Time: 2310 hours
Date: March 10, 2562 (Military Calendar)
Location: Camp Recluse, UNSC Training/Research Facility, planet Reach-II, system Unknown
For eight years, I, along with the other children, had been subject to extreme and brutal training, both physically and mentally, in all sorts of weather conditions. Everyday, we would wake up at 0500 hours to the uncouth prod of an EMR. We had 5 minutes to shower and put on our clothes before marching out to our lines, only to drop down into the dirt and do 500 pushups. When we had first arrived on Reach-II, we started out with 50, only to increase to what we have now. After 10 miles of running, we went straight to class, where Minerva would teach us many different subjects, from languages to mathematics to history… After that, we would return to our physical training after a quick lunch, only to end with a late dinner and showers before bunking down, as they called it. All these were important in our training, but I did not know that the historical and wildlife tactics would also aide in getting midnight dinners for us.
It was one night when my team had gotten last place for an obstacle course run. We, along with several others, had miscalculated a certain angle on one of the climbing poles, making us lose precious time. The one named Kitty-417 had somehow twisted her ankle going up the rope ladder. I assumed that it was nothing serious as she continued on, but the condition worsened. Sure she, Tommy-482, and I were hungry for that meal, but I would rather that she finished the race at her own pace rather than at the pace I wanted. We were not supposed to help our teammates if they got stuck, but I ran in and helped her up, encouraging her to move on. This was no war, but I treated it as such.
I had learned from the history books that being stationary only led to death, save those of sniper specialists, who knew how to stay stationary and shoot without getting hit themselves. Even so, sitting out there in the open battlefield, they were nothing but sitting ducks for their attackers. The other proctors at the scene were not thrilled, and proceeded to take me out of the course, only for me to lash back at them. I wanted Kitty to finish this course no matter what, and I was not going to let them stop her. It was a brutal fight, one that led to several bruises and broken bones. Mendez had been there, watching the whole thing unfold, my anger greatly overwhelming the seasoned soldier. Everyone looked at me in great curiosity and fear, wondering how I had been able to do what I did.
That night, we had been sent to our barracks without food, and our stomachs gnawed our insides, as well as the pain and burns I had endured from their EMR. Kitty was very hungry and whimpered softly as she tried to go to sleep. Tommy was tossing and turning in his bunk above me, murmuring as his stomach growled the loudest of the three of us. Everyone else had had their fill while we, the ones who had failed our mission, were paying the price of it. However, this had gone too far as we had been put under severe strain from lack of any real nourishment for the past few days. Tired of putting up with this, we had decided to invade the kitchen that night, to get enough to eat and head back without being caught.
We waited until everyone was asleep, and waited another hour until the coast was clear. It was the dead of night when we sneaked out and pilfered the food we needed to last for the night. Kitty, being the smallest she was, was our little scout, darting in and out of the darkness like the kitten she was. We threw pebbles and small stones in the direction we were facing, causing some distraction as Kitty slid and ducked under the bushes. By the time the guards returned to their post, we had disappeared from our last location and was in another.
Several times, we were stuck as guards were walking back and forth, but we stayed low in the dark, ground camouflage we had managed to get our hands on before embarking on our excursion. We had to wait several minutes at a time, keeping note of how each guard moved before we made our move. Like the wolves we saw in the videos Minerva showed us, we managed to split up and meet in the bushes behind the kitchen, using what we could to keep out of their line of sight, as well as the guard towers and their spotlights. This way and that, we used the poles to our advantage, as well as the overhanging communication wires. Several times, I had watched Tommy have some trouble climbing the pole, almost yelling as he just barely caught himself as a guard brushed past the pole. Thank goodness that part was hidden in the shadows, or else we would've been in trouble.
I waited as Tommy was making his way to the roof, ducking low when he landed. A guard had turned to look up, thinking that it was an owl that had landed to consume its nightly meal. Good… A small distraction… As soon as the watchtower light faced the other way, I made a made dash for the bushes, just barely making it before the light caught me. I waited another minute with bated breath, watching as the light strafed from my current position. I crawled on my belly to where my other two teammates were waiting and nodded with satisfaction. As soon as Tommy was able to pick the lock with a needle he had found, we quietly went in, took a few muffins and a few cartons of milk before leaving the place, everything still intact. With our small meal, we dove behind a wall and consumed these, feeling much better.
"Do you think someone noticed us?" Kitty squeaked, her eyes darting back and forth in the darkness, as though looking for something.
"I don't think so…" Tommy replied softly, drinking some of the cold milk before taking a bite of the muffin. As cold as it was, I saw that it was enough to sooth a parched throat, as well as quell the hunger of a growing boy. "If we were, then they would've gotten us, no?"
"You have a point there…" I murmured, wiping the crumbs from my face. "Now, you guys finish up, ok? I'm going to see if I can redirect that spotlight, or if not, at least annoy the soldiers so much that they have to move…"
Looking around, I found an old dishrag. I ripped these into strips and tied them together, creating one long strip. Tommy looked at it as I picked out a fair-sized stone and placed it in the middle of the cloth.
"Uh… What are you doing?"
"Causing a distraction…" I replied, grinning as they got up, ready to help. "You guys get ready to run and hide, ok? We'll need to split up this time. I'll take the front route and cause some problems for them, ok? You guys quickly head back to the barracks…"
"But what about what Mendez taught us?" Kitty whimpered. "We can't leave you behind!"
I looked at Kitty and reassured her as I slung the contraption over my shoulder, ready to give it a good whirling.
"You won't… I'll be near you guys, ok? Don't need to worry about me."
Kitty looked at Tommy, who only shook his head.
"Neala's right, Kitty…" he replied, dusting off the remaining crumbs, as well as the dirt on his pants. "She'll be ok… C'mon… We better get ready to jump into those bushes and make for the barracks."
I looked at the small one again, only to smile.
"Get ready…"
With a swing or two, the rock was in the air, and landed with a loud crash into one of the windows. The lights instantly aimed at the target. Taking this as our chance, we ran. Going with my plan, I took the lower route with my makeshift slingshot. The men were running to the scene, only to be confused as to where the stone had come from. I stopped behind one of the parked Warthogs and jumped in. Waiting for at least two minutes, I looked up, only to see two men approaching…
Great… I thought, only to hear two more loud crashes into another set of windows opposite my current facing direction. What the hell…?
"What the hell was that?" I heard one murmur.
"Think it's the animals again?" another answered.
"I don't care… Let's just go see what it is…"
The men turned to leave, and I quickly jumped out the other way, scurrying into the darkness and around the perimeter, only to be greeted by my two friends. Kitty quickly clung on to my neck, almost suffocating me. Leaving the greetings aside, I had her riding on my back as we made double-time back to the barracks before any other mishap decided to jump into our faces. Already, we could hear some of the guards shouting out orders to secure the area. Scaring the wits out of us, we turned tail.
"I thought I told you to head back to the barracks!" I whispered, scolding them for not listening.
"We couldn't just leave you alone!" Tommy replied as we ran back to our bunks, dusting off before we stepped in. "Besides, Kitty wouldn't stop worrying about you…"
I looked at Kitty, and greeted her with the same smile before this fiasco happened.
"Thank you, Kitty…" I replied. "If it weren't for you, then I really would've been caught…"
"No problem…" she answered, yawning. "We better go to bed… I think it's about 0200 hours now…"
Tommy and I also followed suit, slipping into our sleepers before crashing for the night. At least what we had would hold us until morning. We slept soundly, knowing that no one knew what had happened…
Time: 0020 hours
Date: March 11, 2562 (Military Calendar)
Location: CPO Mendez' Office, UNSC Training/Research Facility, planet Reach-II, system Unknown
Or, so they thought…
Mendez was chuckling as he watched the whole scenario: three young teenagers sneaking around the perimeter of the camp in pilfered field camouflage to the kitchen and back again. He was rather impressed at the determination, as well as the resourcefulness, this particular female of the group had. Not only did she stand up for her teammates, but also she was also able to fight off men who were stronger and much more experienced then her. And on top of that, she was able to outwit the guards in a place that she was not familiar with, as well as the ability to make crude weapons from the simplest of things. The ability to quickly adapt was hard to find in people these days, but this girl quickly did so to reach her goal. The officer leaned back in his seat when he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in…"
The door opened and footsteps could be heard as they approached the desk.
"Mendez, what are you doing still up?"
He turned around, only to see Catherine. The doctor was known to stay up in the long hours of the night, preparing the rooms in the lower research facilities for the operation process, as well as running over last-minute details on the mortality rate this project would have. She needed a break and had come up to see the officer.
"And what are you doing watching the security cameras?"
Mendez chuckled as he lit a cigar.
"You remember how we send the last squad to finish the course to bed without a meal?"
Halsey sat in the empty chair in front of the desk and tilted her head to one side, clearly obvious that she was tired, but wanted to find a way to wake up.
"I am not too familiar with your ways of teaching, but please, do entertain me here…"
The officer chuckled as he turned to face her.
"Never did lose your sense of humor, did you, Halsey?"
The doctor frowned, wrinkling her brow a bit. She was not in the mood to be taken lightly.
"Did I ever have a sense of humor, Petty Officer Mendez?"
Mendez sighed and turned back to his screen-covered wall.
"Well, it seems that this girl here…" He pointed to a stilled screen. "…Is quite the determined one…"
"Oh? And who are we speaking of?"
The computer enlarged the dark shape in the shadows and enhanced the lighting.
"I scanned her image prints and it comes out to be Spartan-468."
Halsey was not surprised at all. Neala was certainly very smart for her age, able to plan things out on the fly while also giving simple commands to those around her to get the job done. She was a natural born leader, but she was wondering if Neala would turn into the leader that was needed… John, or the Master Chief as everyone knew him as, was already on a mission, and the other Spartans were scattered in various areas, protecting Earth as well as seeking out the other Halos. Mendez puffed away on his cigar and chuckled.
"Tomorrow is the 'camping trip' that will test their survival skills…" the officer explained as a hologram map of the Tragedian Polar Zones appeared, followed by the projection of the physical conditions. "As you can see, the terrains here are much more treacherous than the ones on Reach. Again, I will be using the same technique as I did the last few projects… This time, we will be keeping an eye on Spartan-468… Don't know if she will cause an upheaval as Spartan-117 did when he was training here, but she does have the potential to become a leader… Should we put her to the test…?"
Halsey thought of this for a minute. If Neala was anywhere near what her father was like, then it would indeed be a great test, but to compare her against her most favorite subject in the SPARTAN-II Project? This was going to be very interesting. As a cup of coffee was set in front of her by the officer, Minerva appeared as a 6-inch figure with tiny floating stars, staring at the image. Mendez looked at the AI and smiled.
"Glad you decided to join us, Minerva," he greeted.
"And to you, too, sir," the hologram replied, the miniscule lights pulsing at random times as she floated about.
"And how are the lessons in class going?"
The hologram looked up, beaming a little before giving the full report.
"They are going according to the schedule planned. We finished covering the wars of ancient civilizations, like the Battle of Thermopylae and the Peloponnesian War, and are now covering some of the wars that happened in or affected the US, especially those of the American Revolution, World War I, World War II, and then moving on to the other wars, such as the War on Iraq that started in 2002. We shall begin coverage on Intergalactic War I and Intergalactic War II next week after our small discussion on animalistic behaviors in times of war."
"Thank you for the update, Minerva…"
"You are welcome, sir."
Mendez replayed the whole operation for Halsey and Minerva, pointing out at certain frames of what was being executed, as well as how well they were executed. He was quite pleased with her stealth.
"She certainly is quite the determined one…" the AI commented, landing on the desk and sitting on the box of cigars. "What do you plan for her? A gauntlet run? Some training time with the ODSTs?"
Halsey looked at Minerva, giving her a warning glare.
"Leave the Helljumpers out of this…" she warned. "The Spartans are far more superior to them in every imaginable way…"
The tiny figurine bowed deeply and looked at the doctor, tilting her head to one side.
"My apologies, doctor… I did not mean to offend you."
The doctor took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, relieving the pressure before putting them on again.
"It is quite all right… You meant no harm, but tell me, Mendez… How do you plan on testing her, other than the usual routine training?"
"Well, since she works well in groups, we shall see how she fares when we scatter them farther…" Mendez chuckled. "Very far from her… Then we shall see if she is able to fend for herself. If she is able to survive, then we shall put her against other tests, such as going up against one of the companies stationed here."
"Is that even possible?" the doctor asked as she cocked her head to one side. "You know very well that even with the split up, she will eventually come into contact with the others."
"We shall see how she fares," he replied, taking another puff of the Sweet Williams Cigar. "We shall see…"