Seventeen rolled and hit the ground, yelping in pain. Her vision became blurred, the last thing she saw was a covanent ship firing, before running and hitting the ground after pushing Twelve and Carolina along. Her mind filled with memories that she wasn't sure she wanted to remember. Anger, Guilt, Isolation, Hatred. All of these were emotions she was based around, it made her sick though when she lost her temper for no reason, but then wasn't she always supposed to be in control?
Rage had caused it like the accident with Seventy five. She fought and was aggressive because that was her flaw. It made her reckless on a battlefield and it showed in her mental and physical results, she knew that had made her even worse, she blinked and rolled back into the past.
She sat on the staircase holding her arm, her arm was sore and had blood trailing off it, no doctors on the colony would be paid if they treated her. That was if she had been allowed treatment in the first place, her silver hair was damp from the coolness of the ice colony and it made her starlight blue eyes shine.
Men in black suits come to the front door, they entered without permission, just barged in. She sat watching on the staircase, holding onto a teddy and around six years old. They came into the lounge where her father was...drunk again, even when he was sober, he ignored and neglected her.
For exaple he'd thrown her by her arm against a wall and shattered the bone because she asked him where her mother was so it hurt when she couldn't move it and had taken refuge on the staircase. He hadn't been this bad , sure he got drunk but never hurt her like this since her mother ran off.
She heard a scream. "Take the bastard child! She's just the ghost of her fucked up mother!" Her father screamed.
The child heard a gunshot and was terrified, the men came to the staircase, one had a bag with medical kit. "He can't hurt you now, please come with us?" he asked holding out his hand.
The child reached out but realised it was her shattered arm. She bit her lip and screamed a little in pain. The man looked at her shoulder and gently removed her oversized jumper that kept her warm at the cold nights in her colony. They winced at the pain she had been enduring.
"Let's get that fixed and come on let's go someplace warm" One of the men quietly and gently picked her up. The child yawned from being up so long in fear. She fell asleep gently in this man's arms.
Seventeen woke up with a start. She was in the back of the pelican on a medical cot, she shook her head and woke herself up. Seventeen nearly had to slap herself to stop going back to sleep. Twelve was there snoring his head off and Sixteen was driving the pelican, she gently pushed herself off the cot and headed to front of the Pelican.
"Hey glad you're up, like my new co-pilot?" Sixteen greeted her.
Seventeen looked and saw Carolina piloting in the spare seat, eyes focused on controls. "...I don't...I can't...this is...it's just..." she couldn't find the right words to say this sentance.
Carolina turned to face her. "We need to get a few things straightened out" she blunty put before turning around. "The Director said that insurrection would only be there and with things that happened with CT...you can understand why we thought you were insurrection" that's all she said.
Seventeen turned to Sixteen who noticed a bit of her discomfort. "You okay?" He asked. She shook her head in response, "Okay what's wrong then?" he asked.
"Just some unpleasant dreams before I joined Proteus" she answered.
"It was him again wasn't it?" Sixteen accused.
Seventeen sighed deeply knowing he wouldn't stop without his answer. "I just...can't get him out of there" Seventeen looked at her left shoulder again, remembering the scar that had been left there after her father's abuse.
"He's gone now...he can't hurt you anymore" Sixteen said, Seventeen looked at him and smiled reassuringly.
"I know that, I'm just glad I'm not there anymore. We heading back to the Proteain station?" she asked slangly and too grouchy from being asleep so long.
"Yeah the freelancer and her friends are greeting us there" Sixteen alerted her.
"Oh boy" she mumbled taking a spare seat.
"You can say that again" He told her.
"No not that, I just realised I don't get paid enough to do this and you don't get paid enough to learn when to shut up" she caused him to laugh.
"Know that's the Seventeen I know a bitch if she wakes up to early or late" Sixteen smirked.
Her mind etched back to Caboose, wondering what he was doing with Project Freelancer, she didn't have a clue. Hell all she was doing there in the first place was to investigate whether they posed as a threat. That was the point in Proteus, not just another silver bullet and shield for the human race. But they were an agency preparing to do anything for their objective and the rules never applied to them. Insurection or UNSC didn't have a say with them, it almost made them sound like freelancers, they weren't them they were just...amazing at getting the job done when they had to.
Seventeen went back to the cot and lay down in memory of something, a training exercise or a retrieval.
She was doing a training excersise, running along the streets blending in with the people. She saw a teenager at a cafe, with a spare seat. Lucky he was her informant, otherwise he would be a target.
Her mind stretched back everything she knew on him, his name, Michael J Caboose.
Present age, 17 date of birth 23/5/2538. (it never actually says the date on RV'sB so I made it up)
Blood Type: A+ posative.
All on his file. And she read it.
She joined him on the table and ordered a coffee. "Where is it?" She demanded him, not yelling but not whispering either.
Going out of hiding for this? And she thought she would have better things to do.
"Where is what, agent?" he played with her. Damnit Caboose!
"Caboose this is my job, I can't have you destroying it. ONI isn't happy with me as it is. Apparently a rouge runaway spartan isn't something that they get a lot of and they are getting ready to send him after you!" She warned.
"I didn't think One wanted anything to do with me, not after the last stunt he pulled with Vector squad," Caboose told her.
"If One is after you, he'll kill you and... you know I can't stop that. Not even if I wanted to. Please give it back?" She half begged him.
"Why is it so important? It's only an AI artifact that's broken" he pouted.
"Caboose that AI artifact is going to be tested on me, they want to see if it's possible to make an AI without cloning a person's brain and I'm first in line" She told him.
He looked into her eyes. They were one of her best features, starlight blue. Striking and gentle when required, and this was required. "I'm not giving it back until you are a hunded percent safe and it will definetly cure your hallucinations. Please S-"
"No you are giving it back. Right now!" She half growled at him.
"And lose you, you realise that if they make you an AI it could take over your whole entire head"
"They've started the process Zero deemed it nessacery that I retrieve it, please don't make me hurt you Caboose. I don't want to hurt again not after last time with Seven" she said.
Her voice in her head echoed into the present. Seventeen looked again out the window as they docked at the station. "Hmm... not like Seven was with hurting me" she whispered to herself.
