Man's True Best Friend
Rated M (Language, etc.)
By Casey Riffel (Bearmaster)
Chapter 4
The Days to Come
Date: 2523 January 2
Location: Reach Orbit, UNSC Hopeful ~ Living Quarters
"Corporal Lincoln Henderson, it is time for you to get up."
A woman's voice spoke softly. Links head popped up, still half asleep, and looked around his room. No on was in his room and yet he swore he heard something say his name.
"Mr. Henderson, it is time for your first appointment with Dr. Halsey. Wake up now or you're going to be late."
Now he was sure he heard something. He jolted onto sitting position and darted his head around his room.
"Who's there?"
Link shouted as he became more paranoid than ever. The voice sighed and a small circular panel light up on the table adjacent from his bed. A figure started to take shape and after a few shutters and flickers, a blue and oddly dressed woman appeared. She wore a toga like an ancient Roman and had a stone tablet in her right hand, cradling it. Her other hand was pressed against her hip in a sassy manner and she had an annoyed look on her face.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Déjà, Dr. Halsey's assistant AI. I will be training you along with Officer Mendez for the second week of your train. I'm also here to administer your operations."
She held her tablet up to her face, as if reading it.
"You're scheduled for the first operation. Five AM. Rise and shine."
Link rolled over to the side of his bunk and glanced at Déjà.
"What's an AI?"
"An artificial intelligence. We are not a new technology at all and I'm surprised you don't know about us."
"We'll I'm not exactly up in the times. I came from Harvest after all."
Déjà lifted her tablet again.
"Ah! I see you grew up in Tigard, is that correct? That is a very rural town."
Link stretched like a cat and stood and Déjà placed her tablet back to her side.
"So?"
Lincoln asked in annoyance.
"Oh nothing. Go to the Operating wing. You're scheduled for the first operation of the day. Once you're done, you will be sent planet side to start your training with SPCO Mendez."
Link finished putting his pants on and took one look back into the mirror. This was the last time he would see his old self.
"Yes, Ma'am."
The halls were still and silent. A draft of cold air made the hair on the back of Link's neck stand on end as he made his way down the hall. Many of the nurses stopped what they were doing and stared at him as he made his way to the operating room. The unnerving felling crept on his spine and wrapped itself around his head, making it hard for him to breath.
As he rounded the corner of the hall he saw five other marines, silent and waiting for their name to be called. One marine in particular was standing with his hand under his chin in a deep train of thought. Another marine, sitting in the corner of the hall, was nodding off back to sleep and couldn't hold himself awake. Link sat next to the one person that was familiar to him.
"Hey Gem."
Germaine looked up, her sandy blond hair matted from neglect flopped to her back and her usually bright face seemed to be much darker than usual. Her bright green eyes had lost their luster of joy and seemed to fall heavy. Black bags of exhaustion were forming under her perky eyelids and it showed that she hadn't slept for at least two days. Her slender arms supported her head as she too began to nod off. Link sat next to her and leaned back, resting his head on the panel behind him.
"You look tired."
Gem pressed the balls of her hands into her eyes, tying to wake up.
"Well hello to you too, Link. And yes, I haven't slept in three days. I have been thinking about this for so long. I just can't believe I'm actually here right now."
"Yeah, I had a hard time sleeping last night. I'm more excited than worried."
Gem quickly moved her hands from under head and let her head fall in between her legs. Her ball of oily hair soon followed.
"I just wished they hadn't waken us up so early."
Just as she said that, the loud clacking of high-heeled shoes came into the small room where the six marines sat.
"Well considering that you are now under our orders, this was sleeping in."
Dr. Halsey stood holding a tablet that she seemed to be very preoccupied with. Flipping her index finger furiously through the many programs on it's hard drive. She flicked her hair that covered her face over her ear and pushed her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose in a very orderly fashion.
"Okay, Lincoln Henderson…"
She looked at Link and gave him a small smile that seemed to trouble him more.
"You are the first to go. Lucky you."
"Yeah. Lucky me."
Link glanced at Gem and patted her on the back. Gem's head popped up from between her legs and gave Link a somewhat enthusiastic smile, the most she could give in her state.
"Wish me luck."
Link stood and stood next to Halsey. His body was quivering from a combination of fear, excitement and the thought of the known. Halsey placed her hand on his shoulder and began to walk him into the doorway. But before the door closed Link could hear Gem say something that just barely registered in his ears.
"I wish a lot for us."
The operating room seemed to be familiar to Link. The darkness around the entire room with only the blinking lights of modules on the walls giving light was somewhat chilling. Three bright spotlight's shined down upon the only area that would be used in the operation and Halsey briskly walked to the side of the operating table. Behind her were three medical technicians that dashed back and fourth gathering data from the many machines. They were also getting ready for the surgery by preparing a large machine with two needles on the end of a long hydraulic arm. All Link could do was stand and wait, wait until Halsey called him. But it was time that he would become something more than himself. He thought of the Spartans and their triumphant victories over the Innies.
"Now it's my turn."
Link said to himself under his breath. Not knowing that Dr. Halsey heard him.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Oh, okay. We're ready for you now."
She turned to the technicians and they nodded in unison. Link too one very deep breath and walked to the table.
"Lay down."
Halsey said softly with a press of her hand against the cold metallic surface of the workbench like table. Link lifted his body against the table and swung his legs around to get comfortable, but the fierce bite of the cold metal shocked the skin as it touched.
"Will it hurt?"
Link asked as if it was the question of life. All Halsey could do was rub his forehead. Sliding her warm hand down his face and to his chin.
"Yes."
Link sighed in a way to try to control his now overflowing panic as the machine with the needles began to hum.
"Here, these will help."
Halsey gave him a piece of leather.
"What do you want me to do with…"
Link soon realized what it was for. He held it as his vision began to get much more vivid, a side effect of panic. His grip tightened as he brought he leather strap to his mouth and bit down.
"These will also help."
Two metal grips glided out from under the table and reached around to his hands. Link was not surprised by them and gripped them with all of his might, they didn't budge. He let go of the grips and removed the leather strap for one more instance to speak.
"Halsey, I'm ready."
Halsey rubbed his head again, but said nothing in return.
"Prepare the procedure, we are ready to operate."
Link placed the leather strap back into his mouth and bit down on the strap much harder than the first time. The grips also became very useful as Link saw the machine with the two needles slip in two, one half swinging over to the right side of his head and one on the left. His grip tightened even more when he saw two more mechanisms appear from under the table. The rotation and swinging motion reminded him of an old car production plant where robotic arms would slap cars together. But in this case, they were holding needles. Link kept his eyes focus on the ceiling. The fear was so unbearable that keeping his body so still was the only thing he could do to settle himself. Link figured that the least he moved, the less chance there was of error. The image of a doctor saying hold still right before they stabbed a patient with a syringe showed an eerie resemblance. After preparing and angling the needles, Halsey elegantly pushed a series of buttons on her tablet, and the machines began to move in to their targets at an incredibly slow pace.
Link thought's slowed to a halt. The focus of his mind became the slow hum of the needles as they spun furiously like drills. It would only be moments before they made impact, but they seemed to take their time to make their way to the soft skin of the temple. Link squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the needles about to make impact. The needles made the air between itself and Links head move away like when a train passes you at a high speed, and they slowly pierced the skin, beginning Links new journey.
Link felt his skin tear under the force of the needle and it felt like a bee was stinging him constantly over and over in the same spot. But he soon realized that it was about to get much worse. After the needles penetrated the skin and other tissues, they began to work on the hard and smooth surface of the skull. The leather strap became very useful as the pain was shooting through him like a migraine on steroids. While his focus was drawn on the needles of his head, the other two needles began to go through the skin protecting his sternum, the part of the ribs that connect at the front that make a metaphorical wall of bone. This caught Link off guard and he flinched as they too began to tear the skin and drill their way through the bone mass.
The screams he made were muffled by Link biting on the strap, the sound desperately trying to escape his mouth and make the true roar of his pain. As the pain grew, his growing volume began to make Halsey sad. She turned her head and gritted her teeth, trying to ignore her guilt from overriding her professionalism. But it was too much and she turned away from Link and covered her mouth to try not to vomit.
Eventually the bone of the skull was worn to nothing, and the needles slithered into the spongy grain matter. Links eyes suddenly widened and he felt himself now in a futile stare down with eh ceiling. The cold, trenchant needles worked their way through his brain, and it was the most uncomfortable feeling. An area of the body nothing was ever supposed to touch was being fondled and prodded. Link could feel his toes and fingers twinge frenziedly when the mechanical demons played with his mind. But for some reason, although the pain was unbearable, Links body felt like he had no more control. Almost as if he left his body, but kept looking through his eyes. But that was short lived as the other two needles ripped through his sternum, making a very disconcerting crack sound. A jolt of energy sprang into Links body and his right arm, moved by sheer terror, swung over the mechanism and threatened to pull it out. Suddenly, his mind gained control and stopped his hand hovering just above the mechanism. The technicians jumped by the swift action and prepared to restrain him but Halsey stopped them by forcefully projecting her arm out, making her body a barricade.
"No, he is doing fine. Let him handle it himself. If he is going to become an IRC agent, he has to be able to take the pain."
The lead technician placed his hand on his forehead and looked at Link bothered by his struggling mental battle. Link desperately wanted to talk out the needles but he knew if he did, he could die. He would never see his family again, Gem, the other Olympians. With a surge of determination, he forced his hand to the grip, where he pulled on it with all of his strength.
The mechanisms then interrupted the process by sending out a shrill beep, signifying that they had done the drilling portion of the operation.
"Dr. Halsey, the machines are now ready for the injection."
The drilling stopped, the hot tips of the needles finally stopped. Link could feel the pain starting to subside, it was a relief. He tried to sigh but the metal sticks in his chest made it hard to.
"How you doing Lincoln?"
Link glanced over at Halsey and spat out the leather strap.
"As good as I could be, Ma'am."
Halsey smiled, relieved that he could be so resolute in such a trial. Halsey knelt down and picked up the strap.
"Trust me Lincoln, you will need this one more time."
"Why?"
With out warning the machines began to pump the two fluids into where they made their injections. Shooting stinging pain went through his chest and head as the chemicals began to fuse with his body. Without the leather strap to help contain the pain, he let out a roaring bellow as he felt his muscles tearing at an incredible rate. His head pounded from the foreign force now mixing into the curves and divots of his brain. His bones began to crack simultaneously and rapidly regenerated which made his legs and arms sprawl uncontrollably.
The mechanisms then made one final beep as they slowly backed up from where they had drilled, filling the bone as it went with a bone paste that acted just like the original and instantly cauterized the skin.
Halsey walked over to him as the machines swung away and moved to their original position. Now it was just a matter of time before it was over. Halsey placed her hand on Links forehead yet again, ignoring his screaming and raging thrashing.
"It will all be over soon."
"Hi mama!"
Link ran to his mother and gave her a running jump hug. She stood chopping fruit on the kitchen counter and she patted him on the head. Links mother was tall, very tall. She stood at over six foot seven but her physique was matched that of a normal woman. Her titian colored hair flowed in the wind from an open window and she would constantly be putting her hair behind her ear.
"Hi Linky. How was school today?"
"Fine, but all the other kids make fun of me for my pants, why do they do that?"
Link looked up, his chubby face showed his youth and his long straight brown hair covered his hazel eyes; he had to move it over constantly to see. He wore a pair of very comical looking overalls that made him look like a miniature Hillbilly.
"I have no idea, little man. "
She placed her hand on Link's head and ruffled his hair.
"Want to help me Link? Go help your father work in the field he needs your help. Okay?"
"Okay!"
He scuttled out of the kitchen and the door slid open. The sun on Harvest was very much like the sun on Earth, strong, yet the clouds made it much more bearable. Links family farm was very lush, many different things grew there; lettuce, watermelons, and many other delicious natural foods. Link ran over to a Reaper that was collecting grain. This beast was huge, similar to the old dump trucks used in mining operations. Link could barely keep up, but managed to grab the railing of the beast. He climbed the latter that had been adorned with straggling strands of grain and opened the door to the cockpit.
"Hi daddy!"
"Oh, Linky! What you doin here?"
Links father was old for having such a young child. He was forty-five and had a ten year old son. Wrinkles that showed the many years of hard labor covered his face, but he wore them proudly. The many scars from being an ODST showed on his hands as well. The age didn't have any affect on his spirit, as his hair showed by staying its lengthy brown color. He drove the green and yellow Reaper down the almost endless ocean of grain and Link sat there for hours, just watching his dad collect the simple grain.
Link was at peace in the side seat of the Reaper, nothing was worrying him while with his father. As Link nodded off into sleep he could hear his father say under his breath, something that surprised him.
"Link, you know when you grow up, you'll be very important to us all, right?"
Link was able to lift head only a little and open his eyes.
"Hu?"
"You will become what humanity needs."
"What do you mean, daddy?"
Link's father then took his hands off the controls and grabbed Link by the shoulders. At the top of his lungs, Links father started to scream with such vigor that it could break glass he his grip was crushing his shoulders.
"YOU ARE WHAT WE MAKE YOU!"
The fields went from lush wheat to fields of fire. Light came down from the sky and burnt every patch of land and reduced it to nothing; trees were scalded to ash and the wheat shriveled up and blew away, showing a barren wasteland. This light also eradicated Links house, almost instantaneously as Link watched from the cockpit of the Reaper.
"MAMA NO!"
Link screamed out as he tried to get away from his fathers strong and supernatural grip. As the Reaper continued collecting what now seemed to be nothing than ash, another light appeared in front of the beastly machine.
"You are what we make you."
Link's fathers face than began to stretch like dough. His mouth widened to a point where it was unnatural for a human, snakelike, and his eyes bugged out of his head. His voice, echoed and scratchy like an old radio reverberated in Links head, defining to the least extent.
"DADDY! STOP THE TRUCK!"
As Link said that the Reaper sped its way into the blinding light and Links mind was plunged into darkness. Lincoln woke in a cold sweat on the same workbench-operating table he was on before. His eyes were wide and he could feel that they were open to their limit. Halsey was standing over him and was in a state of panic. Breathing heavily, she was holding two medical grade shock pads and the technicians were standing close by.
"What just happened?"
Link said out of breath. Halsey readjusted herself to a more professional pose.
"After three hours of body reconfiguration, you died, and uh, we were trying to bring you back. You seemed to have brought yourself back."
Link felt his chest where the needles were now gone. It felt strange; the two holes were now feeling as if they had been filled by something. The skin; it was cauterized too. Then Link remembered his head and felt the two also filled holes in his temples. It was over. Link gave a deep sigh of relief and lay down on the table.
"How long was I… Dead?"
"Ten minutes. We thought you were not going to come back to us. What we assume is that the Cytopothmine was able to preserve your brain. I don't know how though, it didn't have enough time to settle in, yet, it just did. You are a very lucky man, Lincoln."
Link remembered his disturbing dream. What could it mean? You are what we make you? What could that possibly mean? Links mind was throbbing from the operation and he could even think straight. But the image of his father and how everything went to hell made him unnerved.
"Maybe I'm not, Halsey."
END
A/N: Woohoo! FOUR CHAPTERS! Thanks for reading still, those who have been reading since CH 1. I shall call you my Bear Cubs! :D what a perfect name. It is just so right. So as you can tell, Link has evolved! Next chapter will be ever gooder as things will become way more actiony. I should be an advertiser I swear. But thank you all for reading and remember, COMMENT! Thanks and see you next Sunday!
Casey (Bearmaster)
