It was like a punch in the gut to be honest. I got too carried away in my role as a spectator that I had let my existence be revealed. The revelation felt like a rod of ice down my nonexistent spine.

When I watched Six get shown to his new quarters I settled in, waiting for something interesting to happen. Just lazily sorting information and basking in my new state of being. I wasn't paying attention.

Six sat down on his new bunk, took off his helmet, and looked down at it. Into the sensors and cameras installed there.

Five words.

"I know you're in there."

At my continued silence he looked uncomfortable, doubtful even. I was too busy looking at his face, all the details and features carved into it.

He wasn't really what I imagined, but that was likely my home country's culture coming into play. He was asian, had short cropped dark hair, small scars dotted his face, and his eyes. I was more focused on those, despite the situation that pretty much everyone here was in. They glistened with an intensity and interest that I found fascinating. I needed to make a decision.

He sighed and moved to put the helmet down on the bed.

I scrambled to turn on the speakers. "I'm here, yeah... hello?" The words were rushed, frantic, and thick with my accent. Oh god, I was going to make this whole interaction awkward wasn't I?

He stared, I stared. We both stared. I faked the sound of clearing my throat. He looked so lost, it made me want to laugh. I didn't though, that would make this so much worse. His brain looked to be melting trying to fathom how I was here.

What do I do? Take initiative, but how? Ah, I know, "Introductions, I guess. I'm Rachel, the AI residing in your suit, and holder of powers unknown." I said the last part jokingly, but maybe he would figure it out. He seemed to take the words seriously though.

Silence stretched for a few seconds as we processed each other's presence.

He frowned, opened his mouth to say something, closed it. He then rested his head on his hand in the classic thinker pose, he was tensing and relaxing rapidly, almost as if he were twitching. Moments passed by before he appeared to come to a conclusion. "Spartan B312, Lieutenant, Noble Six of Noble Team." He gave a clipped introduction before looking down in certainty, "You know this already though, don't you?"

A logical deduction even if it seemed more like a guess. I made the effort to sound sheepish, "Yeah I've been awake since you dropped off the 'package' haven't done much since."

Something seemed to resolve itself in him as I said that.

He leaned forward over the helmet, eyes gleaming. "Tell me everything you know, now. I need to know exactly what you are and why you are here." Despite myself, I felt a sliver of fear run through me at the look in his eyes.

I tried to steel myself to tell as little as possible.

I felt exhausted at the constant questioning, if I didn't have a clock in here I would've sworn it had been hours.

I was exaggerating a bit but that was the gist of the situation.

Sometimes he would ask iterations of questions, each becoming more specific until I had to reveal details I had kept hidden. Usually he'd listen, nod, and continue on. Other times he'd furrow his brown and look deeply confused, his fingers twitched in absent thought.

It made me feel vulnerable, like I was slowly being peeled open to show layer after layer of what I was. It wasn't an awful feeling, just... uncomfortable. I knew it was necessary to gain his trust.

The questioning was only part of why I was reeling mentally. Apparently, I did exist here, well the AI I had taken over did. I was slightly... distraught, grieving? I didn't really have any words for it, something made me feel wrong at the thought of taking over someone else's mind. There was only a kind of gaping cavern of information left on the previous AI that I had unconsciously recorded in The Index.

After enough digging I was even able to respond with an ONI serial number, I didn't know if that was a good thing though. It seemed to simultaneously ease some worries and bother him with others at the same time.

I was starting to hit my stride in affirming my story and convincing Six of my purpose. Kind of, anyway, he didn't seem disbelieving just cautious.

He gave a nod as I stated exactly how long I had been in service. I said since I had woken up, it wasn't even a lie.

Six huffed out a sigh, "So to reiterate, you are an experimental ONI AI. Made for purposes unknown, deployed by forces unknown, with the objective to keep me safe above all else." At my positive hum he sighed again and put on the helmet. "If this is some scheme or ONI test... I'll destroy you."

I knew he was deadly serious.

I laughed, only slightly phased by the promise. If only he knew, "Yeah, yeah. I got it." I paused, what were our next steps? Well, Six's next steps anyway, I couldn't do anything. I repeated as much to Six.

He looked around the room, there was nothing around, it seemed like he needed something to occupy him as he decided.

I ran background tasks to check up on the suit while he thought. Running the armor wasn't really a hassle, it was strange really, the whole thing was just like a glove I had worn all my life and forgotten about for a while.

I let the thought bounce around as I looked through the task responses I was getting.

Almost instantly a ping was sent my way as something didn't come up right.

Task Response?

Data...

Confirmation.

I opened the response- Really? Vitals were basically blasting warning after warning, Six had even turned off the alerts that showed up on the HUD. Hmm, none of this is particularly good.

He walked towards the door, intent on something, "Remaining UNSC personnel should-".

I interrupted him, concern evident in my voice as I mixed it with the cold steel of authority. "How long has it been since you've seen a medic or even had any rest?"

Six was seemingly stonewalled, stuck between opening the door and responding to me. He stopped fully, standing rigidly, "It doesn't matter now, there are more immediate priorities." His tone was robotic and slightly frustrated sounding.

I snorted audibly in derision at that statement, "More immediate than you dropping dead at any time because you haven't consumed anything in days?" He didn't respond. "What about the fact the only reason you're still conscious is the cocktail of combat stims being periodically injected into you by the suit, drugs that are dangerously close to just stopping your heart right now?" I felt a bit of fear as I said that, mixed with exasperation, it leaked into my voice even. It really didn't hit home until now how dire his medical situation really was.

"Please Six." The words were soft, I didn't even know if I had even said them.

He was still silent as he opened the door and proceeded down the hall. I switched medical notifications back on and sulked silently. I knew it was childish.

We didn't speak.

Six stalked through the halls, seemingly with no real goal in mind, and eventually came to a junction where four main hallways connected. He gazed up, and stared at the signs.

He gave off the feeling of being very far away for a moment, before snapping back to reality. A decision was made.

I sent a burst of thankful contentment through our link as he went down the hallway labeled 'Clinic'.

Thank you.

His steps were slightly livelier as he walked with more purpose towards the medical area.

We were sitting in silence as Six laid down to rest on the cot he was given. It wasn't a bad silence, it was pretty comfortable to be honest.

Still, there were a few discrepancies either he didn't notice or I didn't know enough about to understand.

"So... What was up back there?" I paused, collecting the right words. Six raised a questioning eyebrow within his helmet, "Was it just me or did they seem kind of stunned and lost?" All of the medical personnel, and even the patients they were working on, looked to be dazed.

Now that I thought about it, even the soldiers wandering around had that expression. They just looked numb to everything...

Six let out a put upon sigh and spoke, "You're serious, aren't you?" I interpreted the question as being rhetorical, he sat there for a moment before continuing. "The planet is gone. The people are dead. Humanity lost one of its most important worlds. Who knows how long until Earth is next." The words were said with so much... gravity. There was anger there, frustration, hopelessness, and underneath it all a deep sense of loss.

He clammed up, just staring off into space, violently twitching.

I mulled it over a while before it finally clicked.

These were people. They might have had family, friends, even important possessions that were just wiped out in the Covenant invasion. It was all gone. At this point the functioning people were just going through the motions, even they knew that death was probably close and extinction of the species wasn't far behind. As far as they knew anyway. Shit, it hadn't hit me until then but Noble Team was dead, Six was alone.

The whole situation was fucked, we were all fucked. Not many supplies, too many people, not enough space, and above all else no help was coming to save us.

My own nature was fighting against me as the information burned into my mind, the true scope known to me as my mind made connections and inferred problems.

I don't know what to do, don't know, don't know, don't-

I felt constricted, trapped. I had to get away. I had to take a step back.

I wanted to cry and scream, I needed to say something but didn't know what. I burned all my MP on repairs and upgrades to the armor. I let words tumble out as I halted sensory processes and cut as many connections to the outside world as possible.

I left the neural link open.

My senses dulled and I let myself drift.

Breathe in, breathe out.

In... Out...

Balance. Serenity.

A window popped up somewhere.

I just needed to take a step back.

Suddenly I was somewhere else entirely.