My apologies for the long delay and short chapter--writer's block has struck again. Add in classes and Christmas and all that other stuff, and I'm waaaaaayyyyy behind. Oh well, hopefully things will pick up in future. Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo.

Chapter Twelve: Speculation

Just as Laura turned to leave, Dr. Halsey asked, "Who's their father?"

There was a lot that went into a SPARTAN-IIs training regimen, and one of the most important was reading a person's body language; it could give a really good clue as to what your enemy might be thinking or planning. Some signs were obvious, others more subtle; in this case, Fred didn't even need to look. Laura stopped dead in her tracks, her shoulders stiffened, and tension spread through every muscle in her body; he could've sworn he heard her teeth grinding together. When she finally spoke, her voice was thick with tension…and barely disguised fear.

"Best you don't know. The less you know, the safer you'll be—ONI will stoop to just about anything. Don't ask me again."

April 24, 2558, two hours later

UNSC Reserve Base Camp Hayes

North America

The Spartans were about as moved in as possible into their new quarters; General West had reserved a bunkhouse specifically for them, and had set up two partitioned areas for Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez to use if they wanted. Now they were all grouped together, SPARTAN-IIs, -IIIs, and the two instructors, and contemplating their new situation.

"If you ask me, that Blade woman needs some discipline," Mendez was saying. "No self-respecting soldier would pull off half the things she's done."

"No, but then again, no single soldier has been stuck fighting ONI for as long as she has on her own," Fred countered; since he was now a Lieutenant, he could get away with saying that to his old CO. "She's spent a lot of time trying to stay one step ahead of them, and so far has done pretty well in that regard."

"I take it you know this…Blade?" Dr. Halsey cut in.

"Partly. ONI sent us here shortly after we made it back from taking out that Covenant battlegroup. They wanted us to work with her to capture a Covenant vessel and bring it back intact for analysis. It took a while for her to trust any of us."

"The feeling was mutual, Fred, or don't you remember?" Linda cut in, a rare smile splitting her face. "Either you didn't trust her, or you hated her guts—probably the latter. She beat him in martial arts," there were chuckles from around the room, "got him in a position where he couldn't fight back, and he hated her for the longest time ever since."

"You would too, if she'd threatened your life," Fred muttered darkly, the edges of his ears tinged a very faint pink.

"Again, can you blame her? She thought we were trying to kill her, on ONI's orders, no less. Considering what was going on at the time, she had every reason to make a preemptive strike." Linda shook her head. "She was the first of us, Dr. Halsey, though ONI will never admit she exists."

"The first?" Dr. Halsey began, then stopped, remembering the early stages of the SPARTAN-II project: reports from Earth confirming and advising her theories, and the report generated on the "simulations" for the augmentations. Recalling an ONI reference to a test case with 'a number of psychological flaws' during a visit to Reach helped the last piece fall into place: the mysterious Blade was the test case ONI had used. No wonder she's bitter.

"It gets better," Fred picked up where Linda had stopped. "ONI apparently decided to eliminate her once the real SPARTAN-IIs started racking up successes, deciding she was 'no longer necessary' to the project. They've been trying to kill her for years."

"Laura's not gonna like it if she finds out you've been talking about her, you know," a familiar, teasing voice echoed. The group looked up to see an AI swirl into being over a holographic pad: long, flowing, brown hair, a blue and silver dress, and a silver circlet with one blue stone. Laura's voice echoed out as the AI spoke.

"Yeah, she'd be furious if she knew you were discussing her behind her back." The AI giggled, mirth glinting in dark eyes.

"Lorienna, I presume," Dr. Halsey stated, prompting another giggle from the AI.

"You presume correctly, Dr. Halsey. I recognize you from your files. And the SPARTAN-IIs, IIIs, and Chief Petty Officer Mendez." She winked at the various shocked faces. "Laura and I try to keep on top of things. Speaking of which, I'm being called—I'll harass you later." With a final wink, the AI vanished.

"Strange AI," Mark voiced from the corner, his fellow S-IIIs nodding in agreement.

"No stranger than her creator—which I'm sure you know who that is," John's voice broke in from the doorway; the massive Spartan moved through and plopped down onto an empty bunk. "Ugh, I'd forgotten how horrible these bunks actually were—years of sleeping in the dirt make you forget a lot."

Fred chuckled. "Yeah, like rocks. Hard to believe people actually sleep on these."

Laughter rang outside the bunkhouse, prompting them to glance out the windows—once they saw the two youngsters outside, they shook their heads.

"I thought Laura was disciplining those two," Mendez commented.

"She tries, but I think they're too much like their mother for their own good," John replied. "From the way her mom and brother talk, she was the same way at that age, and then some."

"I have to wonder, John—since you know so much about Laura, do you know who fathered her kids?" Dr. Halsey's question was a bit surprising, but expected.

"Yes, but she's asked me not to talk about it."

Meanwhile…

"What are two youngsters like you doing out alone, eh?"

"Mommy said we could play here if we stayed where she could see us," Kelly answered, her four-year-old voice sounding insulted that someone would question her.

"But what if I told you your mommy wasn't there anymore, that someone took her away?" The man was doing a good job of fooling the youngsters.

"Where's Mommy? Can you help us find her?" Sam was adamant.

"Of course. I'll take you to your mommy," he answered reassuringly. And then we'll see how motivated she is to listen to orders now, once she sees your with me, he thought. Finally, Ackerson was convinced he had the upper hand.