. 2558 A.D S-087 Kelly
"Oh God, he even looks like he's mine and John's child." I think as I hug him tight "Mum you're hurting me" he says strained
"Oh sorry baby" I release him slightly
"Don't call me baby. Or Hun. Or Gorgeous" He says almost bitterly
"Alright. I promise" I say softly. I kiss his forehead and gently roll him off me. We get our feet and I ruffle his hair. "How did you manage to tackle me? Even without my armour I still weigh 350kg" I ask dumbfounded
"Good technique, muscle mass and genetic modifications I guess" he says with a shrug
"Well anyway, go enjoy dinner and I'll stop by your dorm to say goodnight. Maybe your father will come"
"Maybe he'll obsess over his dead A.I girlfriend"
"Better than obsessing over his living girlfriend I guess"
"Who is that anyway? I bet it's Cutter"
"Not my place to tell little one. Now get going" I say with mock menace. He smiles and turns around to his peers who clap him for the tackle. "Fuck, that actually kinda hurt"
"Getting weak in your old age Kelly?" Says John who hugs me softly and does the Spartan sign for a smile. Two fingers drawing a line down the visor. I smile back and hug him back "You know, most people would take off their armour at mess"
"I'm not most people. I'm going to visit Sam's suit. You wanna come?"
"No thanks John. I'm tonight's entertainment."
"I'll get Cutter to hail me when you're on" and with that. He walked away. All 8' of his armour clad ass.
. 2558 A.D S-117 - John
"Cortana, can you believe its been 33 years since Sam died?" I ask on a private channel as not to disturb those who I walk past.
"Spartan-034 isn't dead. He is missing in action" She replies dumbfounded.
"His name was Sam and he died, I watched my best friend die Cortana. ONI says otherwise because spartans never die. He overloaded the reactor in his suit and nuked the Covenant ship we were on to guarantee we made a safe EVAC. He was a hero and it is a disgrace to Sam and the others… How many of these 'sixers' are there?"
"600 candidates, four times the S-II's"
"Well lets hope they make a difference."
I enter the Spartan memorial room and take off my helmet. I run a hand through my long hair and sigh as I insert my Ai into the system.
"Open Spartan file #1072. Designation - Oscar, Papa, Echo, November, Alpha, November, Delta, Charlie, Lima, Oscar, Sierra, Echo. Samantha, low-power mode. No recording."
"Yes chief" She says as the screen opens and S-034's profile opens. Statistics flood the screen including mission successes, covenant kills, skills base and even personality traits.
"Magnify" says the Master Chief. Sam's avatar steps out next to John as a tear rolls down his face. "Sam, you know I miss you, right?"
"Yes John" The computer replies in a perfect rendition of his voice.
"I love you man, Oly Oly Oxen Free" says John before closing the program. He leans against the wall and sobs for a while before gathering himself; putting his helmet back on and becoming the leader he is needed to be. He ejects Samantha from the system and replaces her in his helmet drive, effectively inserting her into his consciousness.
"Come on, lets go to bed."
"But, you need to go to engineering… to remove the suit"
"I can do it myself"