I kick my legs slowly as they dangle over the edge of the catwalk. The training room below me is dark and empty, the day's matches having ended hours ago. After Wash and Tinu's fight, Silicon had convinced Tucker to give a demonstration of his sword. This had led to a series of sparring matches for anyone who wanted to show off to our new guests, which ended with a spectacular display of Nickel's sniping ability. Now, the Sim-Troopers have settled into their rooms and everyone has turned in for the night. At least, that's what I think until someone joins me.

I hear footsteps climbing up the ladder. I turn my head to see who it is, and for a moment I don't recognize the brown haired man. Scent, however, is much more reliable to me than sight. A deep breath lets me know it's Agent Washington. He looks different without his armor. Older.

He sits next to me and for a moment we're both silent. Eventually, I speak up. "I'm sorry about Boron. He was out of line earlier."

"Yes he was" Wash says, nodding. "But you shouldn't be the one apologizing."

I laugh humorlessly. "Well, I doubt that I'd be able to convince Boron to do it himself, so this is the best you'll get."

Wash turns to look at me. "What's that guy's problem?" he asks.

"I don't know" I sigh. I've been trying to figure that out for a long time. "I think he's still mad that I replaced him."

"How did you replace him?"

I shift position uncomfortably, resting one of my hands on the metal rail of the catwalk. "When we were younger, when Manny and Carbon were sent away, mom rearranged the teams. Neon, Carbon's partner, and I were all that was left of our team. We thought we'd be partnered together, but mom had other plans. She partnered me with Gold and sent his old partner, Boron, to another team with Neon." I stare up at the ceiling and sigh again. "Mom didn't care about whose personalities would fit best or how it would make us all feel to be split up. She only cared about ability. With Manny gone, Gold and I were the two best agents. It didn't matter that I would rather stay with the last member of my team, or that Boron felt like he wasn't good enough when he got kicked off of his team. She saw us as numbers on a chart and all she cared about was making those numbers go up.

"It didn't help that Gold and I worked really well together. At first, Boron expected to get transferred back to his team because I wouldn't work out. He didn't think I could take his place. Instead, the team did better than ever before with me there. Gold and I thought similarly, so we barely had to communicate during fights. Platinum and Nickel, the other members of our team, welcomed me with open arms."

I glance at Wash for a second, then look back down at the floor far below. "At the time, I just wanted to fit in somewhere. The rest of my team was gone and I felt like I'd lost my family. It was nice when I got along with my new team so well. By the time I realized how that made Boron feel, it was too late. He never forgave me, no matter how many times I asked. Since the attacks, things have only gotten worse with him. He blames me for leaving Gold behind." I add quietly, to myself "he's not wrong."

"It's more than that" Wash says. "He said you couldn't trust us, like he thought we would hurt you or something. It's not just him, either. Ever since we arrived, I've noticed people watching us. These people are on edge, like they think we'll attack any second." He turns slightly so he can look me in the eye while talking. "When you two were arguing, you mentioned someone else who was here before us. What happened then? Why is everyone so afraid?"

I look away from him. I don't want to explain this. I don't want to remember it. It's still so fresh; it still stings to think about it. But I know I can't avoid it. Washington won't trust me if he thinks I'm hiding something from him, and I need him to trust me. It's the only way I know to work with someone.

I take a deep breath and shut my eyes for a moment as I start to explain. "A few weeks ago, we found someone who we thought was a Freelancer, and we thought he might be able to help us, but he…" I stop for a second. "It was a disaster."

"What happened?" Wash persists.

I glance at him for a second. "Neon and I had heard rumors about someone still living at one of Project Freelancer's old training outposts. We thought that whoever was there might be able to lead us to Epsilon, so we went to check it out. When we got there, we found a lot of bodies. Red and Blue soldiers with armor in horrible states of disrepair were dead everywhere. We almost gave up, but Neon heard a noise from inside one of the bases. She went to check it out and found a single soldier. At first, we couldn't tell what color his armor was because it was so dirty, but it turned out to be red.

"I should have known there was something wrong with him. He kept talking about how the others had 'lost faith' and that's why the flag had failed to protect them. I had no idea what it meant. He was emaciated and dehydrated. I thought that he just needed some food or water and then he'd start making sense. I should have been more careful, but we were desperate and I wanted the lead to pan out…"

I sigh. "We got him onto the pelican. Neon was sitting in the back with him while I piloted. They were silent through most of the fight. Then, while I was starting to land, the red guy asked Neon something. I didn't hear what it was, or what she told him, but I guess he didn't like it. I could hear them start fighting, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. If I went back there in the middle of landing we'd crash. Once we set down, I rushed back to see what was wrong. It had gotten very quiet."

I stop again, shutting my eyes against the memories. "Neon never wore armor. She didn't like the way it felt; always said it slowed her down and made her clumsy. The red guy had jumped her, somehow managed to get her knife off her belt. Without her armor, she had no protection. By the time I got back there it was too late. There was blood everywhere. Neon was on the ground and the guy was standing over her with her knife. He was staring at me, his visor splashed with blood. Then the back of the pelican opened. Nick and Silicon were standing there to greet us. The red guy turned toward them, raising the knife. I shot him before I even realized I'd touched my gun."

I look back at Wash. His expression is unreadable. "That's why everyone here is nervous about letting outsiders in. It's why Nick and Tinu are trying their best to show that they trust you, hoping the others will follow that example. It's why Boron pulled his little stunt earlier."

I stop talking, waiting for Washington's reaction. Finally, he breaks the silence by asking a question. "Why do you trust us?"

"What?"

"You don't know us, and you just said that the last guy you tried to get help from murdered your sister." Wash elaborates. "So, what makes us different? Why do you trust that my team and I won't hurt your family?"

"I guess I don't" I say honestly. "Not entirely. You said Manganese was your friend, so I assume he trusted you. And Carbon trusts you. Even though he's not always the smartest, he has good instincts. He knows if someone means him harm. Those are opinions I don't take lightly." I stare ahead for a moment. "But, in the end, despite all of that, I still don't fully trust you yet. I can't until I know more about all of you."

We sit in silence for a moment. I notice the movement of Wash's eyes as he glances at my leg. Even though I'm not wearing armor, I still have my gun on me. I know the meaning of this doesn't escape him. Even though I'm relaxed, I'm still ready to shoot if I need to. I won't take chances again.

"I grew up on a small moon colony" Wash begins suddenly. "My parents ran a farm and I was an only child. They always believed that-"

"What are you doing?" I ask, cutting him off.

"Well, you said you couldn't trust me until you knew more about me" Wash says. "So, here we go; life story time."

"You don't have to do that" I say, waving my hand at him.

"I want to" Wash says. "I want to help you, but I can't do that if you're constantly waiting for me to snap and attack. Rho's told me pretty much everything about you and your family, and what you all have been through. It's not right, and I want to do what I can to fix this."

"Why?"

"Because" Wash says, looking away from me. "I turned a blind eye to the crimes going on around me for too long while I was with Project Freelancer. When the project ended, I didn't want to trust anyone. I decided to do whatever it took to distance myself from it. I teamed up with one of the most dangerous beings in the universe, and nearly got the reds and blues killed in the process. And yet, even after everything I did, they saved me. Caboose convinced them to give me a second chance. They kept me out of prison and took me in, gave me a home. They trusted me, even after everything I'd done."

Wash looks at me again. "Aside from the fact that it's the right thing to do, aside from the fact that I want to prevent a war as much as the next guy, I'm doing this for Caboose. I owe him after what he's done for me."

I nod. Carbon may be an idiot, but he's always had one thing that was worth more than any level of intelligence, and that was loyalty. If he gets it in his head that you're his friend, nothing will ever be able to convince him otherwise. I'm glad that Washington realizes this. Not many people give Carbon a chance to prove himself after they first talk to him.

"Still" I say, bringing us back to a former topic, "the back story isn't necessary. It doesn't matter where you've come from or who you've been. What matters is who you are now. And no amount of words will ever convince me of that."

"So, what can I do?" Wash asks.

"That fight earlier" I say. "There was a point where you had a chance to hurt Tinu, not just hit her during the fight, but really hurt her. For a moment, I was afraid you would. But you didn't." I look him in the eye as I speak. "I guess I need to see more of that. Show me you won't hurt my family. That's all I need to trust."

I wait for a response, but none comes. We sit silently beside each other, each consumed in our own thoughts. I try to guess what Washington is thinking of, but my mind comes up blank. I hate not being able to guess his thoughts the way I can with most people. It makes me feel uneasy, vulnerable. I can't anticipate his actions so I can't prepare for what he might do. If he were an enemy, this could be fatal. I silently reprimand myself for thinking like this. He's not my enemy, and I need to stop being paranoid.

"How old are you?" Wash suddenly asks.

I'm so distracted by my own thoughts that for a moment I don't acknowledge the question. When I do, I think I must have misheard. "What?"

"It's just, you seem a little young to be involved in this type of stuff" Wash explains.

"Oh my god, I know I'm short!" I exclaim. "I don't need people to keep pointing it out."

He laughs for a moment, and I decide that I like the sound. There haven't been enough laughs around here lately.

"I'm twenty-seven" I say, once the laughter's died down, "by Earth Standard Years." I look at him, daring him to make a single comment about my age. I know that if I'd had a normal life and joined the UNSC under normal circumstances, it would have been nearly impossible to get rated for Spartan armor while so young. I suppose there are a few perks to being a genetic experiment.

"And the others?" Wash asks, once again serious.

"Carbon, Platinum, Nickel, and the others from their batch are all twenty-one" I answer. "The next group down is fourteen. Then there's Silicon, Francium, and Rubidium, who are each ten."

"You weren't exaggerating when you said they were kids" Wash remarks. There's a pause for a moment as he thinks of something. "Wait, you said Nickel is younger than you?" I nod. "How is that possible? He looks older than me."

"Dr. Han was trying to find a way to make us age faster" I say. "When she made Nick, she altered the section of his DNA that controlled aging. It worked, but there's no way to slow it down. He's only been alive for twenty-one years, but physically he's in his fifties."

"And he'll just keep aging like this?" Wash asks.

"Yep" I sigh. "According to some of mom's notes, he has ten, maybe fifteen years left." My eyes unfocus as I stare into space for a second. "And yet, you'd be hard pressed to find a happier, more content person." I lock eyes with Wash again. "It's not fair, the fact that he has to live every day knowing how little time he has left. It's not fair that there's nothing anyone can do to help him. But in the end it's just another thing that Dr. Han has done to us."

"She'll answer for it" Wash says. "I promise."

I laugh humorlessly. "Oh, she'd better. I won't stop until that woman's behind bars."

First, I want to apologize for making you read through that. Honestly not my favorite chapter that I've written so far. Also, it was a lot longer than most of them, which means it was a pain to edit and revise because it took longer to reread through it. But whatever. At least it's over now.

Anyways, I have a question for all of you. I've written a couple of short side pieces for this story while I've been working on it. It's mostly stuff about Silver growing up in the project, or internal monologue type things for different characters. It's kind of my way of getting into a character's head while writing them. On that note, I was wondering if you'd like to see these pieces. I don't want to put them in the main story, because I feel it would be distracting, but I thought I could do a separate series for all the extras. Would you be interested in seeing something like this? Please let me know either through reviews or private messages.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

-J