Halo: Behind Enemy Lines
Prologue
March 21st, 2550, UNSC The Comedian, Orbit of Reach.
Inside her quarters, Captain Helena Du Point stared at her console; she lazily tapped on the screen while waiting for her contact to log in. It was boring, but being part of the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) had its privileges. The communication system was far more accessible and faster to use; still her contact always seemed to take pleasure in making her wait. But Spooks were certainly something mysterious, even for her, recent graduate from the Officer Candidate School on Luna, and then reassigned to this ship, a prowler of the ONI the Comedian. As she was speculating and wondering in her thoughts, letters came to live on the screen of her personal computer terminal. The contact had finally decided to show its nose to her.
\\ UNSC OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
\\ CLASSIFIED TRANSMISSION [.PRTCL-1A]
SENT: [CODENAME: WHITE COLLAR]
RECEIVED: [Du Point. V.690300 (S1)]
"My bad captain, transmission sequences weren't good at my location."
"No need to apologize Sir, in our days you can't be more secure." reassured the young woman her contact.
"Enough with the formalities, Captain. You found the squad I'm looking for?"
"I did, Sir. I have with high recommendations, four of the best SPECWAR Operatives"
"Good, I'm pleased to hear such good news. Do you have their dossiers?"
"Yes, Sir, I'll begin the transmission once the line is secure."
Captain du Point leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment, her hand cupping her chin. A short silence passed before the so called WHITE COLLAR, talked again.
"Any psychological report on them?" he finally asked thoughtfully.
"Just the leader, he has a mild case of PSD, or at least the symptoms, but he's good to go Sir."
"Name and service number?"
"Roman, M O5614-63759-MR"
"Yes, he checks out, get to the ship they're stationed, brief them."
"Yes, Sir I will."
""Oh... and, Captain, please, have a little delicacy on? You'll tell them."
-TRANSCRIPT COMPLETE\
Restraint? WHITE COLLAR was clearly insane. The mission he had made up, especially for her, didn't have anything that allowed any delicacy in the context. But there was a Spook to you. They don't care for other soldiers, as long they achieve his goals. To them troopers, like the ones she hand-picked for over four-hundred squads, to send them to the grinder, were replaceable merchandise. Most of them would die, if not all. You needed major luck and skill to get through their orders.
But this was a war, a war they were losing, a war they were barely putting a fight, and in such times, feeling pity for those newbs was uncalled and unnecessary. Sacrifices were necessary and inevitable.
Yes they will do, she told herself, they'll have to, because this mission could mean more than a few covenants killed. It could mean the very turning point of this ongoing war. She knew it had to be done. But how many more had to die for it?
Straightening her back and placing the console on the table in front of her, Captain du Point logged in again. She checked the Career Service Vitae of the squad leader, a veteran of the war with almost thirteen years of war experience, up. He had seen many battles, including the siege of the Atlas Moons and the battle of Dhaka and the fall of the Vergasso Colony world. She fully opened the file, discovering a photo of a young man which was at least in his early twenties, with a spark on his dark brown eyes. His hair was jet black, slightly over regulation but well combed to hide it. His skin complexion was fair and his body building didn't reveal much about his strength nor weakness.
More impressive than his battle record, were his commendations,having received several medals for heroism, gallantry and even a Red Legion of Honor, for having risked his life to save thirty civilians held captive by the Covenant. Many would consider that someone with those commendations would be an officer, maybe a Spook like her, but he had rejected those offers. Du Point couldn't help but wonder why he had refused such opportunities which would not only have given him fame, but also many facilities and advantages of which she disposed of. She decided that she'd ask him why he had decided to follow the trail of a soldier instead of taking the path of a higher up.
The real problem and question in this whole story, was WHITE COLLAR himself. No one was able to tell her anything about his real personality, nor about his whereabouts. He (if it was indeed a man) was shrouded in mystery and hidden behind large stains of ink on his Career Service Vitae or his general information file. It wouldn't surprise her if he was indeed just one of the many aliases of a higher up, as some rumors and speculations had let her know.
Many heard that he had killed an insubordinate soldier for the single reason that he had ordered an orbital strike against covenant forces in an area where many UNSC soldiers where retreating. His cold-blooded methods seemed to be too much for the standards of the ONI, but his effectiveness was undeniable and impossible to overlook and thus he had been impossible to be removed. But the biggest problem was the fact that no one from that single battle had remembered his face or was alive to remember it; it was as if he had vanished in thin air and appeared randomly behind a screen from time to time to inform people of his future moves.
With a sigh, she closed the file of Roman and closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead in a nervous manner. She just hoped she wouldn't regret the moment she picked the troopers out when she had met them face to face, nor that she accepted to follow WHITE COLLAR's direct orders….
But regrets wouldn't matter anymore once she left here, the little safe corner of the universe, where she could let her thoughts wander without any consequence. She finally let her back relax and she leaned her face on her crossed arms on the table. There were going to be few eventful moments in her nearest future.
