One month later

Onyx, Camp Currahee

1530 Local Time, September 10th, 2545 Military Calendar

Ben's training continued to go well, he excelled at his academics, and his exercises were going better than ever. Today, he turned six years old, but birthdays were only significant for statistics in the Spartan 3 program. Some time ago, he would have been somewhat upset, insulted even, but no longer. Richard did manage to get him a bowl of ice cream once he found out that it was Ben's birthday, which was certainly appreciated. When he asked where Richard had gotten it he had simply replied "I have my connections.".

His altered training schedule didn't change as much as he thought it would. His exercises were the same, as were much of his academics, but the tactics he learned about were far more offensive in nature. He learned about High-Value Target Elimination, the operation of Naval Weaponry, and what little the UNSC knew about the inner-workings of Covenant technology. He didn't understand the politics behind his assignment to the Marine Corps, but it didn't bother him, as long as he got a chance to serve, he was content. Apparently, he was meant to be an inspiring figurehead on the frontline, and a way to boost morale, by showing the men and women on the frontline that they were not alone.

Today was different from the average day, as had undergone a brief surgery Ben The doctors explained that his neural interface required an upgrade. Once it was done his neural interface was more streamlined and simple, and there was a small port in the back of his head, almost like an outlet.

It's going to be hell trying to get dirt out of there unless I can find something to cover it. Ben thought. I wonder why nobody else got the upgrades, maybe they already have them?

Another oddity was that Lieutenant Commander Ambrose wanted to speak with them again. He and Richard were waiting at the entrance to Kurt's office, with no idea how long they would be waiting. In the meantime, Richard told a story from when he was part of the Office of Naval Intelligence.

"So a long time ago, I was the Commander of this little Prowler, named the Sequestered Thought." Richard said. "We were doing some sneaky classified business that I'm not allowed to talk about. What I can tell you, however, is that the poor guy in charge of maintaining our cryogenics was criminally undersupplied."

Ben didn't see where it was going, but he kept listening. Richard liked to tell stories and Ben liked to listen. It was refreshing to hear about the outside world every now and then, even if Richard didn't like talking about the civilian world. Even though Ben wouldn't trade his place for anything, it sometimes became hard to remember anything but his training.

"Every day while we were out on our missions he would send in requisitions for new parts." Richard continued. "Unfortunately, a Prowler that's running dark at all times is really hard to resupply. Eventually I sat down with the guy and told him that I had no way to get him what he needed."

Ben nodded, giving the indication he was still listening.

"The man was irritated, but I think he realized it wasn't my fault I couldn't get what he needed." Richard continued. "Unfortunately it turned out he really needed those parts, because the refrigeration unit was fried, and all of our ingredients went along with it."

"So, what did you eat?" Ben asked.

"Emergency survival ration bars." Richard said with a groan of frustration. "The poor bastard ended up requesting a transfer planetside, and I can't say I blame him. Moral of the story is this, don't ever leave home without everything you'll need in the field, you'll end up regretting it if you don't."

"Understood." Ben said with a nod of understanding. He'd gone without food before at some of the orphanages he'd lived at, and it was awful, even with the survival bars that kept most people alive. That was one of the major perks of the Spartan program, they kept him well fed. In fact, he was considerably taller than when he started the program, likely due to all of the growth supplements in the food.

As soon as Richard's story was over, the door to Kurt's office opened and another recruit walked out by herself, her expression was unreadable as she walked by, but she seemed happy enough.

"Come in." Kurt said, Richard and Ben did as he ordered, and sat down in the chairs in front of his desk.

Ben had learned a little bit more about Kurt, as he was one of the Spartan IIs they learned about in their classes. He was one of the most renowned Spartans, which explained why he was in charge of training the Spartan IIIs.

"What's the occasion Sir?" Richard asked.

"I believe I have found a... partial solution to Ben's teamwork deficiency." Kurt said, looking at the boy in question, as if trying to read his reaction.

Ben didn't argue, he thought about in the past, but quickly realized that Kurt was right. Pouting would get him nowhere, so instead he just sat and braced himself for further criticism, holding his expression steady. But Kurt being right didn't mean it hurt any less.

"I thought we already decided he would operate with the Marines?" Richard asked.

"We did." Kurt confirmed. "However I found another way to help Ben in the field."

Ben perked up a little, evidently Kurt had something else on his mind.

"What did you have in mind?" Richard asked, he also seemed more interested.

"I've decided to assign Ben an A.I." Kurt explained.

Ben was immediately confused. Some of his instructors were A.I, giving him some idea of their capabilites. They could think very rapidly, and

"An A.I?" Ben responded, although even he wasn't entirely sure what kind of answer Kurt could give him.

"Is it smart or dumb?" Richard asked, referring to the two kinds of A.I.

"She's a fragment, made out of a smart A.I." Kurt answered, which only added onto Ben's confusion.

"A fragment?" Richard asked, his face expressed a mild amount of doubt, which quickly spread to Ben. "Where did it come from?"

"I'm afraid that's above your paygrade." Kurt replied. "But where she came from isn't as important as what she can do. It is my belief that Ben could use some form of technical assistance in the field, as well as someone to watch his back."

"I see." Richard said, but Ben still wasn't sure he fully understood.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked. "How can someone without a body help in a gunfight?"

Kurt seemed somewhat disappointed. "I would encourage you to think a bit more creatively, Cadet. In the fields of cyberwarfare and intel-assessment, A.I are unparalleled. Maybe she can't hold a weapon, but you don't need a weapon in the first place if you vent your enemy into the vacuum of space."

Ben nodded, now he was starting to see the potential. "I believe I understand."

"That's good, I would encourage you to discuss it with her sometime in the future." Kurt said. "What I see as equally important however, is that this will teach you to work with someone who may have a different mindset than you. There's not much difference between a smart A.I and a human, so it should give you some fresh perspective."

Ben had to admit, he was now intrigued by the capabilities an A.I could have in combat. In truth, some of Kurt's words didn't make a lot of sense to him, but he was grasping the general concept fairly well. But if he was going to be partners with this A.I, he'd want to talk to her.

"When will I get to meet this A.I?" Ben asked.

"Whenever you are ready, she's currently in standby mode in the holotank." Kurt said gesturing at the device in the corner of the room.

"Is there anything I should know before I meet her?" Ben asked.

"There are a couple things, yes." Kurt said reaching into his desk and pulling out a metal device. "This is a piece of extremely expensive and experimental technology. This serves as a far smaller A.I transportation device then we've ever been able to use, and it plugs directly into your neural interface."

"Can an A.I really do that?" Ben asked, rubbing his newly upgraded implant. He now understood why he had received it.

"Certainly, although in the past, you had to either use a large and bulky cable, or plug the A.I directly into the body. Both options are impractical for military use, so this advance in technology should prove quite helpful." Kurt explained, handing over the device. "It's also very expensive, so be careful with it."

Ben took the device and examined it. The datachip was deceptively simple, although he imagined it's technicalities were far more complex than it's simple design revealed. "Will she be able to control my body?"

"No, that's not been a concern since the earliest days of neural implants." Kurt replied. "Even still, I think you'll find she's not a very controlling person."

"That's a relief." Ben said. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Curie." Kurt answered. "For some added background, she's been active for around a month, and she was transferred to us only around a day ago. She's what is considered a "stable" fragment, meaning she has an effectively unlimited lifespan. She also has about half of the processing power of your average Smart A.I, which is still quite a lot."

"A smart A.I with an unlimited lifespan?" Ben asked. What he'd learned about smart A.I's was that they were very capable, but they had a limited lifespan, which was their greatest weakness.

"Some researchers speculate that A.I fragments like Curie have a limit to their lifespan, but if there is one, it's long enough that it hasn't been discovered yet." Kurt explained.

So, nobody knows, but it's an educated guess. Ben mentally concluded. "I think I understand."

"Now, are you ready?" Kurt asked.

"I am." Ben replied, out of the corner of his vision, he saw Richard also give a brief nod.

"Ok, let me have that chip back for a moment." Kurt instructed, Ben complied.

Kurt stood up and walked over to the holotank in the corner of the room, before entering a code on the touchpad. After a couple of seconds, a hologram of an A.I appeared before him, illuminating his silhouette in light blue light. Once he moved out of the way Ben got his first look at her.

The A.I was a lighter shade of blue, and took the form of an adult woman. She had short, dark hair, and a very friendly expression. Her clothing consisted of a plaid shirt ,with long, rolled-up sleeves and a pair of jeans, as well as a simple set of sneakers.

Huh, I was expecting someone a bit less... civilian. Ben thought, not quite sure what to make of her.

"Running startup diagnostic... done." she said in an accent that Ben did not recognize, before seemingly snapping out of her thoughts. "Ah, hello again, Monsieur Kurt."

"Hello again Curie. If you'll give me a minute let's make sure you still have your bearings." Kurt said.

They spent about a minute making sure the holotank she was in was functioning correctly, before going through the basics of making sure she was registering everything around her correctly, as well as making sure all of her internal subroutines were running well. As she spoke, Ben kept trying to place what kind of accent she had, but it was beyond his knowledge. She certainly seemed friendly enough.

"Well, I think you're fully operational Curie." Kurt said. "Let's do some brief introductions. You already remember me, right?"

"Oui, you are Lieutenant Commander Kurt-051, or Ambrose." Curie confirmed. "However, I do not recognize you two."

"I am Instructor Richard Miller." Richard said with a nod.

"I'm Benjamin G-021." Ben said. He'd been instructed his last name was only important for paperwork, and to use his service number instead.

"G-021?" Curie asked. "What an unusual last name, how curious."

I'm not sure if I should be offended or not. Ben thought. "It's my service number." Ben clarified.

"You have one too?" Curie asked, seemingly surprised. "I have not heard of humans with numerical designations."

"Good, now that everyone has been introduced, let's get down to business." Kurt said, plugging in the datachip he had shown Ben earlier. "Curie, you should have a briefing package somewhere in that chip, Instructor Miller and Ben are already familiarized with it."

"I do." Curie said, her hologram flickering for a brief moment. "I have also familiarized myself with the material."

"That was... fast." Ben said, somewhat impressed.

"A.I's are a lot faster than we are, Smart even moreso." Richard explained. "What we feel as a second is like a full minute to them."

"Do not worry, monsieur Benjamin." Curie reassured. "From what I have read, I will have plenty of time to teach you about ."

"As long as it doesn't get in the way of training, I don't have a lot of free time." Ben said, trying not to sound standoffish.

"Helping you with your training is an alpha level priority, your further education on A.I will be considered a... Kilo level priority. Well, I'm sure we'll get around to it sometime." Curie said, recognizing that a Kilo level priority was pretty far down on the priority ladder.

"Curie, I have a question for you." Richard said. "What are your combat certifications?"

"My software packages are updated and ready for cyberwarfare." Curie answered, with a surprising degree of formality. "Given a transmitter and a connection to a suitable target, I can disable just about any firewall."

"Interesting." Richard noted. "And what do you think of this assignment? Working with Ben?"

"I will admit at first my morals were conflicted, I am not in agreement with children being forced into fighting roles." Curie admitted, which made Ben somewhat worried. "But I have been thoroughly convinced what we are doing here is necessary, we will complete our mission. It helps that Monsieur Ben has volunteered for this duty."

That's good, I don't need to worry about a conflict of interest. Ben thought, Richard also gave a nod of satisfaction with her answer.

"If it makes you feel any better Curie, I felt the same way when I was conscripted into the Spartan II program." Kurt admitted. "I had my doubts at first, but now, I don't regret it one bit."

"That does make me feel better about my doubts, thank you Lieutenant Ambrose." Curie replied with a now-reassured smile.

"No problem at all Curie. Let's get back on track, are there any questions the briefing didn't cover that I can answer for you?" Kurt asked.

"Just one." Curie said. "The estimated length of the assignment is blank, is that an error?"

"That's because this assignment is, for all intensive purposes, permanent." Kurt said. "Unless you and Ben don't work well together that is, which would make this assignment considered a failure."

"I have read all of Monsieur Benjamin's personnel file, and can conclude a ninety-three percent compatibility rate." Curie reassured. "I will do my very best to ensure mission success."

I wonder how you calculate something like that. Ben thought. Either way, her priorities are certainly where they should be, that's good.

"Those were all of my concerns, I am ready whenever everyone else is." Curie said.

"Excellent." Kurt replied. "Sort yourself for a complete transfer, you should find this datachip sufficient."

"I am ready, go ahead." Curie said. Kurt removed Curie's datachip, before walking over and handing it to Ben, who held it in both hands. The crystalline storage component glowed with the same shade of light blue as her hologram.

"Now remember Ben, Curie's a lot more than just another piece of equipment. She is now a part of your team, and you're a part of hers." Kurt instructed firmly. "Do not under any circumstance let her fall into harm's way, keeping her safe is now your permanent top priority, this supersedes any and all other orders you are given, do you understand?"

"I won't let you down, Sir." Ben unwaveringly replied, before taking Curie's chip and delicately inserting it into the port of his neural interface.

The feeling was unlike anything he had ever felt. The best way he could describe it was as if he splashed a bucket of cold water down his neck. That same feeling steadily creeped into the back of his head, which came to halt suddenly before the feeling became less intense, becoming oddly calming.

"Hello, can you hear me?" A familiar accented voice said, almost as if it was in his thoughts.

"I can, how did you do that?" Ben asked aloud, which seemed amusing to Kurt for some reason.

"I simply sent a signal to your neural lace, which translated it to sound that mimics my voice." Curie explained. "I am glad to see that it has functioned correctly."

"I take it that everything is working well?" Kurt asked.

"I believe so." Ben confirmed. "I'm good to go, what about you Curie?"

"I am, I almost have everything as it should be, except for..." she began, before he heard her voice coming from slightly behind him. "-There, I have configured the datachip's speaker to my liking. I am ready to begin my duties, Lieutenant."

"Very well, you're all dismissed." Kurt said before turning to Richard "Instructor, keep me informed on their progress."

Both of them offered a salute to Kurt, before leaving, they had much to do.

Four years later
Camp Currahee

August 23rd, 1940 Standard time, 2549 Military Calendar

Chief Petty Officer Mendez jogged into the observation Tower, where he saw Instructor Miller and Lieutenant Commander Kurt standing at one of the terminals. He'd noticed that one of the Arenas was being prepped for a match, and it seemed like it was something everyone wanted to see. Richard looked nervous, and Kurt's attention was fixed solely on the terminal, in a deep focus that he rarely found elsewhere.

"Commander? Do you have any idea what's going on?" Mendez asked. "It seems like half of the damn base is headed to Arena Seven."

"We have a match taking place." Kurt explained. "And once you hear the details, you'll understand why everyone wants to see it."

"Nothing is scheduled today in any of the arenas, who's participating?" Mendez asked as he approached the terminal to see for himself.

"Ben versus Fireteam Broadsword." Richard said, concern evident in his voice.

Mendez shook his head. "I must have misheard you, what did you just say?"

"It's a one versus five." Kurt confirmed his fears. "I approved it."

"What the hell, why would you do that?!" Mendez asked, more than a little annoyed.

"Apparently there's some bad blood between Broadsword and Benjamin related to their academics, so rather than letting it fester..." Kurt explained.

"-Let them beat it out of each other." Mendez completed his sentence. "I see where you're coming from, maybe it'll teach Ben a lesson in humility as well."

"The kid's hardly boisterous." Richard protested in defense of his friend.

"I'm aware, but it's a lesson everyone needs from time to time. Even the most humble person starts getting cocky after a while, and a swift kick in the teeth sets you right back to normal." Mendez said, reminding the Instructor of his mindset. "Why were they even angry at each other, shouldn't they hardly be talking to one another?"

"Apparently Broadsword has been accusing Curie of helping Ben with math, saying it's unfair." Kurt explained. "It only escalated from there, this has been a long time coming."

Mendez only nodded. "What about you Richard? What's your take on all of this?"

"Well, you already know Curie hasn't been helping him cheat, so I believe he's on the right side of this." Richard answered.

"...And the match?" Mendez pressed.

Richard gave a nervous nod. "...I'm not looking forward to the results. He's gotten good, no doubt about it, but a one versus five? I just hope he doesn't get hurt..."

Arena Seven

Locker room

As Ben loaded his M90 shotgun full of training paint shells and donned his protective padding around his more vital areas, he listened to Curie try to talk him down. The equipment that would have once weighed him down was child's play, the firearm a familiar tool, not an intimidating figure.

"Ben, it is okay, you don't need to fight this battle." Curie calmly said. "I certainly appreciate you sticking up for me, but really, you don't have to do this."

"You're right Curie, I don't need to, I simply want too." Ben replied with the same calm tone. While his own personal pride also played a role in his decision, as he was greatly insulted by Fireteam Broadsword's accusations, he also felt a duty to defend the pride of his friend as well.

Curie sighed at his predictable answer. "Just so you know, I calculate a fifty-five percent chance of you being badly injured during this battle."

"That's because you aren't taking into account my plan." Ben explained. "I've thought this out, but I'm going to need your help is this is going to work."

"While I still think this is a bad idea, I am listening." Curie said, sounding slightly more hopeful.

"Good. The arena has a series of cameras used to monitor the matches, I need you to infiltrate them and monitor the enemies positions." Ben explained. "That way, we can get the drop on them, even the odds a little."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Curie asked, now sounding worried. To be fair, she had good reason to be worried, he would probably get punished for this. But at the same time, he had his reasons, and he was willing to accept the consequences.

"Almost certainly." Ben affirmed. "But like Mendez says, the Covenant won't play fair, so we shouldn't either."

She was silent for a moment, before speaking again. "Alright, I am done, I do not believe I was detected."

"Good, keep your eyes open, and let me know what they're moves are. I'll try to do the rest." Ben said.

"Understood, I can do that." Curie affirmed. "I am ready when you are."

With all of his armor affixed, his weapon loaded and ready to fire, and his grenades ready to throw, he was ready. Moments later, there was a buzz on the intercom, before Kurt's voice sounded throughout the room.

"Are both teams ready?" he asked, his voice altered by the speakers.

I can't believe that he approved this match, but I'm glad he did. Ben thought, as he gave a thumbs up to the nearest camera.

"Alright, the match will begin in three, two, one... begin!" Kurt stated.

The door opened and Ben ran through into the arena, he knew he had at least sixty seconds before any of the hostile recruits had a shot on him, as they would need time to cross the arena. His planning was crucial, mindless violence did not exist to a Spartan, and he would use every second he had to the best of his ability.

The arena had a large circular path around the edges of it, along with a third path leading into the center of the battleground. The path around the edges was separated by a three meter tall instacrete wall, which blocked line of sight to the rest of the arena.

"Which way are they going?" Ben asked, their choice would decide his next action.

"All of them are going towards our right, they appear to be acting rather recklessly." Curie answered. "If you run around the path going left, you can hit their rear, which is undefended."

Ben did as she suggested, quickly running his way around the far left side of the arena until he spotted them. Just like Curie said, their rear flank was undefended. His weapon did not permit him to fire rapidly, but he still managed to get two shots off into their tightly packed formation. To their credit, the enemy team responded rapidly and professionally, responding with blind suppressive fire which forced Ben back into cover.

"Two targets down, one more has hampered mobility." Curie reported. "Fall back, we'll hit them again."

That's what they get for leaving their rear unguarded, rookie mistake. Ben thought. "Keep me informed."

He backed up rapidly, with the enemy opting to stay behind and help their immobilized teammate free themselves rather than pursue him. Once He found the path into the Center of the Arena, he took it, entering the complex series of hellish obstacles lovingly nicknamed "Vietnam" by some of the Instructors.

The Center of the arena was a mess of short walls, razor wire, obstacles, and training mines. Most of the recruits avoided entering the entire area if they could afford to, in order to avoid embarrassing losses to training mines. It provided ample cover, but if Ben wasn't careful he could end up deciding the round with a misplaced foot.

As Ben snuck around in the mess of traps and obstacles, he didn't bother trying to get a good line of sight, with Curie's all seeing eyes overhead, stealth was his biggest concern. Curie suddenly interrupted him as he neared what he viewed as a good position, next to some solid cover in the form of an instacrete wall.

"Mine!" Curie suddenly shouted inside of his head.

Ben froze, looked down, and saw that she was right, he had nearly stood on a mine. He sidestepped around it and continued on.

"Thanks." Ben said, entering the more defensible position. "What're they doing?"

"They've split up, one has entered the Jungle to your right, the other two have taken up positions overlooking the Jungle's exits." Curie reported after a moment.

They're splitting up? That negates their biggest advantage, what's gotten into them? Ben thought.

"Acknowledged." Ben said quietly, looking to his right. "Give me a bearing on our attacker."

"253." Curie quickly responded.

Ben looked on his helmet's HUD and snapped to the target bearing, immediately sighting movement on around 20 odd meters away, which he shot at before hearing a cry of pain along with furious swearing.

"He's not down, finish him!" Curie warned.

He fired two more times, and the target was incapacitated. "Thanks Curie. Are the other two still at the exits?" Ben asked as he reloaded.

"Yes, and I have an idea on how to fix that. Move over to that small clearing to your left, by the barbed wire." Curie instructed.

Ben did as she asked and went to that position, avoiding obstacles as he went.

"Ok, I'm going to line up a grenade throw for you, using a bit of trigonometry." Curie explained. "If I use one of the cameras, I can dramatically increase our odds of a hit on the target."

"This will land on them?" Ben asked as he drew his grenade and let his shotgun hang on its sling.

"I certainly hope so." Curie answered with less optimism than he hoped for.

Curie gave him a helpful guidance line on his HUD, giving him an idea of where to throw and how hard, he pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed it. Ben heard a cry of panic before the paint grenade exploded.

"Got her." Curie confirmed, satisfied with her handiwork.

"That won't work twice." Ben pointed out.

"Final target has entered the Jungle, bearing-" Curie began before Ben heard a shotgun blast and the wall next to him exploded with paint, splatters of it splashed on him, stinging where it hit as it solidified.

Ben rolled out of the way of the second blast before responding with one of his own, attempting to buy himself a moment by suppressing the enemy. Ben dived behind one of the short walls, taking cover as the last remaining enemy recruit bombarded his position with paint rounds. He was totally pinned, moving was out of the question, and he was in a disadvantageous position.. After a brief moment of thinking, he thought of an idea.

"Damn, any suggestions Curie?!" Ben asked, making a concentrated effort to be a bit louder than normal.

"Yeah that's right, have your pet A.I-" The other recruit taunted before Ben shot him in the head. He had pointed his shotgun out from his cover, using the recruits taunting as guidance of where to aim.

"Got him." Ben confirmed with a quick glance. "Sorry Curie, I just needed him to open his mouth."

"It is quite alright, that was good thinking." Curie said.

"The match goes to Spartan-G021. Medical crew, hose off Team Broadsword please." Kurt said over the loudspeaker, his voice hinting he was impressed.

"Nice work Curie." Ben said. "I wouldn't have won that without you."

"You did very well yourself, but thank you." Curie said modestly.

Observation Tower

"That was certainly eye-opening, how the hell did he know where Leeland was?" Mendez commented as he watched the cleanup crews hose off the losing Spartans.

"Because, he cheated." Kurt said with a smile. Richard looked confused, more than a little worried how this conversation was going to end.

"How so?" Mendez asked. "I didn't notice anything-"

"Deep Winter reported an infiltration attempt by Curie into the security systems, specifically the cameras. I ordered that she be let in, against his recommendations." Kurt clarified.

It wasn't a surprise that Deep Winter had detected Curie's infiltration. Even with all of her intrusion software, Deep Winter was a Third Generation Smart A.I sitting in an ONI supercomputer in Zone 76, Curie was simply outmatched.

"Wait, if you knew they were cheating, why not disqualify them?" Mendez asked, notably more curious than annoyed.

"Because, I wanted to see how well their teamwork has developed, and this proved an excellent opportunity." Kurt explained. "Needless to say, I think they're doing well."

"Well, I can't fault that I suppose." Mendez said. "Still, they cheated, do we let them get away with it?"

"This time, yes, although we should probably let them know Curie's not as stealthy as she thinks she is. But if Ben starts using Curie as a crutch, that's when we start punishing him." Kurt answered. "They need to work together, support each other, having Curie do everything for him would make him lazy, and a complacent Spartan is a dead Spartan."

"I already know she won't help him with his academics." Richard added. "I'd say they make a good team."

"I still don't like it." Mendez doubtfully replied. "But I can see where you're coming from."

"There's one other thing." Kurt added, "We're going to formalize him as a Category 2, Mjolnir and all."

"I can see why, given his eventual assignment." Mendez commented. "But where are you going to get the extra funding for a suit of Mjolnir?"

"ONI, specifically Section 2." Richard explained. "They approached me with a big chunk of funding to help with the extra augmentations, but in exchange, they wanted to do some propaganda with a Spartan as the focus. They want to show Spartans fighting alongside Marines and all that, and seeing as he was already going to the frontline, that's not much of a problem."

"Well, the big shiny armor sure is good for looking impressive." Mendez said. "But he'll need to get through augmentation first."

"He will." Kurt said, speaking more from hope then actual assurance.

2 years later

Camp Currahee, Assembly Hall

January 23rd, 0823 standard time, 2552

All three-hundred and thirty Spartan IIIs of Gamma Company stood before Kurt in the Assembly Hall. All of them were dressed in their dress uniforms due to the formality of the occasion, it would likely be the last time they were able to wear them before they needed replacing. Even though they all had adult bodies by now due to the early onset of puberty, their augmentations would likely make them grow a few inches taller.

The Spartans had just finished watching footage taken from the Spartan II augmentations, specifically of the ones where the augmentations had gone wrong. The deaths were unpleasant to say the least. Kurt found himself more disturbed then he thought he would've been, rewatching them yet again.

"Just for further clarification, those are the augmentations that failed. Out of seventy-five candidates, fifty-six percent of the candidates either died or washed out." Kurt explained. "Project Chrysanthemum, your augmentations, are far more advanced, but there are still major risks. You could be paralyzed, lose parts of your body that will require replacement, and of course, there is always a risk of death."

The recruits listened very carefully to everything he said. If they were at all disturbed by what they had seen, they did not show it. Kurt had to give them credit, even after being shown the brutality of what they were about to undergo, they did not even flinch.

"If you are not willing to undergo the augmentation procedure, we will find another opportunity for you to serve." Kurt continued. "Years ago, you all made the choice to come here, and today is the day you make your second choice. If you are willing to go through the procedure, raise your right hand."

Kurt watched as after not a moment's hesitation, almost every single recruits right hand was up, seconds later they were all up, with not a single recruit who did not have their right hand raised. Kurt felt a massive wave of pride for them, even though some of the recruits had hesitated a moment, but all of them had made the decision. Still, Kurt had to double check.

"Anyone who does not wish to undergo the procedure, leave now." Kurt said.

Everyone stayed put, Kurt was almost certain he was going to explode with pride, and he found himself unable to keep the smile off of his face.

"Very well, know that in the unlikely event I never see you again" He stopped a moment more to let what he said sink in. "You are all the finest Spartans I've ever seen, and that I... all of us, could not be more proud of you. You will depart at 1300 by Pelican, and will be taken to the UNSC Hopeful for the duration of the procedure, you are all dismissed."

As the newest batch of Spartans left, Kurt picked out a few notable ones. Liam and Edward, both Headhunters, as well as Benjamin and Raul, both of whom would serve in the UNSC Marine Corps and Army respectively, as well as act as potential replacements for Noble team and the other Category-Two teams. But Kurt had no favorites, in his eyes, they were all Spartans, and that was all that mattered to him.

Good luck Spartans, you'll need it. he thought.