Man's True Best Friend
Rated M (Language, Etc.)
By Casey Riffel (Bearmaster)
Chapter 3
Her Life of Guilty Pleasures
Log: Dr. Catherine Halsey
Date: 2522 December 1
Location: Reach, ONI Sword Base ~ Research Facility
I wonder when this will be all over. When I can stop taking the futures of people away so we as a species can find some sort of everlasting peace. But I know that's just a dream, some sort of hallucination. As long as we are human, we will fight. It's what we are. But anyway, I must continue with my research. I have found the three right chemical components to perfectly alter the Olympians and Cerberi. After many trials and… errors, these chemicals are the right consistency for the alterations and are listed in the order they are given during the procedures. They will be given in two dose segments to improve the outcomes.
Body Altering Chemicals:
Cytopothmine~ Capable in large doses to increase brain function. It causes the impulses of the brain to be less restricted and free moving, making the patient have a minimum IQ of 150 but can retain its former self.
Dexotryophimite~ Capable of controlled extreme cellular growth in muscle, nerve, and other major tissues. It causes the patient pain in the first hour of injection. It supposedly makes the patient feel like their insides are on fire. But that is an easy thing to ignore. Once the procedure is complete, all tissues affected by this chemical are strengthened and defined. The patient will also increase their height, which happens to be a side effect of the chemical. The patient will unfortunately will not be given the option of pain killers. They need to feel the pain in order for their body's to grow correctly.
Proboxoline~ This chemical is the most unstable of all the chemicals we are giving the patients. It reacts with endorphin and adrenaline sensors in the brain and in a crisis situation it increases the user's strength tenfold. This chemical is given to the patient when they have passed all other tests and are ready to go into the field to start training. When given, it has different effects depending on the patient. It could work fine and integrate to the patients flesh, or it could kill them. It is given to the patient while they sleep to avoid complications.
End Thoughts
I just can't help but think whether this is the right thing to do. I am already guilt riddled over the Spartans and what I did to them, could I live with myself if I did it again? But the Spartans wound up being better than I had ever expected. Is it the right thing to do? Operations on the Cerberi start in five days; I guess it's too late to have second thoughts.
END LOG
Date: 2523 January 1, 7 AM
Location: New Alexandria, ONI building
"Medic Corporal Henderson?"
A woman's voice called out amongst a large crowd of people waiting in the massive waiting room. Even this early in the morning, the building was buzzing like a beehive. Link was just getting off the APC that brought him to the facility and he was shivering with anticipation. He heard his name called and raised his hand, not knowing who was looking for him or why.
"Ah, Mr. Henderson, welcome back."
Link turned around and there she stood, Dr. Halsey with her signature lab coat and glasses. Link dropped his bag and saluted her; it was all he could think of doing in the situation at hand.
"Ma'am!"
Halsey's body guards walked over to Links sides and glared at him.
"Mr. Henderson, I just want to let you know, you don't have to call me Ma'am. Think of me as your new adopted mother."
Link stopped saluting her and placed his hand down at his side. Mother? He thought. This was much different that the ODST core. In training, you would be punished for those thoughts. Then again, there were exceptions. The Captain was one of those exceptions.
"We are about to leave. Are you ready to go?"
Halsey said as she began walking to the elevators. It was the last chance to choose his destiny. Go with the Olympians or go back to the barracks.
"Ma'a… Halsey, I would like to join the Olympians."
Halsey just turned around, her hair blocking the right side of her face. A smirk emerged on her face and she giggled to herself.
"Good, we needed you anyway."
"Uh, what?"
"You're a medic, are you not?"
Link mentally slapped the back of his head and figured why he was picked. He was a combat medic and those skills are hard to come by.
"In the IRC you will be an essential."
"The IRC?"
"Ah, yes I'm sorry, I haven't told you yet. Once you have finished your training and you have gained your Cerberus partner, you will be part of the Insurrectionist and Riot Control Organization. You will report to the UNSC and will work with not only with marines, but Spartans as well."
Yet again, Halsey stopped Link in his thoughts. This had grown into something much more than what he had expected.
"What do the IRC do, exactly?"
"They do exactly what the acronym states. You, with the assistance of the other IRC agents, will fight the Insurrection. But recently we have seen large numbers of Innies gather and they have over powered the marines. That's where you come in. Like roman soldiers, you will strike down any riots with the assistance of your Cerberus partner. But you will also do tactical assaults on Insurrectionist strongholds. Similar to the SWAT organization back on Earth. Are you having second thoughts?"
Link pondered the new information she had just given him. This was not in the packet. But it was a new challenge; one that Link felt would be fun to take.
"No, Mr. Halsey."
"Good."
Date: 2523 January 1, 8 PM
Location: Reach Orbit, UNSC Hopeful ~ Operating Station
"Do you know where you are right now?"
"Yeah, this is the Hopeful. She is amazing!"
The UNSC Hopeful was a ship of sheer human resilience. Through the years of war, it was a light of hope to any injured soldier.
"Okay, Mr. Henderson, your room is right here. You will be joining the others in about an hour."
"I wanted to ask you something."
The nurse tilted her head slightly.
"How many others are there?"
The nurse went into her data pad and scrolled through a list of names.
"You will be joining the other six thousand seven hundred and fifty one Olympians."
Link coughed in surprise.
"HOW MANY?"
"Yes I know. It's a lot of people. Your unit is going to be in the auditorium in an hour. Try not to get lost."
The nurse winked at Link and walked away. Link scratched the back of his head and opened the door to his room, an eight by eight closet with a small bed. He figured his sleeping arrangement would be like that. With a toss, Link threw his bag onto his bunk and sat next to it. It had been an entire day with out a show and Link noticed he smelled crude. Link stood and took off his shirt and glanced at himself in the mirror. After being in the ODST's for the length he was, he was very muscular. The scar on his face was sizable, cascading down his face from his right temple to the base of his neck. Then he looked straight back at himself. His eyes looked as if they were in a constant state of sadness, but the green of his iris lit them up. His hair, wiry and short was not even a half-inch in length but he didn't care about his hair. Was he going to change through the procedures, he thought to himself. What would his family think?
After getting cleaned up in the station shower, Link took a walk. Investigating the corridors of the Hopeful. It was a massive ship and its many levels got confusing to keep track of. The many people on board moved about in an almost water like motion, doing what their jobs were to keep the ship in order. A nurse treating a wounded marine, a doctor helping a child to use his new prostatic leg, marines training in the barracks quarter, it was a sight to see. Link saw a wall monitor and it showed him the time, an hour had passed and he was going to be late.
"Oh shit!"
He began running back the way he came but it got very confusing, the many levels he traveled started to meld together in his mind.
"What level was I on? Uh-m… Two? No, two was the training hall. Was it level four?"
With a panicked expression on his face he slid into an elevator and punched the four button with as much force as he could. It was the best shot he had at getting the right floor. But as it made its way down to the fourth floor, the five levels in between seemed to have many people going down as well. When the elevator finally reached the fourth floor, Link bolted out and ran straight to the auditorium. Many other young marines just started to be let in and he just made it in time. Panting, he walked up to the door and stood in the mass of marines as they trickled into the room.
Link found a seat, directly in the middle of the auditorium. As he plopped down in his chair he looked over to his left and saw a familiar face.
"Link!"
"Hey, Gem! Wow, so you decided to join?"
"Yeah. I figured it would be a new journey that I could embark on. After you told me about Jenkins and how he's doing fine, I decided that he could take care of himself. Now it is time for me to do something for myself."
Link smiled.
"Yeah. Me too."
Gem smiled back and they both looked forward at the stage. Halsey was sitting in a chair looking at the marines, a stone cold expression on her face. It frightened Link a little bit. The remaining marines took a seat and within ten seconds they became quite because Halsey stood.
"Thank you all for accepting my offer. But we must cut this gathering off sort. If you don't already know, the colony of New Jerusalem fell this morning to the Insurrectionists."
Many people gasped, a few people covered their mouths in shock. New Jerusalem was a vast colony with massive UNSC presence. If that colony fell, what could be the fate of the others?
"That's why we are cutting this short. We must get you to fighting status. Your first mission as an IRC unit is to save New Jerusalem from the Insurrectionists. So we will start you operations tomorrow."
No one disagreed. It was time to unleash a new type of soldier upon the Innies that would make them fear the UNSC for good. Link's heart raced. He was really going to do it, he thought. He was going to save an entire colony of people with his team of Olympians.
"The mission will be soon, but we must get you to fighting status. The marines will keep a blockade to keep the threat from spreading but they can only do it for so long. So we have a very small amount of time to get you ready, three weeks."
One marine stood and was obviously excited to no end.
"Ma'am, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for those operations now! Let's kick some Innie ass!"
The others cheered and shouted with excitement.
"Sit down soldier. You'll get your shot. But we must focus. This is going to be your unit. A group of one hundred soldiers with your Cerberus partners. In each of your rooms is holodisk that has your pre-designated schedule on it. You will be given your first dose of the drugs then you will go for planet side training and weapons training for a week. The next week will be your second and last dose of the drugs and a crash course in military history, strategy, and mathematics. The last week will be you getting to know your Cerberus partner and your armor. After this is all over, we can get you the real training you require. Got it?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
The entire room responded in unison.
"Good, now get a good night of sleep, you'll need it."
END
A/N: Sorry for the relatively short chapter this week. But I can defiantly say some good things are about to happen. It was kinda a trail to get this done on time. I was working all week and I had almost no time to do it. SORRY! D: but anyway, I shall see you next Sunday! Now I must vent my rage on some Covenant ass! Peace out.
Casey