"One Small Change, Part Two"
By Kpmh2001
UNSC Cap Trafalgar, Unknown System
Staff Sergeant Benjamin Oliver anxiously checked his mission clock as the hull plating around Onyx Team shuddered and groaned. Whatever was causing the stress on the ship was a mystery that was likely to remain unsolved, at least until Onyx Team's mission was complete. The rest of the squad floated around him in the Cap Trafalgar's primary water tank, which sloshed and jostled as the artificial gravity maintained only a partial effect on it.
They were all equipped with Mark V Mjolnir Powered Armor, an older model from late in the Human-Covenant War that his team had been issued with to simplify logistics and because the newer models were still in development. It was, however, more than sufficient to function for their mission.
The objective was deceptively simple: recapture the UNSC Cap Trafalgar from the hands of the pirate crew that had stolen it. The ship was a fairly compact cargo craft, armed with some point-defense guns and a handful of missiles in line with the rest of the UNSC Merchant Marine. ONI had traced it out to a lawless backwater colony that Pirates and Insurrectionists called "Tortuga," and while the UNSC wasn't in a position to take down the rogue spaceport, they were in a position to recapture a single, valuable ship.
UNSC shipyard archives had a full blueprint layout of the ship's interior, offering up valuable intel for the inevitable boarding action. The habitable section of the ship, dominated by the bridge and crew quarters, was dwarfed by the vast quantities of freight that it was meant to haul in massive underslung cargo containers. As a result, most of the crew would be compacted into two small decks and would hopefully make for easy targets.
Getting aboard the ship was the hard part, but that had been solved thanks to a clever scheme devised by Onyx Team's marksman Sergeant Nathan Winters. His idea was to smuggle themselves aboard in a cargo container erroneously marked with valuables at the spaceport back on the backwater pirate hub at Tortuga. The pirates, predictably, stole the containers and fled with them, blissfully unaware that they'd practically invited a team of Spartans aboard a ship which was not going to be theirs for much longer.
Onyx Team's Squad Leader, Captain Elizabeth Fairfire, waved her hand in front of them all, holding up two fingers. Ben double-checked his mission clock. Two minutes. That was how long they had until things got very chaotic.
"Diagnostics complete on your armor, we're good to go," Curie happily whispered in his Ben's ear, since none of them dared to use radio communications when they were trying to remain undetected. As a result, the only person's voice that he'd heard for the last few hours had been Curie's, but that suited him just fine.
"I still can't believe this plan worked." Ben replied as he did a quick inspection of his M7S Submachine Gun. With some weapons he would've been concerned about water damage, but seeing as the M7 used waterproof caseless ammunition, it would be no more likely to malfunction than normal.
"It hasn't worked yet," Curie reminded him. "Remember, get me into the computer systems as soon as you can; I will be keeping an eye out for an access point."
Ben raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Surely you don't think I've forgotten that?"
"Of course not… and don't call me Shirley," Curie teasingly remarked.
Ben answered her only with a roll of the eyes as he moved into position alongside the rest of Onyx Team. Fairfire took the lead, and would be followed by him, then Meadows, then Yu, and finally Nathan to bring up the rear. All that was left now was to breach, and as Fairfire set the final explosive charge, the rest of them took cover and locked their magnetic boots to the floor. She raised three fingers, then two, then one…
The small charges detonated with a surprising amount of force, tearing a large hole in the side of the water tank and briefly filling the water with so many bubbles and bits of shrapnel and underwater flame that it was impossible to see. However, the water rushed out of the tank and into the spinal maintenance corridor of the lower crew deck with a fury, and within seconds Onyx Team were free of their watery prison.
"Weapons free, go loud!" Fairfire called out over TEAMCOM as she took point. Two pirates, both of whom were Jackals, were the only occupants of the corridor, having been knocked to the ground by the torrent of water and shrapnel. Both reached for their weapons as they saw the Spartans approaching them, but Ben and Fairfire dropped both of them with a few rapid coughs of suppressed gunfire.
"X-Ray down!" Ben called out as they moved forward.
Following the plan, the team split into two as soon as they reached the T-Shaped junction marking the end of the maintenance corridor. Nathan, Meadows, and Yu all took the path leftwards to the crew quarters while Ben followed Fairfire up the ladder, making their way to the bridge as fast as possible. His armored boot nearly slipped on the mildew-covered ladder, revealing that even before they'd blown a hole in the water tank, the ship had already been a dark, humid mess.
"No holotanks so far, it looks like they have been removed," Curie reported, which immediately sent a chill down Ben's spine. Without the ability to insert Curie into the ship's systems, they would have a much more difficult time clearing it. Even worse, the pirates might even decide to self-destruct the ship… with some very obvious consequences for Onyx Team.
There was nothing he could do about it, however, and he and Fairfire quickly reached the first of several major bulkheads between them and the bridge. Unluckily, this one was sealed, making their advance quite a lot slower.
"Ben, lay out charges, here and here!" Fairfire ordered as she deployed a pair of her own, and prepared a flashbang grenade alongside the detonator for the charges. "Breach, breach, breach!"
The charges detonated with a roaring bout of flame, smoke, and shrapnel. What was probably a human pirate on the far side of the door was ripped to ribbons by the blast, while another Jackal and a pair of Grunts respectively were all blinded by the flashbang grenade that Fairfire threw down the hallway, making them easy targets for Ben as he cut them down with his SMG. "Targets down, hallway clear!"
The rest of the team reported similar successes from the crew quarters as their luck thankfully changed, the new few bulkheads had all been left open, leaving only the door to the bridge itself. However, as he and Fairfire approached the door to set more charges, it slid open automatically, revealing an alarming sight. A Brute, likely the Pirate captain, held the blades of a Spiker carbine against the throat of a beaten human hostage, who despite having a bag over their head and being in very poor shape, was still struggling against the Brute holding them captive.
The pirates would more than likely have the ship's self-destruct already counting down by now, and so they were on the clock. There had been no indications in the mission briefing that the pirates would possibly have a hostage, leaving Ben with two options, neither of which were good. Either they could jeopardize the mission, their own lives, and the life of the hostage by holding their fire, perhaps even opening negotiations… or he could take a risk.
And as an old adage from warriors before his time had declared; "Who Dares Wins."
With milliseconds to act, Ben trained his aim and fired off a burst of rounds that punched through the eyes and nose of the Brute, instantly reducing it to a limp husk that fell to the ground. The hostage fell to the ground as well, but hastily set about fishing around on the ground for the spiker that the Brute had dropped. Unaware of whether or not the hostage was likely to turn around and shoot them, Ben kicked the spiker away and clasped one of their hands with his. "UNSC Marines! Don't worry, you're safe!"
Mercifully, the hostage immediately did precisely what they were meant to, and immediately lay still on the ground. Given that they were already bound, Ben didn't have to worry about securing them, and hastily joined Fairfire at the command console.
"Shit, they've armed the self-destruct," Fairfire remarked. "Ben!"
He hastily removed Curie's datachip from his own Neural Lace, slotting her into the terminal as the timer hastily ticked down. "Curie? How's it look?"
"Just a moment…" Curie replied, before the command console emitted an electronic chirp. "Disarmed, we're clear."
Ben let out a sigh of relief as Fairfire turned around, hastily making her way to the hostage's side. "Are you alright? Can you move?"
"Yeah," The man replied, his voice muffled by the bag over his head, but he sounded remarkably calm for a man who had clearly gone through hell. "Are you Spartans?"
"We are, and we're gonna get you home," Fairfire replied, before turning to Ben. "Curie, get this door re-sealed. Ben, get to work on first aid, I'll pull security."
"Yes ma'am," Ben replied, making his way to the hostage's side and cutting the bag off of their head. "Here, look at me Sir."
As Ben hastily worked through a quick medical examination and treated some of the man's more perilous injuries, something that he'd noticed before became far more apparent. The man had been struggling with a Brute, and causing it some difficulty, an impossible feat for any ordinary human… but not a Spartan.
The fact that the man was around Ben's height, even while wearing nothing but rags that had probably at one point been clothes, was the first giveaway. The fact that he was so calm and behaving precisely as somebody in a hostage situation should, calmly following his instructions and moving as little as possible, was also absolutely in-line for a Spartan's behavior. He also had what was clearly the remains of a cybernetic forearm, although it had apparently been broken off at some point, leaving only the metallic stump.
His theorizing, however, could safely wait until they were all back home and the ship was recaptured. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. Before long, Nathan, Yu, and Meadows all came to the bridge, accompanied by a single bound Grunt who had been wise enough to surrender when faced with three Spartans.
"Curie, are we clear?" Ben asked. He figured that he already knew the answer, since she was always good about warning him of potential danger, but it never hurt to give her a reminder.
"We have a very minor atmosphere leak, but it will not be a problem until next week. I can have us back home in fourteen hours," Curie answered.
"Good, get us underway," Fairfire ordered. "Yu, Meadows, Nathan, come with me. We're going to sweep the ship again, just to be safe. Ben, stay here and hold the bridge with Curie."
She was met with a chorus of "Yes ma'am!" as the majority of the squad departed, leaving Ben and Curie with their newly-freed hostage.
There was an odd silence before Curie spoke up, asking the question that was on Ben's mind as well. "What is your name?"
"James-005." He replied, sounding a bit exhausted, but really none the worse for wear. His name confirmed that he was a Spartan, and one of the IIs no less, but Ben didn't recognize him specifically. He knew all of the original class of Spartans from his own training, where he'd studied their operations extensively, but for whatever reason James' name simply didn't ring a bell with him.
"I'm Ben," he said, introducing himself largely as a formality, since Fairfire had already addressed them all by name. "That's Curie."
Ben watched as James steadily looked him over, even sparing a glance towards the command console with Curie in it, before nodding. "New Spartans… that makes sense. I guess I've been gone for a while… What year is it?"
"2556." Ben answered, knowing that it was better to be honest, regardless of whether or not the truth had the potential to be hurtful. "Were you in cryosleep?"
James blinked, his eyes darting around a bit, before he quietly answered. "I must have been… I can't really remember. I think the Covenant had me for a little while, and then something… happened, some kind of internal scuffle. I broke out, met some other prisoners, and then…"
James paused again, clearly struggling a bit.
"Please, do not push yourself, monsieur," Curie told him. "We can get you medical attention once we return to friendly space. I can bring up your service record, perhaps that will shine some answers on where you have been."
James visibly relaxed a bit while Ben continued treating his wounds. By the time he was done, James' entire body was practically covered with bandages, medigel, or a combination of the two. Four of his bones had been broken, including his remaining forearm, making it all the more impressive that he'd been giving the Brute a run for its money.
There was another period of silence before James suddenly asked another question. "Did we win?"
Ben nodded. "Yes, the ship's secure. The rest-"
"No," James interrupted him, not even raising his voice. "I'm sorry, should've said… the war. Is it over?"
Again, Ben nodded. No further clarification was needed. "Yeah, we won… although that doesn't mean the fighting is over."
"It probably never will be," James remarked, a distant look in his eyes. "I know it's a longshot but… my team, do you know any of them? Are they still alive?"
Curie thankfully spoke up. "Several Spartan IIs are still active as of the last update we received from friendly forces, which was only a week ago."
James let out a breath that Ben was fairly certain even he hadn't noticed he was holding. "Good, it was just… I remember Reach didn't end well."
Ben shook his head, even though James wasn't in critical condition, he wasn't going to sit idly by while the older Spartan relived his trauma, no doubt feeling as though he were totally alone. "It's alright Sir, you made it, you're going home."
James nodded, although Ben got the feeling that he wasn't really listening. Given what he'd been through, however, Ben didn't blame him. Even so, he stayed by his predecessor's side while Curie brought them home.
Three Days Later
UNSC Theodore Roosevelt, Epsilon Eridani
Returning the Cap Trafalgar to UNSC space had thankfully been an uneventful affair. Onyx Team handed the ship over to ONI, who had promptly set about sweeping the ship for explosives, tracking devices, and any useful intelligence. Ben wasn't quite sure whether or not they came up with anything, nor even was Curie, since the ship's data banks had nothing out of the ordinary within them.
James was also taken in by some representatives from ONI, who had said something about transferring him to the UNSC Hopeful, a hospital ship that would be more than equipped to help him recover. James had taken the time to thank them all for the rescue personally, and Ben felt fairly optimistic for the man's future.
All in all, despite the handful of minor issues that they'd encountered, the mission had been a resounding success. Ben had never been trained with Counter-terrorist operations in mind, but it was a relief to see firsthand evidence that his skill set was not lacking in the new, Postwar Galaxy that they all now found themselves in.
Granted, he'd have been dead if it weren't for the rest of his team, but he already had enough to be grateful to his friends for. He'd known them even before they'd been accepted into the Spartan IV program, and had even faced off against them during their training. From there, Onyx Team had been officially reactivated and thrown against whatever was annoying the UNSC Marine Corps the most on that particular day.
Yesterday in particular was fairly nice, since the entire team had gotten some much-deserved rest after their mission and thorough debriefing. The UNSC Theodore Roosevelt was an older UNSC Carrier, an Epoch Class, but it still had plenty of places for off-duty soldiers and sailors to relax. There was no better example than the "Great White Fleet," a hybrid bar/lounge that was named after the flotilla of model warships that decorated it, all of which were handmade crafts made by the various crewmembers.
Nathan and Fairfire were, as always, downing shots. Although there was little in the spirit of competition to it anymore, since neither of them could really even get drunk thanks to their augmentations. Yu and Meadows were having a far less exciting conversation about… something, next to the cabinet with all of the model warships. Ben couldn't help but smile behind his visor as even despite his admittedly subpar perception of social cues, he could tell that both of them seemed to subconsciously stand closer together than they probably needed to.
He took a moment to mark his place in the ancient history book that he'd been reading about the actual "Great White Fleet" before he toggled off his speakers and discreetly spoke to his partner. "Hey Curie, what's the pool on those two again?"
A live-counter of the ongoing betting pool came up on his HUD in response. Ten-thousand four-hundred and nineteen credits, with the overwhelming majority of betters placing their stakes on Meadows and Yu getting together at some point. The pool was formed by Nathan and Fairfire at first, after Fairfire openly doubted the idea, although it hadn't taken long for other Marines to join in, along with, rather amusingly, a few of the ONI staff they regularly worked with. So far, Ben had yet to make a contribution.
"You know, I seem to recall you admonishing Nathan for spreading gossip about them…" Curie reminded him, sounding perhaps a bit more surprised than anything.
Ben shook his head. "I'm not spreading gossip, I'm putting down my bet. Ten-thousand credits says one of them asks the other out, probably before our deployment's done."
Curie gasped with shock and dismay at his declaration. "Ten-thousand?!"
Ben found it very hard to resist the urge to highlight how cute she sounded when she was trying, and largely failing, to be angry with him. "Curie, you and I both know I'm never gonna spend the money anyway. Besides, it's not like it's an actual risk."
"I-, You-, urgh!" Curie stammered in response, before adding the credits to the pool, along with an extra two-thousand, presumably from herself. "Fine, you are right. It is not much of a risk at all, is it?"
Ben smiled at having achieved another very rare victory over Curie. "No, it-"
He was interrupted, however, by the ship's intercom coming to life. "Staff Sergeant Oliver, please report to the Captain's Quarters immediately."
He was standing even before the intercom had switched off, waving to his team as Curie chuckled. "It seems like you have been caught."
Ben rolled his eyes, well-aware that he probably wasn't even who the Captain wanted to talk to, and that Curie was probably who was actually needed. "You didn't snitch, did you?"
The two of them exchanged jabs all the way to the Captain's Quarters, where to Ben's surprise, he found the door guarded by a Spartan. The armor was a model that he didn't recognize as well, superficially resembling Mark Vb, but with some noticeable differences. Most prominently, one of his legs and both of his arms were cybernetic prosthetics, albeit very heavy-duty ones. His IFF tag identified him as Soren-066.
Ben raised an eyebrow at the name, and for good reason. Before he and the rest of Gamma Company were augmented, they had all watched videos demonstrating what happened to the Spartan II washouts, and one of Ben's vague memories suggested that Soren had been among them. Put simply, Ben was looking at a dead man.
Maybe Kurt was right, apparently Spartans really don't ever die. Ben thought, feeling more than a little depressed at the sad irony of that statement. He'd been heartbroken to learn that his old mentor was killed during the Onyx Conflict, and while he was technically missing in action, he'd been on Onyx when it was destroyed. There was little doubt about his ultimate fate.
"Staff Sergeant," Soren addressed him, before stepping to the side of the door and gesturing for him to enter. Ben wordlessly nodded and stepped through the open door, only to be hit with another wave of nostalgia as he recognized the man standing in the Captain's Quarters.
Standing at attention, Ben gave a firm salute. "Admiral, Sir."
"At ease, Spartan," Richard replied with a broad smile on his face, which somewhat faltered as he looked Ben over. "Have they really not given you a new set of armor yet?"
Ben shrugged. "It works well, and has part interchangeability with my squad. Also, Curie's used to it."
"He is right, I would have to get used to a new Operating System if we upgraded…" Curie remarked. "It is very good to see you alive and well, monsieur Richard. I hope that your new station is not giving you any undue stress."
"Heh, no more than normal, thankfully," Richard replied. "How have you both been holding up? I know your team's been quite busy lately."
"We've managed," Ben nonchalantly said, although privately even he was starting to get a bit weary after six straight months of Counter-Terror operations.
"So I've seen," Richard gestured to the large pile of paperwork he'd brought along with him. "Now, as much as I'd love to stay and catch up, I'm afraid I'm on a tight schedule at the moment. I have a new mission for your team, but more specifically, you and Curie."
Ben nodded. He'd figured as much, and although he did lament not getting to speak more with his mentor and friend, he recognized that Richard's position as CINCONI made that a very unrealistic prospect. "I'm all ears Sir but… shouldn't Captain Fairfire be here to hear this?"
"She'll receive her own briefing, but I wanted to speak to you in person because your mission is going to be a little bit different," Richard explained. "First of all, all of you are being transferred to the Security Team on Trevelyan. They've been having some difficulty lately with the Forerunner security systems there, and have requested some Spartans to back them up."
A chill ran down Ben's spine at the idea of returning to the closest thing he'd ever had to a home, or at least, whatever was left of it. Trevelyan, named in honor of Kurt, was a Dyson Sphere that had at one point been contained within Onyx itself via some kind of Forerunner technology. He knew that the UNSC had a joint research program going on inside Trevelyan with the Swords of Sanghelios, but he hadn't expected to ever return.
"We are going back to Onyx?" Curie asked, expressing similar doubts. "I imagine that the name of our team may cause some confusion."
"We've thought of that," Richard reassured her. "Which is why for the moment, we'll be disbanding your team on an operational level and folding you directly into the Research Station's security detachment. Once your work on Trevelyan is complete, you'll get your name back."
Ben nodded. Although he'd admittedly grown a somewhat sentimental attachment to his team's name, he understood that it was a necessary move to reduce confusion. "We're creative, we'll come up with a new one."
Richard's smile briefly returned at Ben's remark before he got back to business. "As for you, Ben, you will be taking over for another Spartan as the handler of Doctor Catherine Halsey."
His eyes widened. Everybody in the UNSC knew who she was, although Ben probably knew a lot better than most. Her reputation as the head of the Spartan Project made her as legendary as she was infamous, and Ben was just as surprised to learn that she was still alive as he was with his new assignment.
Naturally, being a bodyguard was hardly the mission he'd been hoping for, and Richard seemed perceptive of that. "Now I know that babysitting is an unpopular assignment, but remember that you're looking after one of the most important assets to Humanity… and also Doctor Halsey."
Ben couldn't help but chuckle at Richard's cheeky comment while Curie spoke up. "Mon Dieu… not you too! Ben has already taken to trying to make me blush at every available opportunity, why must you encourage him?"
"Give me a little credit, Curie, the Admiralty's got no sense of humor…" Richard defended himself with a sly grin on his face. "Now, as for why you… first of all, I need somebody who knows how to follow the rules to make sure that Halsey does, and I know you do that even better than most Spartans."
Ben nodded. While others might've viewed him as a stick in the mud, he took pride in his discipline. "I'll make sure she behaves."
"Good, now as for the second…" Richard continued, "from the first day I took over as CINCONI, Doctor Halsey has sent me a request to speak with Curie every week for the last fifteen months because she is convinced that Curie is the key to the next breakthrough towards extending the lifespan of AIs. While I have been advised not to trust her, I also have good reason to believe that she's right, and so she'll be permitted her interview, but so far, nothing else."
The scowl on Richard's face, combined with Halsey's own reputation for taking a less than ethical attitude towards research, made it very clear to Ben why Richard had clearly been hesitating. "Like I said, I'll make sure she behaves."
Richard nodded. "I'll have Halsey's full file given to Curie shortly here, so you'll know what to expect. I cannot overstate the importance of this assignment. I know you won't let me down."
Richard's datapad made an electronic chirp, and he sighed with frustration. "I'm afraid that's my cue. Don't worry you two, the next time we speak, I'll make sure we have the time for a proper visit."
"We will both look forward to it, monsieur Richard," Curie said. "Take care!"
"Likewise you two!" Richard remarked.
Their old friend and mentor strode out without another word, carrying with him all of the paperwork that he'd brought, leaving Ben and Curie with a moment to reflect. "What do you think Ben, are you ready to go meet Doctor Halsey?"
Truth be told, he was thinking quite a lot. A lot of his thoughts naturally had to do with Doctor Halsey, as he tried to sort memories about her from his education as a Spartan III from all of the rumors he'd overheard in recent years. How much of it was all true, he couldn't say, but those weren't really the thoughts that bugged him the most.
His mind lingered back onto Kurt, and how he'd felt when he learned about his death. Neither he nor Curie had known Kurt as well as they had Richard, but he had still been a dear friend, and a good person who had done so much not just for them, but for Humanity as a whole.
Curie must've noticed something off with his biometrics, or perhaps more likely, simply picked up on his sorrowful mood more naturally. "I am sorry, Ben. I should have realized this is probably a difficult subject for you."
"...I never really thought I'd ever go back home… or to what's left of it." Ben said, a bit more quietly than even he'd intended. "What about you Curie? Onyx was your home too."
"I never truly saw it as such." Curie admitted. "I have lived practically my entire life within your neural lace and your armor. You are my home, Ben."
Her words inspired a relieving, warm feeling to fill his chest that helped to stifle the somber cold in his blood. From an outsider's perspective, Curie's words may have seemed a bit more literal, but he knew what she actually meant. "Thank you, Curie."
"I will be with you every step of the way," she reassured him. "Shall we go inform our squad that we have lost our name?"
She was trying to distract him, and he knew that, but the effort was very much appreciated. "Good thinking. Got any ideas for a new one?"
"Fourteen-thousand," she happily replied as he stepped out of the Captain's Quarters, noticing that Soren had apparently gone with Richard. "Shall I start listing my suggestions?"
Ben couldn't help but roll his eyes and grin. "Sure, I've got time. Are these your own ideas?"
"Nope. I picked them out from stories on the Waypoint about Spartans… all fictional." Curie answered. "I've got Hammerhead, Hermes, Warhammer, Broadsword, Anvil-"
She kept going as Ben continued the walk back to the Great White Fleet, and before long, Ben had forgotten all about what it was that he was worried about, at least for the moment.
Author's Notes: I had a lot more ideas for this sort of AU this is becoming as I was writing this. I'm not sure when the next part will come out, or how many there will be in total, but I've been having fun with these in general. I hope you've enjoyed them as well!
Oh, and if you haven't read "Things could've been different," as well, I'm considering that canon to this.
