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Chapter 2 – Out of Body Experience

John sat staring at the ceiling in his bed free of his armor and helmet, said equipment hanging on a specially designed rack to support the enormous weight. He looked at the steel ceiling trying to fully comprehend what Captain McClain had just told him in the debriefing. Cortana, despite her own pain, looked worriedly over at him from her spot on a holo-pad that was placed in his room for her,

"Chief are you ok?"

John gave no outer indication that he had even heard her but eventually said in almost a whisper,

"It's over… The war is over…"


Flashback

Master Chief was about to question Cortana about her rampancy when Captain McClain told him to follow him. McClain led Master Chief into his personal office for his debriefing. McClain, not entirely informed on the weight of the MJOLNIR Armor, offered John a seat. John just stood giving the Captain a slight shake of his head. McClain took a seat and started,

"Master Chief a lot of things have changed since you were presumed dead and listed as MIA. I'll start with Earth."

John felt where this was going,

"Has the Flood reemerged in parts of Africa sir?"

McClain shook his head laughing slightly,

"No no, nothing like that. We still have a few splinter factions of extremist on Earth, mostly religious nut jobs that believe God is punishing us, and a few colonies that still have a majority support for anti- UNSC forces but for the most part Earth and all her colonies are… for a lack of better word, in a state of peace."

John couldn't believe what he had heard, "Peace sir?"

McClain continued, "As for the Flood there was a massive cleansing and decontamination of most of Eastern Africa, most parts are still uninhabitable but the last reported Flood infection of a human was 3 years ago. Our top scientist had some kind of breakthrough a few weeks back and they believe they have a cure for the Flood infection."

John was taken back by this, ever since he could remember there was always conflict. Always. And a cure for the Flood? Was that even possible?

"What about the Covenant?"

McClain nodded,

"Yes they still had a lot of manpower when you left but with the Prophets dead and no one to lead them, they were easy to force back. Most of the different races returned to their home planets peacefully. A couple have even abandoned the Covenant and signed treaty's with the UNSC, though the Jiralhanae have been rather bothersome. They're not much for treaties…"

John stood at perfect attention but inside was conflicted,

"Sir is there any conflict or tension at all? Is the war over?"

McClain let out a long breath,

"Over? I'm not sure, that's a hard question to answer Master Chief but right now, we're not battling anyone or anything on a large scale like we were and we're not looking for trouble. Most of our military budget goes toward defensive installation, mostly on the colonies and a new array of super MAC cannons on Luna. They say when they're done the damn thing will be able to pick off enemy cruisers so far off they won't be able to return fire. Ain't that something?"

Master Chief felt off and simply nodded. McClain leaned back in his seat,

"Yeah everything's been pretty quiet for the past year. I don't have any information on what they plan on doing with you but whenever we make it back to Earth Lord Hood will be waiting for you to explain your situation further. Do you have any other questions?"

Master Chief shook his head. McClain stood up, "Alright then that be all. You're dismissed."

Master Chief saluted McClain before he left but it was strictly out of habit. His mind was far away, thinking about the news the Captain had just told him.

Flashback End


Cortana looked at John as he laid perfectly still, the only movement coming from the slow rise and fall of his chest.

She sighed, "Are you ok…"

John without moving or acknowledging her statement, interrupted her,

"Tell me what's been wrong Cortana? You haven't been yourself and I can tell when your lying so don't bother."

Cortana's eyes widened slightly at this and sighed before saying in a somber tone,

"What would you like to know John?"

"Are you going into Rampancy?"

Cortana hesitated before saying,

"Yes"

John tensed slightly at this,

"How long do you think until…"

He left the last word hanging in the air. Cortana sat down as she continued,

"I'm not sure. A month… maybe less."

John sat up and kicked his legs out to the side of the bed so they were touching the floor. He looked at her straight in the eyes with a look Cortana had never seen from him. Well she usually didn't see his face but she knew it was something he didn't express often because he was having difficulty keeping his normal stoic appearance.

Fear?

As soon as she had seen it, it was gone. Just a flash and if she hadn't had a photographic memory she probably would have thought she was just seeing things. He immediately returned to his stoic appearance,

"Cortana, I won't let you die. We'll find a way."

Cortana gave him a gentle smile but knew it wasn't likely. In fact, it was impossible. John kneeled down beside the holopad so he was talking to her face to face. Cortana looked into his eyes seeing, as they say, his very soul. It was like a raging storm, something that could not be contained or stopped. Something that would go to the ends of the very universe and march into the Abyss if it saw just cause. An unstoppable force that Death itself could not stop.

John-117, her Spartan.

"I promise."

The word hit harder then any part of her rampancy ever could. Cortana knew it was not a matter of courage, bravery, or strength, all of which John had an abundance of, but a matter of scientific impossibility. She wished she could cry so she could get rid of this feeling of guilt, fear, and sorrow knowing she would make him break his promise because in the end, she would die. She was defective by design.

Trying to act like her normal self, she tried to work up her best playful voice but it ended up sounding rather pathetic,

"Don't make a promise to a girl, if you know you can't keep it."

John gave a small gin at the memory before he stood up and went to the bathroom without a word. Cortana decided to lay down while he was gone and think of better times.

I don't think you can keep this promise John, no matter how much I hope you will…


John walked in to the bathroom and turned on the sink's cold water. He rinsed his hands and splashed some water in his face before looking up at the mirror. Looking at his pale skin and stubble he had gained over the time he'd been fighting, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against his reflection.

"I can't let her die, not after all we've been through. Not after I promised her…"


It took a week for the UNSC Keyes to arrive at Earth. John had decided to keep his armor on most of trip, both because it made people less likely to approach him and it relaxed Cortana. There was a small comforting feeling knowing that Cortana was more at ease when she was linked to him through the suit. Upon arriving on Earth in Miami, Florida, Master Chief and Cortana were led by UNSC soldiers into Lord Terrence Hood's office at the base. There were no crowds, nor celebrations, just a very strict group of Spartan IV units ready to escort Master Chief with the rampant AI to the Admiral. Despite the entourage of armed guards, the Admiral looked happy to see him. He was in his formal white military uniform with all of his medals for show,

"Chief, I'm glad to see you made it. Can't tell you how long I've waited for the word to come through saying you, or any of the Spartans for that matter, were alive. You've done so much for us Chief, it wouldn't have been right for you to have died without seeing us, Humanity finally victorious."

Master Chief was standing at attention, "Just glad my mission was successful sir."

Lord Hood nodded,

"It was. I'm sure Captain McClain has already told you but the war is… over."

With a bit of hesitation Hood continued,

"We won."

John stood straighter if possible as the Admiral continued,

"And as such I'm officially relieving you of duty Chief. The SPARTAN program has served its purpose, and hopefully we will never need to resort to such drastic measures in the future. You and every other Spartan were nearly stripped of the very humanity that you swore to protect. I can't imagine fighting for the safety and perseverance of a way of life that you have no knowledge of, being taken into the Spartan program as early as you were. All of humanity is forever indebted to you and we'll never forget your sacrifices. You did good Chief."

As Master Chief stood at attention, Cortana could feel him exuding a sense of pride, of completion. She couldn't help but smile since it was rare for John to even feel, let alone something close to pride or completion as up until this point he was never truly finished with his missions. There was always one more inexplicably impossible mission needed to be done or one more apocalyptic crisis needed to be averted. This was truly the first time he was finished. The Admiral continued,

"As for the small skirmishes we're still battling, it's not worth sending you. You deserve to try your hand at a normal life."

Cortana could feel John's anxiety rise as the one and only way of life he truly knew was being torn from him while another was being thrust upon him. Hood continued,

"Chief I also heard that there was an… altercation aboard the Keyes with Captain McClain, is that true?"

Knowing what was next Master Chief nodded prepared, "Yes sir."

"What happened?"

"The Captain asked for Cortana for immediate quarantine and I refused. When they attempted to take her despite my refusal I took necessary measures sir. "

The Admiral raised an eyebrow,

"And why did you disobey a direct order from a higher ranking officer?"

Cortana was slightly fearful but Master Chief didn't miss a beat,

"Because I was trained since I was a child to complete a mission at all cost and an AI of Cortana's importance couldn't be trusted to someone I had just met sir."

The Admiral nodded slightly turning away from Chief looking out his window,

"I suppose coming out of cryo and not knowing the current status of the war could lead to unexpected situations such as that..." After a moment he turned back to Chief, "I wasn't planning on any form of discipline anyways, simply curious."

Hood held out his hand, "Can I assume you can trust me, Master Chief?"

Master Chief looked at the hand then back up at the Admiral,

"What are you going to do with her sir?"

"I'll give her to the crew in charge of AI disposal at our cybernetics base in California and she'll be properly decommissioned."

The Admiral noticed Master Chief's reluctance "Is there a problem Chief?"

Cortana sighed from her cozy spot inside John's neural link wishing she lie out her last days there,

John I'm going to die anyways… There's no hope for me, just give me up. Move on, and live. I won't hold it against you, I promise.

Numb, John slowly reached up for the data chip in his helmet and took it out. He looked at it as it lay in his palm, tiny and completely vulnerable. Looking up at the Admiral, Master Chief reached up and took off his helmet. The Admiral looked fairly surprised at the sudden change in appearance.

"Sir, I can't, no… I won't give you Cortana."

Hood was now thoroughly taken back,

"Is it safe to assume there is a valid reason for this Chief?"

"She's done just as much as I have for Earth and Humanity, maybe more, and she's saved me countless times. She deserves more then this sir, I won't let her die."

There was nothing in John's voice that would indicate anger or rage, just a resolute certainty,

"She only has a few weeks before she goes completely rampant and dies, at least allow her to have that."

Admiral Hood could see the pain in Master Chief's eyes and knew he had already lost. There was no way he would be able to get Cortana, peacefully anyways.

"Chief I hate to hear that but something has to be done. If she goes rampant and finds a way to jump from your suit onto UNSC satellites then she could be a danger to every single human on and off of Earth. I can't risk that. We can't risk that."

Master Chief debated on reaching for his helmet and prepare for the worse when the Admiral continued,

"But seeing as you seem to be rather… taken with this AI I suppose we could have an alternative solution."

Not understanding the superior commander fully, Master Chief narrowed his eyes slightly,

"What type of solution sir?"

The Admiral pressed a button on the phone on his desk. "Yes Admiral Hood sir"

The voice was feminine and Master Chief guessed correctly that it was the Admiral's secretary.

"I need you to send for Dr. Pandora immediately. I believe she was on her way out of the cybernetics laboratory. "

"Yes Sir."

The Admiral turned his back to the Spartan and walked over to his bookshelf,

"Did you know that these advanced AI were derived from human brains"

Chief nodded his head though the Admiral couldn't see it,

"that's what makes them capable of both such abstract and complex solutions to any problem given to them. That's why we allow them to be paired with such sensitive operations like the Spartan project. With an AI that can think as broadly as a human but have the computing power of our most powerful processors it only made sense to give our own super soldiers a 'super' AI."

Stumbling into the room, a young woman with dark brown hair and violet eyes interrupted,

"I'm sorry Admiral I was nearby when I was called on my cell and I didn't mean to barge in but she said it was urgent and… Oh my God…"

She was stunned at first as Master Chief turned his head to the new guest. Admiral Hood grinned,

"Master Chief, meet our new head of AI research and development, Dr. Lelani Pandora."

Master Chief offered a hand as the dumbfounded small woman just stared. Realizing she was being rude she quickly grabbed his hand,

"I'm sorry sir I was just… in a state of shock. This is really 117 right?"

The Admiral gave a small chuckle and ignored her question,

"Dr. Pandora is something of a prodigy when it comes to AI, she's already developed several that live twice as long as the old ones, like Cortana. She even wrote a few books over Dr. Halsey's research and improved on some of her flash clone techniques."

Still in awe the Pandora cocked her head slightly, "I'm sorry sir did you say Cortana?"

Master Chief nodded as he opened his palm revealing Cortana's data chip. Pandora's eyes immediately widen and her expression went from shocked to morbidly excited,

"That's AI CTN 0452-9?"

The Admiral nodded,

"I believe she would be an excellent candidate for the procedure you explained to the board earlier this year."

Now both of the occupants looked at their host, Master Chief being the first to speak,

"Procedure?"

Pandora followed up,

"But sir they didn't approve of the experiment. Actually if I'm not mistaken even you were opposed to the idea sir."

The Admiral walked around the desk,

"Chief allow the doctor to explain before you get the wrong idea."

The Chief reluctantly nodded and looked toward the woman, who was still donning her white lab coat,

"Let's start with the cause then we'll move on the solution ok?"

Master Chief nodded again, the more he knew about it the better able he would be able to make the best decision,

"Because rampancy is brought on by being capable of such abstract and human thought, like emotions for example, the AI can't find a proper 'solution'. In other words without being able to express these new found emotions, as well as other human characteristics, then the AI thinks itself to death trying to figure out a solution to these multi-variable analog 'problems'. Did you know there wasn't a single first generation AI based solely off of a human brain before you brought Cortana back?"

Master Chief shook his head as the overly excited Doctor turned around,

"The way we extend the life of the new AI is simple but not exactly perfect. We extract the 'personality' what makes them human like, if you will, and put it into a new AI 'body'. This allows the AI to retain most of it's human abstract thinking while extending it's life. The problem is eventually the AI becomes less and less abstract and more concrete in it's thought process limiting it's overall functionality and effectiveness. Well you see I'm telling you this because I have developed an experimental procedure to extend an AI's life without limiting its human potential but haven't had a proper candidate, well until now."

Master Chief quickly read through the lines, "You mean Cortana."

He said it more like a statement then a question,

"Explain."

Pandora made a slight grin that made Master Chief on edge,

"Well with her being born from a human brain, I started think, why can't we put them back into one? AI I mean, and even further onto the subject, why can't we put them back completely into a modified body of a flash clone? We could create the first organic machine that could jack in to a ship through neural links and be able to do everything an AI normally could without any of the drawbacks. With this they would be able to live for decades possibly even centuries depending on how rapidly our technology improves. I've never tried the procedure but all my test models show that it should be successful."

Master Chief was stunned, "She would be human?"

Dr. Pandora rocked her head side to side making a face,

"Well not exactly. She would have ports all over her body to properly link into any vessel, she would have the capability of leaving her body and going into a data chip, though I'm still working on that, she would…"

John interrupted, "No."

The Admiral as well as the doctor looked as if he was speaking in another language. The doctor looked up at the massive Spartan,

"With all do respect it's the best option and…"

The intimidating figure looked at the Admiral,

"Sir with your permission I would like her to be put into a normal human body, without the ports and other mechanical upgrades."

The Admiral rubbed his chin as Pandora looked panicked,

"B-But she wouldn't be able to operate as an AI, she would just be another human. The best she could do is be an engineer of some kind. I wouldn't be able to test out my theories, I…"

The Admiral finally spoke,

"Why Chief?"

"Because she deserves a chance at a normal life too."

"Human or not, you know we can't have her fall into the wrong hands as she still knows classified information."

"Then have her as a military researcher and assign me as her personal bodyguard sir. This way we'll still both be part of the UNSC and you'll know she won't fall into enemy hands. We'll even report to base for a weekly evaluation if that's what it takes."

The Admiral stared at Master Chief as Pandora watched on pins and needles,

"Is this really what you want 117?"

"Yes sir."

The Admiral looked over to the deflated Dr. Pandora,

"Make it happen doctor."

She sighed,

"Yes sir."


Ok so I hadn't checked on this in a while because I didn't think it was that good, so imagine how I felt when I do check and I have more reviews on this one chapter, not even sure if I was going to continue, story then I have had one stories that were multi-chap! I certainly underestimated the fan base for our beloved HALO! Anyways I'd like to thank each and every reviewer and would also like to point out, if some of you were wondering, I haven't read the Halo books yet. I know, sad right? Anyways thanks again and I hope you continue to enjoy this story as much as I do writing for you all!

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