1120 Hours, November 7, 2552 (Military Calendar) /

Undetermined Location Within Forerunner Construct Known as Shield World

Will-043 stared down at his hands. Despite the time that had passed, his matte black gloves were still stained with the orange blood of a Hunter. A Hunter whose innards he had ripped out with his bare hands. A Hunter whose mate had very nearly avenged it only moments later.

He glared. If he had thought before moving, maybe things would have ended differently. Maybe he wouldn't have lost two of his closest friends within minutes of each other.

Maybe.

Linda bumped his shoulder, tilting her head in the way she did that said Stop thinking so much. It was still amazing to him how the least talkative of their unit had somehow gained such an innate ability to communicate exactly what she was thinking. In response to her nudge he shrugged one shoulder and continued his slow trek back to basecamp.

"William," Doctor Halsey greeted when the pair returned, rising from the fire where a couple of the younger Spartans were preparing lunch to stalk over in front of them.

Will bristled. She knew how much he hated to be called by his first name. He suspected she even knew the reason - which he himself had long forgotten. And still she insisted. It seemed to him like it was more of a game to her. Proof that she knew her Spartans better than anyone.

Sometimes, it felt like that was all he was good for. A pawn in someone else's game.

"Yes, Doctor?" he asked, keeping his tone as polite as he could through gritted teeth.

Halsey looked down at the omnipresent pad in her hands. "Jerrod tells me that there is a species of flora nearby that might prove helpful in treating a few of these plasma burns. Would you mind fetching me a sample?"

Will nodded. The battle that led them to this shield world had cost them dearly. Too many were dead, and those that survived showed obvious signs of how hard they had to fight to stay that way. 'Yes ma'am," he said. "I'll just need to check in with the Lieutenant and confirm it."

Halsey nodded absentmindedly and wandered off, confident that there would be no reason for him not to go out and do her bidding. That confidence was something of a trademark for her. It most likely came from years on end of being the smartest person in the room.

Will cautiously approached the Lieutenant. A commissioned rank among Spartans was unheard of, but he supposed Kurt must have had his reasons. Still, the newly-commissioned officer seemed entirely uncomfortable with the new honorific attached to their name. The Spartan was sitting a ways from the fire, flanked on either side by Chief Mendez and Ash, the leader of the younger team of Spartans. They were all unhelmeted, seemingly enjoying the warmth of the artificial star of this artificial world.

"Lieutenant," Will said when he reached the group, saluting sharply. "Linda and I have nothing to report from our scouting mission. Doctor Halsey has requested that I retrieve a sample of local plant life for her research."

Lieutenant Kelly-087 nodded, not quite looking up to meet his eyes. "You're free to do so. But no wandering off alone, take someone with you."

Mendez rose to his feet. "I'll join you, Will," he said robustly. "It's about time I stretched my legs anyway." He turned to Kelly to say, "With your permission, ma'am."

Kelly nodded, and the pair moved off. The location was already marked in his armor's nav-system. It was a straight shot some five kilometers a slow jog, it took the pair a little more than twenty minutes to reach it. Immediately upon arriving, Will set about identifying the good doctor's plant and collecting a useful sample for her.

"You look like a man that needs to have a long talk about something," he heard Mendez's gruff voice say behind him.

Will paused, his hand floating aimlessly on the verge of another plant he was considering for Halsey. "I don't know what you mean, Chief," he answered curtly.

"The weight on your shoulders, son. I can see it. I've felt it."

The Spartan practically recoiled. These were certainly unprecedented times for everyone, but getting counseling from the Chief? The idea felt almost antithetical to the man's entire being.

"Only weight I'm carrying is this armor," he said as dismissively as he could. He finished collecting the samples and turned back toward camp. "We better get back before -"

He was cut off by the feeling of a hand on his chest. He looked down and realized that Chief Mendez was standing directly in his way. The old man's eyes were hard and his jaw was set defiantly. "We're going to talk about this whether you want to or not. I don't think any of us can survive an unfamiliar location and a guilty conscience."

Will took a step back to create some separation between them before trying to step around the gray-haired instructor. Mendez simply sidestepped in front of him again.

"Holly is not your fault," the Chief said.

Those few words were enough to knock some of the air from Will's lungs. He could see the young girl in his mind, stepping in front of a blast that was meant for Kelly. He was too slow to save her. He was too slow to save any of them.

Mendez took a step forward, staring into the faceplate of Will's helmet. "Don't feed me something about not feeling guilty, Spartan," he barked. "I can see it in you. I know you do. But you need to know this. Holly's death was not your fault."

The old man paused a second, his gaze finally faltering and turning over Will's shoulder. His eyes lost focus as he seemed to stare at something intangible. "And neither was Fred's."

Will felt his chest tighten. He could smell the acrid smoke of the battlefield. Felt the Hunter's innards squishing sickeningly in his hands. Felt the panic in his body when he realized - too late - that the behemoth's mate had a bead on him. But then he was hit by something. Not by the blast of a plasma cannon like he had expected - rather, he was shoved out of the way. By the time he turned back to see, the Hunter's blast had smashed into Fred with enough force to obliterate his armor.

The other Spartan fell slowly to his knees before tightening his finger on the trigger of the SPNKr rocket launcher in his hand, and both man and beast exploded in a ball of light and a cloud of shrapnel as the rocket made confetti out of them both. He could still hear Kelly's anguished shout as she watched Fred disappear in a ball of destruction. Could still feel the pain in his own chest from knowing that one of his oldest friends had just sacrificed himself for Will's sake.

"He should have let me die, Chief," Will finally choked out, surprising himself with the sincerity of his words. "Fred's been leading this squad for years, whenever John wasn't around. He should have let that Hunter kill me and then taken the shot from a safe distance."

Mendez let out a long sigh and sat down on the ground. When he motioned for Will to join him, the Spartan did.

"Let me tell you something," the old man said slowly. "You lived. You lived when others died. You can agonize over that and beat yourself up for it for the rest of your life." He paused to turn his gaze up to take Will in fully. "Or, you can live up to the sacrifice."

Will looked back down at his hands. Black and olive green, stained by the blood of aliens. He could almost swear that he saw the blood of his fellow Spartans there too.

"Fred obviously thought you were worth saving," Mendez continued softly. "The rest of us know he was right. You make a difference, and the things you fight for stand tall. It's time for you to believe it too." He rose to his feet and stuck his hand out to Will.

Will stood as well, and slowly reached out and shook the instructor's hand.

"It's high time for you to realize, son," Mendez said purposefully, "that you are making a difference. It's time for you to accept it, and to walk proud knowing that it's true."

And with that, the Chief was gone again. Will watched him go for a few moments, letting the old man widen the gap of his lead. Finally he followed the aged soldier back to camp and made his way to deliver the samples straight to the doctor.

"Thank you William," Halsey said as she reached out a hand for the container.

Will paused short of handing it to her. "Actually ma'am, it's ust Will," he corrected politely.

Halsey blinked several times. The corners of her lips curled upwards ever so slightly into a small grin. "Of course, my apologies," she said, far more sincere than Will had expected. "You've certainly more than earned the right to be called by the name of your choosing. Thank you, Will."

The Spartan was nearly shocked. The doctor was not exactly known for her willingness to change. He looked down at his hands again, wondering where exactly the courage to stand up for himself to his mother figure had come from after so many years.

With a sense of calm spreading over him, Will shook his head. Perhaps the Chief was on to something, he started to think. Maybe it was time to see himself like the others did. The Spartan closes his palms into fists.

He had work to do.