Garrett was still confused with his new promotion to Master Chief. He was far younger than Fred, had less experience, and until now had never met another Spartan, let alone commanded a squad of them.
"Ma'am, permission to speak freely?" Garrett asked Halsey.
"go ahead Garrett, what is it you want to talk about?" Halsey said in a soothing voice, almost like a mother to a child.
"for what reason was this promotion? the effects that granted it seem weak to me" Garrett bluntly stated.
"your actions are to be commended Garrett, that is all there is to it" Halsey tried to hide behind the thin wall of lies.
"ma'am, I believe you are hiding something. Would you please tell me what it is? The other Spartans have more than likely doubled my commission record of heroic deeds as well as fought on more than half the Human Empire's planets, I highly doubt my promotion was placed on me due to a few actions I have taken" Garrett said.
Halsey sighed.
"as Majah said, you always do see through lies. I guess the neuro toxin has worn off by now from the Revenants. Very well, I shall explain it to you" Halsey said as she took off her glasses and placed them on the computer table before rubbing the bridge of her nose. The others gathered around to listen.
"the reason for your promotion is two fold. First off, you are partly telepathic, meaning you can read others minds and gather information not always available to others, quickening your actions and producing desired effects earlier than the other Spartans. This means you can see future events before the enemy can act on them, and counter those events with your own tactics. Second, is this" Halsey said as she pressed a button.
A holo screen popped up, and on it was placed a tech built into his armor.
"this is a neural psionic wave link system, it was specifically designed with you in mind. It allows you to bridge your thoughts to the other Spartans under your command, allowing all of you to think what you wish to say to the others before actually saying it" the doctor explained.
"does this mean they can read my mind as well?" Garrett asked.
"not exactly. This has a blocker control that keeps unwanted thoughts from being sent to the others in the squad, allowing you to keep unwanted information away from others. You will not be able to read each other's minds, simply act on thoughts supposedly "said out loud" what you think towards the others will be told to others, and what you wish to be kept hidden will stay that way. It's taken a great deal of effort to program that into the device, but I'm confident it should work as intended" Halsey finished.
"so… how does it work?" Fred asked from behind.
"we haven't activated yet, we wanted to make sure the original MJOLNIR armor setup was functioning properly before moving onto the new technology and weaponry" Halsey replied.
"alright. How do we start it up?" Garrett asked.
"come over here Garrett, I'll set it up" Majah said as she typed away on her laptop. All the Spartans walked over to her as she booted up the S.P.Y. OS.
"running program log in in 3, 2, 1" Majah said just as all of their minds filled with voices.
"Holy shit you guys are loud!" Garrett thought out towards the others.
"whoa, is this what it feels like to hear other people's thoughts? Kinda… annoying" Fred thought.
"hey Linda, is that you I sense? What the hell? Wow, I can actually tell whose thinking what!" Kelly exclaimed in her head.
"This is weird. We can think faster than we can use hand signals or vocals. We'll have to relearn all of our battle tactics, squad links, I don't even think com gear is needed anymore between us" Fred thought.
"you guys are gonna have to train me in on your fighting style, I'm used to being a lone wolf aside from some ODSTs. Fill me in along the way" Garrett said to everyone, apologizing.
"don't worry sir, we'll fill you in quick. I wonder…" Fred thought out as Garrett gasped.
"whoa… that's… those are your tactics?" Garrett exclaimed through his thoughts.
"uh… did I seriously think that towards you?" Fred asked.
"I think you just did… it's ok though. At least… that was pretty quick…" Garrett thought.
"all I did was remember all of our training missions from when we were kids… I guess they got transmitted to you through the link. Wow, ok, so what now?" Fred asked.
"um, guys? Are you all ok? You all went quiet all of a sudden" Majah asked.
"sorry, we were… having a conversation" Garrett told her.
"so it worked?!" Allen asked, amazed.
"yes, quite well in fact" Fred responded.
"Linda. Something I need to tell you" Garrett said.
"something wrong sir?" Linda replied.
"nothing is wrong, just interesting. Focus on me for a second" Garrett told her. She focused on him slightly as he cleared his thoughts.
"unbelievable…" she whispered.
"what? What's unbelievable?" Mathews asked, confused as hell.
"I saw what Garrett was seeing, looked through his eyes… we can tell if one of us is in trouble, gain a sight lock on someone up close, fix our firing trajectories, relocate quickly if hostiles are sighted. This brings a whole new view of battle tactics, no pun intended sir" Linda said.
"this is going to take some getting used to" Kelly mumbled.
"the feeling is mutual" Garrett told her.
"ma'am? You said there were other new technologies we were to train in?" Garrett asked Halsey.
"yes, one of which Garrett already knows of, the Sub Space Armory. Each of you has one now, so it shouldn't be much of a problem to regain ammunition, a vehicle, swap weaponry or evacuate while cut off from others. However, the new weaponry is in a special pod in the research bay. Follow me" Halsey told them. The Spartans filed in and walked behind her, the others walking behind the large soldiers.
The huge Spartans ducked under the frame of the doorway and entered the research bay, before coming to a weapons pod. The green egg opened as if sensing the super soldiers, and hissed as it's doors splayed wide.
"these are your new standard issue rifles, specifically designed for Spartans" Halsey stated as Garrett picked one up, the designation number of "D-3" was etched on their sides. Each rifle was olive colored, with a fairly large barrel, as each rifle was the size and thickness of their own leg. The handle was placed in the middle of the rifle, with the trigger being covered by the back half of what looked to be an underslung grenade launcher. Even as Garrett studied the new weapon, he realized it was slightly heavy, even while wearing his armor.
"the stock was designed with balance in mind, as it is entirely recoilless. It has a magazine of sixty rounds, and can fire the entire clip in quick succession in less than three seconds. Each round is a 9mm caseless neutron cell condensed by an electro-magnetic railing system. In effect, each round is equally effective at damaging shields, armor, and flesh alike. It has three different variation capabilities for it's main firing ammunition, anti personnel for unarmored targets like flood, standard issue for general fighting, and armor piercing for anti vehicular combat. However, due to the small rounds, I would still highly suggest using other weaponry to take out a tank Spartans" Halsey chuckled, knowing they would do it as a last resort. She continued with her explanation.
"the underslung multi clip rail attachment is capable of firing multiple different shells. It is capable of being loaded with shotgun shells for close combat, a grenade for explosive detonation, and multiple variants of said original grenade" Halsey told them.
"variants?" Garrett asked.
"you wouldn't believe the listing of different grenades I'm seeing on my visor Garrett" Fred thought to him.
"what the hell? An incendiary grenade… that's new…" Tom thought.
"looks like it's built off the tech of the old Plasma grenades. Might be useful" Kelly thought.
"sir?" Lucy thought specifically at Garrett.
"Lucy, is that you? I… I thought…you didn't speak?" Garrett asked.
"I… don't know why I don't sir… just wanted to say… thank you. I can at least communicate without always making hand gestures" Lucy said. Her voice sounded young, quite young, despite her age still being older than Garrett. It was soft, and nervous, but still had courage in the background.
"thank Majah, Lucy, not me. I'm just being used as a server really" Garrett responded.
"understood sir" Lucy replied.
Lucy looked at Majah who glanced up and saw the Spartan motion towards her.
"is something wrong, er, Spartan? Lucy wasn't it?" Majah asked.
Lucy nodded and motioned with her hands in sign language to her.
"I… don't understand…" Majah said as she looked around for guidance.
"she's just saying thanks for the link up, she can speak… sort of" Garrett told her.
"oh! Um… you're… welcome?" Majah said, confused. Lucy nodded, expecting a better response but satisfied with what she got.
"has anyone seen KOS-MOS?" Shion suddenly asked as they looked over the new weaponry. Everyone looked at one another.
"she's not in the ship, she's isn't registering on the life signs. She must be out in the Dammerung" Hammer told everyone.
"alone? That's not like her usually… we should check with Miyuki, she might be able to track her" Shion said.
"eh, that might be a problem, the fight we had when those soldiers try to board the ship damaged the internal sensors, it might be hard to repair them for a while" Allen told her.
"guess we could do a search party" Chaos said.
"wait! Uh oh… T-elos isn't on board the Elsa anymore either… you don't think…" Jr. started to say.
"they wouldn't be fighting each other would they?" Momo asked.
"I wouldn't put it past T-elos to push KOS-MOS over the breaking point with her snobbish attitude" Archerson grumbled.
"KOS-MOS isn't the type to break like that though, not without good reason" Garrett responded.
"she might… have one…" Shion whispered, but Garrett overheard.
"Care to explain what it is you are referring to?" Garrett's thought burst into Shion's and she jumped back in surprise with everyone watching.
"Shion? Is everything alright?" Allen asked.
"I'm… fine… don't worry…" Shion told him, and he eased back a bit.
"what do you mean? how?… never mind, why do you ask?" She thought, wondering if he could hear her thoughts.
"why would she have a reason to fight T-elos when we have a fragile alliance with her?" Garrett asked.
"it's… I don't want to tell about it… it's something KOS-MOS should talk to you about in her own time…" Shion tried to hide the information.
"Shion, if you don't tell me the important information, I will have no choice but to take it from your mind. If it helps find her inside the ship, with her unusual actions she might be in danger. Albert's forces could still be masquerading on board the ship as federation soldiers. Now tell me" Garrett seemed to be sternly telling her.
"What? You wouldn't! you'd be violating my mind! Stay out of it! Please don't make me tell… it's very important I don't… it won't hurt anyone… it's just personal… that's all…" Shion told him.
"personal? And you are saying it would have no effect on finding her?" Garrett asked, curious.
"she can tell you in her own words, if she's ready. Just don't…don't hurt her. Be nice to her, please. I shouldn't even be telling you this. Please stop this. Respect my privacy" Shion asked.
"alright. I'll stop" Garrett said and with that he scanned her mind. He had to.
"we'll set out to find her, it shouldn't be too difficult with the sensor upgrades on the armor" Garrett told everyone as Shion stared at him.
"are you sure? We could just wait for her to come back" Halsey told him.
"somehow I don't think this is normal. We should find her. Once everyone is back on board we can depart and attempt to gain a foothold on the Ark" Garrett told her.
"alright, but keep me updated" Halsey told him.
"understood ma'am" Garrett replied, and with that, the Spartans set out into the Dammerung to find KOS-MOS.
-------------------------
Meanwhile
-------------------------
KOS-MOS and T-elos battled quickly through the Dammerung, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as they traded gunfire for melee then back again.
"how long do you plan on being someone's puppet KOS-MOS? How long do you intend on being such a spineless living creature in this world?" T-elos yelled out to the blue haired woman.
"shut up! I'm not spineless! I have enough guts to fight you don't I?!" KOS-MOS yelled before throwing her combat knife held in her boot, only to have it deflect off a wall behind T-elos as she dodged.
"you mean to say you have courage to stand on your own? You cannot even bring yourself to tell the man you thought you loved your feelings!" T-elos cackled.
"I… he's… sometimes you can love someone enough to let them be with another person… even if it hurts so much not being with them, it… makes it worthwhile if he's happy for once in his life…" KOS-MOS said softly.
T-elos was silent for a few seconds as KOS-MOS came to her conclusion. She still loved Garrett, but she realized she couldn't have him.
"so your just going to give up? As I said, spineless. You'll simply drift away in the future with that attitude" T-elos smirked.
"and what is with your attitude? You always think you're superior to others, trying to make your own path into the future. You say I'm just gonna drift off into nothing, when in fact no one will even dare go near you! They don't even fear you, they just don't want to be near such a hateful creature!" KOS-MOS yelled out before rushing T-elos. T-elos dodged and counterattacked, flipping KOS-MOS onto her back before planting her heel onto her chest, pinning her. KOS-MOS struggled to get free as T-elos ignited her blade.
"and why else would I act nice? For what reason would I want to stay… like her? You keep fighting to be an equal, but all you prove is you're a shadow of her, not striking out on your own" T-elos growled down at her.
"somehow I believe most people would consider your path to be lashing out at parental guidance T-elos. It's called rebellion, and it's what teenagers do. We are not teenagers, and we are not little children! Stop trying to fight against the unknown!… unless… you're afraid…" KOS-MOS snapped back. T-elos deactivated her blade and stared down into red eyes.
"the unknown is to be feared KOS-MOS. It has nothing made for us yet. While Mirie has what she desires, a new world, her lover, we have nothing. We are sisters of the same destructive end, to fight, to die, nothing more than tools. What else do you expect me to do? Simply sit back and let the universe ignore me?" T-elos barked down at her.
"sometimes friends can build you into something you never expected, something you should work for instead of fighting against those who would help you" KOS-MOS yelped out as she struggled to break free.
"and you should realize sometimes a heavy hand is needed to build you from the meek toy you once were" T-elos softly said. KOS-MOS stopped struggling and looked up, T-elos simply staring down at her as she moved her foot from her chest.
"what do you mean?" KOS-MOS asked.
"oh come on KOS-MOS! We are of the same blood now! How long have I tried to shove this information into your thick skull! If we are of similar birth, of similar life and similar soul, would you not think we could not hold the same reaction to each other? Same emotions? Same respect?" T-elos explained.
"respect?… what do you mean by that?" KOS-MOS asked.
T-elos backed away a few feet.
"you said we are sisters… respect of another… we're twins… you lash out because you want to be different, and you are frustrated because I… just want to help…" KOS-MOS said.
"I fight because I'm furious with where it has gotten you! Nowhere! You are still just some little puppet used in combat while others overlook you! I won't be like that and neither should you! You… shouldn't protect those who don't care about you… who would sacrifice you in a heartbeat…" T-elos said softly.
"this must be what Shion had once said to me long ago, of what sisterly, or brotherly love is. You are worried about me aren't you?" KOS-MOS asked.
"you? Hah! As if… the pain you want to carry, your little swoon over a boy, disgusting. I simply don't want you to pull me down with your foolish actions" T-elos mocked, though the tone she trailed off with told otherwise.
"I guess I'll take that as a yes…" KOS-MOS smiled.
T-elos looked at KOS-MOS out of the corner of her eye then sighed and scoffed.
"if you tell anyone I will deny it, then immediately kill you before you even have a chance to run" T-elos growled at her. KOS-MOS chuckled as T-elos stood over her, before offering her hand down to her sister.
"don't screw it up. Make your life yours, not hers. I hope you know what your doing, I will not be there to save your unraveling life should you make such a horrible mistake" T-elos said as KOS-MOS took her hand and stood up.
"I won't. thank you" KOS-MOS laughed out, making T-elos look away and try and look angry.
"you have to be kidding me…" T-elos suddenly yelled out. In the distance, sitting on a bench, were 3 Spartans, all watching them.
"nice show wasn't it Garrett?" Fred laughed hard.
"I have no idea what I'm going to say to her… other than NO… not going to happen… she's a nice girl and all but… no" Garrett replied.
"what's wrong? Afraid of having two girlfriends?" Kelly quipped.
"polygamy isn't something I'd like to test Kelly, and frankly I don't think I could see KOS-MOS in that light… she's a good friend, a close friend but still just a friend. It isn't going anywhere past that. Besides, we ship out once we finish this fight and return home" Garrett growled through his thoughts.
"ah, be glad to see Earth the way it's supposed to be for us" Kelly thought.
"One problem. I hope T-elos doesn't go hostile suddenly on us, sitting on this bench like so-" Garrett thought before being cut off.
"YOU'VE BEEN SITTING THERE FOR HOW LONG?!" T-elos roared out, and all three Spartans dropped to a combat stance, their new rifles about to be raised.
"about thirteen minutes, give or take" Kelly replied.
"do our armories shoot popcorn and soda out? Wonder which listing I need to go for… c rations maybe?" Fred asked.
"can it you two. Alright, we've watched enough. Sorry for the eavesdropping but we were in the neighborhood and thought to escort you two back to the Elsa. We'll be dropping in a bit and it's not like we'll be coming back if we can help it" Garrett said as he stood up.
"tranq is ready sir, should I hit her?" Linda thought.
"mmm, hold that shot, if she rushes or pulls anything, THEN shoot. I know we're equipped now and all but I don't want to test the armor quite just yet in a battlefield situation… especially in an urban housing zone…" Garrett thought as he looked around the apartments and houses surrounding them.
"you militaristic, egotistical, overgrown alien infested bastards watched us?!" T-elos growled.
"well, not like we were gonna get in the way of that heartfelt talk… oh, and the Elsa recorded the whole conversation, just a heads up" Fred said, smiling under his visor.
T-elos was shocked.
"stop hiding it you two, about time you both acted human. Let's get going" Garrett said as he walked down the street.
"human! I wouldn't… I…" T-elos tried to finish but was cut short with a sneeze.
"looks like someone's catching a cold. Fighting in the rain can do that to people if they don't wear a coat. should be more careful" Garrett said as he walked straight up to both women.
"Garrett… I…" KOS-MOS tried to explain but stopped. He already knew. She looked away, defeated.
"KOS, I came here to pick up two friends we considered lost and needed to be gotten back. Are you two those friends or not?" Garrett asked her. She looked up at the golden visor as he offered his hand to her.
"I'm not looking for Majah, she's back at the ship. Are you two those friends KOS-MOS?" Garrett asked again. KOS-MOS smiled.
"last time I checked, yes I was. Thank you" she said as she took his hand.
"alright then. T-elos?" Garret asked.
"you insignificant… grrr…" T-elos growled.
"I'd take his other hand in symbolic friendship if I were you T-elos, we Spartans don't usually offer it a second time" Fred sternly said.
T-elos looked down at the armored gloved hand and took it after a minute of hesitation.
"alright, let's get back to the ship" Garrett said before releasing his handshakes with the girls.
"Linda, mission abort, no need" Garrett suddenly said as three Spartans walked towards a Shadow hover transport. Linda decloaked and walked towards the Shadow, engaging the safety of her sniper rifle.
"wait, Linda saw it as well?" KOS-MOS asked as she tried to keep up with the long strides Garrett took.
"Snipers are needed in all occasions, even family feuds" Garrett quipped.
The group ended the conversation and headed back to the Elsa.