, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
"Status, I want a sitrep yesterday" a third voice came onto the coms.
"ONI facility is a write off, no sign of personnel. Kid's got some power…" the first voice said as slowly rising from the side of the crater, a small figure covered in white clothes that were stained, was the boy. He seemed to be on auto pilot, stumbling through the area, which was definitely desert.
"It's not the kid that has power, it's his subconscious. Pseudoscience just got a one up on medical…" the third voice said sighing.
"What, are you saying this kid has psionic power?" the first voice asked.
"No, I'm not saying that. You're watching too many sci fi movies. His whole body is screwy. It looks right outside, but inside there are defects which could kill him but work in his favor in some ways. Didn't you read the file while you were observing?" the third voice asked as Seth stumbled a bit and fell, then slowly picked himself up.
"Yeah… something about he having a spare pathway on his heart, tachycardia arrhythmia and bradycardia. Jesus, is it true the kid can reach 418 heart beats?" the first voice asked.
"That's what the doctors said the last checkup. Enough medical, the kid needs to get back to his family. Sneak in, nab him and get him back. Those ONI idiots think they can waltz in and pick up someone we've had our eyes on? Shit, they don't know who they're dealing with… amateurs…" the third voice said.
"I'm on the deck. Go grab him" the second voice responded and there was a shuffle of movement heard.
[0800 hours, February 13th 2535 (Military Calendar)/ Sol System, San Francisco, San Francisco General and Trauma]
Seth woke up slowly and looked around as he saw his parents sitting next to him.
"Hey there bucko! You gave us quite a scare there!" his father said enthusiastically.
"Oh my baby, I was so worried about you" his mother seemed try and say as she cried and hugged his head to her chest.
"Mommy? What…" he muffled as she let go.
"Someone tried to kidnap you, but the police caught them. Don't worry, you're safe and sound" she said in between sobs as she cupped his small face with her hands.
"But… I was somewhere… I don't remember much…" he tried to say, trying to piece together the flashes of what he had seen. What had he seen? There was so little he could understand as to what he was subjected to.
"Yeah, the police said the kidnappers might have tried to drug you and they're playing havoc with your body right now, so you may not really understand what you saw son" his father said.
"I'm thirsty…" he whispered as his mother looked at his father.
"Phil, pour him a glass of water please" she whispered and he complied quickly and handed it to her. She held it for his mouth and he drank eagerly. He asked for another, and then another, drinking the whole water trough down.
"Wow, you really were thirsty" his mother looked surprised.
"They could have starved him Danielle, and he might be dehydrated. Look how many of those bags they put in him?" Phil said and pointed to the four saline bags laying empty in the trash.
"Isn't that a little much though?" she asked. Phil shrugged.
"Do you know medical stuff for kids? I just know the body works honey" he said and crossed his arms over his chest.
"The doctors said you'll be fine to leave after the police ask you a few questions" Phil said to Seth.
"I don't know what happened daddy… I can't remember much…" he said.
"That's probably for the better in all honesty. Think of it as a bad dream young man. Don't worry, it's all over" he said with a smile. Two police officers walked into the room as both of his parents stood up.
"Good morning ma'am, I'm detective Brogan and this is my partner detective Tesher. We'd like to ask your son a few questions if you don't mind" the first cop said.
"Yes, but, well, don't push him ok?" his mother asked.
"I assure you Mrs. Franklin, it's only a few questions. We do it with the utmost care rest assured" Brogan said. His mother turned and looked at Seth laying in the bed.
"Come on Danielle, they just need some information, he doesn't remember much, so it'll be quick" Phil told her.
"Alright, ok, do it" she nodded to the two detectives as they sat down.
"Hey there big guy, how old are you?" Brogan asked.
"Um, six" he said and put both of his hands up and showed it on his fingers.
"Big number! Wow! I just need to ask you a few questions ok? Are you fine with that?" he asked. Seth nodded.
"Ok. First question, did you see any of the bad guy's faces?" he asked. Seth tried to think. It was a blur, so quick as he felt the gag in his mouth and the black bag over his head. He shook his head softly.
"That's ok. Now, did you remember anything about what happened while they had you? A voice? A name?" Brogan asked him.
"No… sorry…" he said softly.
"It's okay Seth, you're being very brave right now. It was all a bad dream then if you can't remember much right? Bad dreams get forgotten because they don't matter" Brogan said as he patted him on the hand. Seth nodded in agreement. Brogan smiled and winked.
"That's a good boy. Don't worry, we caught the guys who took you. They can't ever hurt you again" he told him as they both stood up and walked to his parents.
"There will be counseling available for him if he needs it obviously, but from the looks of it, he's a tough a little guy" Brogan told them.
"Yes, he's always tried to be that way, since… well, his medical conditions and all…" Danielle told him.
"Well, if he remembers anything, just give us a call, that's my number if he knows of anything" Brogan said as he pulled out a card and handed it to her.
"Alright, thank you, I will" she said as Phil put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. Brogan nodded to her and then looked at Seth.
"Take care little man" he waved and Seth waved back. His parents sat back down again and simply tried to comfort him. A doctor walked in and picked up the data pad on his bed.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Wallicks. Well there, how are you feeling today Seth?" he asked.
"Fine" he responded.
"Good to hear that. No Grogginess of any kind? No pain or dizziness?" Wallicks asked. Seth shook his head.
"Alright, well, I'm just gonna check your heart and your breathing and then everything should be good" he said and pulled on a medical glove and pressed it to Seth's chest. He just sat there as the doctor checked his blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.
"Ok, well, you look fine and healthy little guy, you should be ok to go. If you feel anything in the future, don't hesitate, have your parents bring you in" he said smiling and got up. He shook hands with his father as a nurse came in and took off small EKG stickers from his chest and back. He hated them. They pulled really hard on his skin and they didn't feel good.
Once he had all of the connections taken off his body, they nurse moved to his arm and pulled at something he didn't know was there. Stuck inside his arm, was a catheter. The nurse slowly pulled it out with a piece of gauze over it and then placed it in a small metal bowl, then placed a band with a Spartan pictured on it.
"There, you're all set little man" the nurse said and patted him on the head. He giggled as the nurse walked off and his mother and father opened a bag.
"We brought some clothes along because they said… well, you were in some pajamas… Seth… did they… did they do anything to you? Down… down there?" his mother asked.
"Hey, don't traumatize him further Danielle, the doctor already said there was nothing, so it's doubtful they did that to him" Phil said trying to stop the line of questioning.
"I'm just asking him Phillip! I need to make sure he's ok! So just please!" she said as she put a hand up towards him to stop him as she still looked at Seth.
"Did they sweetie?" she asked. He shook his head, not really knowing what she was talking about.
"Ok, that's good, that's very good. How about we get you into these clothes?" she asked as he nodded and slid out of the bed as she helped him take the medical gown off and put some superman underwear on and then a shirt and pants. She slid some socks onto his feet and then took a pair of what looked to be new shoes out of a box and put them on his feet, before tying the laces.
"There. Better?" she asked. He nodded and giggled as she poked his nose.
"Good. Let's go home" she took hold of his hand and walked him out of the medical room and towards the elevator while his father picked up the bag they brought.
As the doors closed, both officers were standing a distance down the hallway.
"We need them off his scent. Let the highers know he's above top secret classification. And get that Wright to realize he shouldn't be meddling in our interests" Brogan said.
"I swear, didn't know a kid could do that…" Tesher whispered.
"A kid's subconscious is different from an adult, some chemical change the doctors said. His is just wired a bit differently, along with parts of his body. Let's just hope he lives long enough to use that…" Brogan responded.
"You mean to control that?" Tesher asked.
"As I said, there's a chemical change that happens, it's unavoidable. No, he'll stop doing that without help once he's through his teenage years. His body will try and figure out ways to respond, and we just have to figure out how to let it talk" Brogan said as he pulled a data pad from his pocket.
"So, it's not like the movies or games?" Tesher asked as nurses moved by.
"That's completely out there. No one could truly control their subconscious without help. We might be able to even the odds on that."
Both men walked away down the hall.
(Author's Note: So yeah, short first chapter, sorry that it is this way. If I gave too much info, it could destroy the mystique that is Seth. And before anyone starts saying stuff involving psionics, it technically isn't that out there, but from my previous stories, yeah those were out there. This has a far more controlled way of telling about it, just wait and see. Seth isn't a special super soldier. If anyone has read Robert Doherty's Psychic Warrior, then you may understand the next few chapters no problem, just a hint. Oh, and Seth really does not like needles apparently…)