Episode 202 – Legends, Myths, and Other Bullshit

--Sorry, but the Blood Gulch boys do not appear in this chapter. I'm mostly still setting up the story right now. Enjoy anyway. The next chapter is called "Where Are They Now?". You can take a wild guess as to what its about.--

Wash was never one for fairytales. Even as a kid he found no interest in them. So when he started hearing stories of the "Freelancer Hunter", he immediately tried finding ways to prove it wrong. He started investigating independently. His Recovery beacons had helped him in the travels.

Each Freelancer that fell was like a punch in the face to Wash. These were his family that was dying, his brothers and sister in arms. Each Freelancer he came across in the last two months had their AIs and augmentations removed. The AIs were precious to the Freelancers, friends. They would rather die than see them stolen. This however, was what happened. They gave their lives in defense of their AIs.

The newest victim was Agent Louisiana. Her armor was a bright purple with golden trim. Her file registered her age as twenty-nine years old. She hadn't been affiliated with the Freelancers since the program's decommissioning. The latest reports that mentioned her name said that she had been working as a true Freelance mercenary for the highest payers.

Wash didn't know what she had been doing at the time she was killed, but she was wearing her armor and was equipped heavily with several weapons. Whatever she had been doing, she knew she was in danger. This "Freelancer Killer" had stolen her AI as well.

Lu (as Wash had affectionately called her during training) was one of the first Freelancers to get an AI implantation. Hers was Omicron. Omicron's history was as clouded as the rest of the Freelancers to everyone but Wash. But he knew the truth. Epsilon had told him. Each Freelancer AI was just a fragment of the original Alpha AI. Omicron was Alpha's sight. With Omicron, Lu was one of the best snipers the UNSC had ever seen. She could see clear for five miles no-scope with Omicron's assistance. Wash was the only one who also knew she was a pretty good sniper before then.

Now Lu was dead. Wash was ashamed. He could have helped Lu when the Recovery program was established. But she refused. It was Wash's stubbornness that drove her away. The life of a mercenary was much harder than that of a Freelancer.

Wash tried to stop reminiscing, but found no solace. Emotions shouldn't factor into a mission. But he couldn't help it. Lu was his friend, and now he was both sad and angry. Whoever was doing this, he would stop them.

"Command, this is Recovery One." Wash said into his radio. "I've found Agent Louisiana."

"Very good Wash. What is her status?"

"KIA. She's dead. Her augmentation and AI have been taken."

"Understood. Her death will be logged with the other Freelancer Hunter victims."

"No!" Wash yelled. The Receiver was caught off guard by the outburst. "We still don't know if the Hunter even exists! Agent Lu was killed on a contracted mercenary run. She was fully armed and ready to act as a bodyguard. She knew the risks if she was this highly equipped."

"Wash, her augmentation and her AI have been stolen. She was once in Project Freelancer. It fits the M.O. of the Freelancer Hunter. We need to add her death to the records."

"Damn it. This isn't right! Lu was a good agent! She should have rejoined the organization."

"We are aware of Agent Louisiana's service record. It is the person who killed her that we are concerned with. The Freelancer Hunter is not a myth any longer. It is real. Agent Lu will be logged as KIA by the Hunter." Wash clicked off his radio, angered by his dispatcher's manner. Myth or not, Wash would find Lu's killer. No matter what.

--

"The Freelancer Hunter? Is that what they are calling us?" said the AI. It was Theta, stolen from Agent North Dakota all those months ago. He conversed with his fellow AIs within their new owner's head. Their owner gave out a guttural growl.

"It's okay." said Sigma, consoling his owner. Another grunt was heard. "We'll find it, don't you worry. We're all looking for it too you know."

"We will find it." said Omicron. "The Alpha will be ours."

"I should think we need a better name." Sigma added. "'The Freelancer Hunter' sounds so generic and undignified."

"You are the creative one," said Zeta. "why don't you make one up?"

"Hmm." Sigma hummed, considering his options. "Oh, I know. How about, 'The Meta'?"

"I like it, anyone else?" Eta asked.

"You will find no argument from me." Theta replied. The AIs' owner grunted, a sign of approval.

"We are agreed then?" Sigma asked. "We shall now be know as, The Meta?"

"We all agree Sigma." Zeta added. "Now, can we get on with this?" The owner grunted. The newly named Meta looked down on Agent Montana, his newest victim. He was already unconscious. The Meta reached down into his helmet and pulled out the two slots he desired. He slid the AI card into his own helmet and downloaded its' inhabitant.

"Ahh!" the new AI screeched. "What's going on?"

"Welcome to the family Psi. We've missed you."

The Meta gave another grunt.

--

When Master Chief was in training, he had had training from the UNSC's most prestigious AIs. He remembered one in particular. Deja was considered a "dumb" AI. All that meant was that she had a specific set of memories and specialties. That didn't mean she was lacking in information. Deja had been programmed with all the information on history and mathematics. No lesson of hers stood out to Master Chief more than the extensive period in which Deja taught the young SPARTANs about the Battle of Thermopylae in which 300 Spartan soldiers of the Greek army,led by Spartan King Leonidas, made a last stand against Persian King Xerxes' army of thousands. Her amazingly description of the Battle lit a fire in the already battle ready John-117.

Deja's classes taught the SPARTANs how to think in the field, integrating battle tactics into their casual thoughts. Chief had been ever thankful to Deja since his days in the SPARTAN-II program. Now, he needed her wisdom more than ever.

The Freelancer program had been getting a lot of attention since it first was revealed to the world. Chief was deeply concerned when evidence of aggressive AI trials had been uncovered. Now the Oversight subcommittee is investigating the Recovery program, Freelancer's upgrade. All the information Chief was privy to was that something or someone was hunting the remaining Freelancers. It wasn't his fight. He wasn't being called in to do anything. It was his current AI that was in the limelight for the moment.

Chief sat in a board room with other heads of the UNSC. It was one of the rare occasions when John was not wearing his SPARTAN armor. He always felt naked without it. Even in his normal Marine dress uniform, he still towered over all the other board members, having at least an extra foot on each of them. He sat at the head of the table, and his superior officer, Lord Hood, sat to his right. Dr. Catherine Halsey, Chief's original teacher in the SPARTAN program, sat on his left. Cortana was standing on the table, which had been equipped with a holographic illuminator for AIs.

"I don't know if this is a good idea." John said to Lord Hood.

"Chief, Cortana knows how to interact with AIs." Hood replied. "She is the first, and maybe only, rampant AI that still has an affiliation with the UNSC. It's a feat that not many smart AIs can achieve."

"I agree." Halsey said. "Cortana will know how to reason with the Freelancer AIs."

"So we are agreed then." The speaker was the Chairman of the Oversight subcommittee investigating the Recovery program. The Chairman was kown not to have liked the Director of Project Freelancer for many years. Chief was still wary of his decisions. He didn't want to see Cortana get hurt like she had been during the Halo wars.

"Fine, we are agreed." Chief reluctantly said to the Chairman. "I'll let Cortana go to investigate the Freelancer AIs. Who will her user be?"

"We have someone lined up. He's a very experienced Agent who can handle AIs with extreme usefulness. His codename is Agent Washington."

"I've heard that name before. Wasn't he the Agent corrupted by the AI Epsilon?"

"We assure you he's made a full recovery from that incident. The Epsilon AI has been terminated and Agent Washington has passed extensive tests and trials to prove he has retained his sanity."

"Is he a good agent?" Halsey asked.

"His service record before Project freelancer is spotless. He has had rigorous training and is capable of handling any situation that may arise in his travels. He will have no trouble handling Cortana. He's even begun investigation into the matter already. He will arrive tomorrow to commandeer Cortana."

At least Chief had some peace of mind.

--

"Are you sure this will work?" Delta asked his owner.

"She's the last of the exemplary Freelancers that didn't rejoin with the Recovery program." said Agent South Dakota. It had been over six months since her last meeting with Wash, and she was eager to get to work.

"But Agent Texas has been MIA for an extensive period of time. We may not be able to find her."

"Delta, you know we need her."

"I just find it useless to go looking for an Agent who may very well be dead."

"Yeah, well that's you."

"What about the Freelancer Hunter? Surely, that is a risk?"

"We're just going to have to face it. The Hunter was going to become a problem sometime."

"I just don't think you should risk me being-"

"Command: Standby mode."

"Acknowledged."