CHAPTER 3

It had been such a long time since the Chief had slept in a bed, that he'd nearly forgotten what it was like. When sleep finally came to him, it was dreamless.

"Chief wakeup." It was Cortana. "We're entering the debris field."

The Chief rolled himself out of bed, when he realized that the weight of suit had bent the frame of the fold down cot. Oh well, the Captain will forgive me. He thought.

There was a knock at the door of the captains quarters, and the Chief opened it. It was Richards.

"Hey Chief. We need to check out the status of your suit. I've got some experience with the pressure suits we ODST folks used to wear, and in some respects it's similar to what you've got. Cortana gave me the lowdown on some things that need fixing on the suit, and I talked to our engineer on board to see what we could fix. So let's take a walk down to the cargo bay, and you can meet Higgins." The Chief had to hunch down to keep his head from hitting the top of the door, and he followed Richards down the short hallway to the cargo bay.

The cargo closet was probably a better word for it than a bay thought the chief. It was room that was perhaps eight meters long by six meters wide by three meters tall with an airlock on either side. Strangely the chief didn't see anyone in the bay. Just as the Chief was sort of settling in, he heard a disembodied male British accented voice say "Is this the Chief, and his Mjolnir VI battle armor?"

Richards Replied "Yes it is Higgins. I was hoping you might be able to do some of the repairs that Cortana recommended."

"Hmm... yes I see. Well, we can do a few repairs, unfortunately I lack the equipment needed to do a few things that need fixing. If you would Chief, could you please step into the circle inscribed on the floor." The Chief moved forward and stepped inside of the yellow 2 meter wide circle that was in the center of the cargo bay. As soon as he stepped in a few robotic arms dropped down from the ceiling and started to sweep over the suit.

"I see Cortana has understated the significance of the damage to your suit Chief. I'm amazed it still functions. The power core seems to be in good working order, but just about every other system is in some way damaged. I'll repair what I can. This will probably take a few hours." With that the Chief heard a drill whir up to speed and could feel his suit being partially disassembled.

"Richards, when you said that we were meeting the Engineer, you didn't mention it as an AI?" The Chief asked this out of curiosity, since with the exception of Cortana, most AI's tended to have less direct interaction with the ship.

"Well it's because Higgins is actually Higgins. I can see that's confusing, I'd best have Higgins explain." Richards sighed.

"Well Chief, I'm not an AI, I'm more like a brain in a jar. You see I served in the UNSC as an engineer on board a frigate during the war with the Covenant. However after it ended, I was in the terminal stage of my illness with Boren's Syndrome as Richards here has." One of the robotic arms gestured towards Richards. "As a means of putting off the inevitable, I signed up for an 'experimental treatment' that the UNSC was offering people after the war. Well, it turned out the treatment was to have my brain pulled out of my body, and my nerves grown through a ship. In effect this ship is an extension of me, however the Captain and now Cortana both can have certain control over specific aspects of this vessel, however should something happen to them, I am capable of running autonomously. The whole reason for doing this, was that several AI had been compromised by the Flood during the conflict, Cortana being one of them. However, it was learned that no person with Boren's Syndrome, ever was infected by the flood. Because of this, UNSC high command decided that it would be a good idea to make ships specifically designed so that they were incapable of being controlled by the flood, due to the mess that happened with covenant vessels being hijacked by the parasites. Of course because only a few people ever had Boren's Syndrome, so the few ships with folks like me are all specifically assigned to flood risk areas. So there you have it." Higgins finished while still working away on the Chief's suit.

The Chief while not shocked, was surprised. He was curious to what Cortana would think, and then of course he couldn't help but wonder about Richards. He looked over at Richards.

"Yep, that's it Chief. I'm in the same boat as Higgins was in. The only difference is that I'm just reaching the terminal stage of Boren's. The whole reason I'm on this vessel, is so I can finalize my decision on becoming an 'Engineer' of a ship. The UNSC is allowing me to do this, so I know exactly what I'm getting myself into when I get my brain put in a jar." Richards smiled a bit.

"How long have you been this ship's Engineer Higgins?" Asked the Chief.

"I've been an engineer of several ships for just under sixteen years. As far as this ship, I've been on it for just over a year." Answered Higgins.

Richards left the cargo bay to assist the Captain. It was just the Chief and Higgins' robotic arms working away on his suit. The Chief was deep in thought.

"Higgins."

"Yes, Chief"

"Was it worth it?"

"I don't know yet Chief. It's had its ups and downs. It's hard to explain, as it's not like I'm imprisoned, but at the same time I don't feel free like I did when I had my own body. I guess it's probably similar to how you've grown so accustomed to having your suit of armor on for so long, that you tend to forget what it's like to not wear it."

The Chief nodded. He wondered what Cortana's take on the situation must be, perhaps that's what things felt like for her all the time. It was in the middle of this train of thought that he felt the dull vibrations of the power tools stop.

"Well Chief, I've done all that I can, just be careful as the suit is still in rough shape. Also tell Cortana, that she need not be a stranger, since she's a guest on my system, and it's been a long time since I've had the company of a lady." Higgins chuckled.

"I'll do that." The Chief flexed his limbs and smiled. They felt a bit more limber and responsive. The Chief found the thought amusing that for once Cortana was actually not really in control of something as well as she thought she was.

"Hey Chief where have you been? I've been looking all over for you, and for some reason I couldn't find you." It was Cortana. She didn't realize that Higgins desired some privacy, and had effectively shut her out of the ship's network.

"I was in the cargo bay having my suit repaired by the ship's engineer." He replied.

"Chief you're hiding something, I know it." The little blue hologram had a cross look on her face.

The Chief just shrugged nonchalantly. "You know you haven't really been polite to your host on this ship. Perhaps you should show a bit of respect to the person who's been nice enough to allow onto his neural network."

"An AI on this ship? I didn't sense any AI on board." Her small blue figure darted a few glances around.

"It's because Higgins isn't an AI." The Chief walked away from the hologram and laughed internally. It wasn't often that Cortana was caught completely off guard.

She's been good to me, but I think talking to someone who's a bit more similar might be good for her. She's getting a bit neurotic, and she still hasn't spoken of what Gravemind tried to do to her. I'm just worried she's starting to go rampant, and maybe Higgins can help her keep her sanity for a bit longer. Thought the Chief.

The Chief then made his way up to the bridge.

End of Chapter 3