Ariane paced her room, worried sick. Barely a couple days passed and she was already worried about Elster not even doing so much as sending a message. Some part of Ariane told her that the situation was gonna get worse, but she wanted to be positive. Maybe she was just working on repairing the stuff the UNSC Division she was assigned to asked her to repair. Maybe she was just overall busy running errands as she heard most Armies do to new Rookies. A light hazing of sorts. Hopefully nothing too bad.
Ugh, it didn't make sense, though. She'd have, at the very least, sent a message via one of the UNSC's tablets. Ariane had gotten hers just before Elster departed for her new duty station at Camp Charlie and Halsey had told her Charlie had one of the most secure com networks in the Vieri territory. Elster would've called by now. Something didn't sit right with Ariane.
And it seemed somebody could tell. She had long-ago noted the camera set up in her room to provide supervision of ONI's newest acquired asset. Hell, she knew from the forbidden books she read how ONI-like organizations behaved around new 'Assets' like herself or Elster, which just brought into question why in God's name did ONI approve Elster's transfer to a military unit? You'd think they wanted to study her kind of like Halsey was doing the non-invasive brain scans and stuff on the resident Bioresonant.
She sighed and plopped herself down onto the double bed, rubbing her face. The room was surprisingly comfortable for what was, in fact, the underground section of a UNSC Top-Secret Facility in a frickin' mountain. The absurdity of this entire situation struck the young woman, finally, and her heart began to race. They'd somehow arrived in a whole new Solar System, been rescued by a patrol vessel belonging to a highly-advanced, space-travel-capable Humanity that, however, lacked the ability to create Replikas or use Bioresonance, rather focusing on tech, and now she was stuck, being tested on, in these alien humans' base.
Concern, however, immediately turned to excitement, an ear-to-ear smile forming on Ariane's face as she processed the matter at hand. This was freaking awesome. Oh, she couldn't wait to get back home, honestly, tell Isa and Erika about this entire mess! Maybe these guys would help them against the Empire, maybe even help induct Eusan into their rank and file as a free nation!
She hummed as her mind then wandered to the War at hand, remembering what Doctor Halsey had deemed fit to show them so they could more easily understand the context. She felt a lump in her throat as the images of the Covenant's relentless genocide of mankind played back in her mind. So many glassings, so many deaths. She knew Elster had seen the total numbers of casualties, but hadn't gotten to ask her about it, nor see them for herself, considering her Replika lover had shielded her eyes.
The reveal that those books she read, the ones portraying Humanity's fight against the Alien, proved to be right sorta hurt. Because she'd honestly always hoped to see if there was other life beyond their little Solar System. That there was and it was both humans and aliens now terrified the young woman. That those humans and aliens were at war, what was tantamount to a war of survival for her own kin, was heartbreaking.
She sighed and squelched the thoughts, taking deep breaths to calm herself, before rubbing her face and murmuring to herself, "Elster... What's going on...?"
"Seems like someone's having a bad day," Spoke a familiar voice, though it was of slightly higher pitch and more jovial than that of the person that first came to mind. Ariane yelped and jumped, nearly falling off her bed in the process. The figure spoke, "Woah, woah, woah, relax..." as she finally materialized. A holographic display on the desk ahead of Ariane lit up and the purple avatar of a female form appeared, hands on her hips and a soft smile on her face.
"... C-Cortana?" Ariane paused. Halsey had warned her that her two AI companions, one of which was being prepared for a very important operation(AKA the one that was ahead of her), were quite capable of just roaming around the Base's systems on their own, some times popping in to do some stuff here or there. It had still spooked the everloving life outta her, though.
Opening her arms as a way of greeting, as if asking for a hug, the diminutive Avatar spoke to her, "The one and only." With a slight air of smugness, before her face turned back to its previous smile. She dida quick diagnostic, her avatar glowing a faint green as she inquired, "Ariane, right?" now jovial. Of course, she probably had files on Ariane, as well. Anything Halsey wrote and received. She just wanted to do small-talk.
"Yeah... Hi..." Ariane breathed a sigh of relief, clutching her chest. She breathed in, then out and said with a half-smile, "You scared me..." as she pulled herself back to a proper seated position. She examined the strings of numbers running across Cortana's holographic body, noting several things:She was an interesting one. She resembled Doctor Halsey quite well. She was cute. That last bit caused a faint red tint in the Bioresonant's cheeks, but she quickly suppressed it, thinking back on Elster. The blush returned, while Cortana seemed to ponder the situation.
Choosing to ignore the obvious joke she could make at Ariane's expense, Cortana simply said, "Sorry." before materializing on another holographic display next to Ariane's bed, smiling and crossing her arms to her chest. She explained, "Doctor Halsey says I need to deepen my interpersonal relationships for the upcoming op, so I decided to swing by and see what her newly-acquired study buddy-slash-subject is doing. Something on your mind?"
Noting the AI's incredible degree of friendliness, even compared to most other artificial beings she had met to date during her life in the Eusan Nation, the girl hummed and replied, slightly embarrassed, "... Yeah." But that replacement quickly transformed into worry. Worry Cortana must've clearly noticed in Ariane's speech. "It's Elster. She'd... Probably have called, or at least sent a message by now. After all, what's there to do beside fix broken vehicles and weapons, right?"
"Ah, gotcha," Cortana replied, cupping her own chin and taking a moment to think. She added nonchalantly, "You two did seem pretty close," while parsing through the questionnaires and the interview video herself. She had redirected a small portion of her processing power to learning whatever could be learned about the UEG's newest 'Citizens-to-Be'.
"More than close." Ariane murmured her reply, face red.
"Oh?" Cortana hummed, then smirked, "Mind sharing a little for a girl who doesn't get out much?"
"Heh, sure," Ariane giggled, rubbing the back of her head, "We were pretty much all we had aboard our ship, the Penrose, during our exploration duty. We were stuck together, so we figured we might as well make the best of it. Turns out some documents say that you shouldn't befriend your Elster unit when on ships like that... Heh, I may've done a tad more than just befriend Elster..."
"Ooh..." Cortana realized. She'd seen this type of romance before in some of the stuff she had been sneakily reading and/or watching whenever Halsey got some degree of sleep from her work. A short chuckle escaped her mouth, "Heheh," as she sat herself down, shining a blue tint this time, seemingly relaxed, "I see. That's cute. Explains how lovey-dovey you two looked."
"Ha..." The girl let out what sounded more like a whine than a laugh, before requesting, "Please, don't say that... I'm awkward enough around her as is." While Cortana could see her face glow all-the-more red. The sole reason for that was one only Ariane knew. She had pretty much gone head-over-heels with Elster because the girl proved herself to be a diligent worker and a shoulder to cry on, in a way. In the dark void of space, what more could a girl ask for?
"Hey, she's your girlfriend," Cortana quipped, grinning. Oh, Ariane was an easy one to tease. How cute. "Own up to it, sister."
"I am, I am! I'm quite proud of it, actually!" Ariane blubbered, a red-faced mess as she hid her face. Cortana chuckled at the sight and wondered for just a moment what that must've felt like. Having someone to love, she meant. Someone to care about so deeply as to call your own. Someone that calls you their own. It must've been heartwarming to some degree. Well, not like Cortana had a 'Heart', or a physical manifestation of one. She still cared about her creators lives-...
"Good..." She paused and showed her to be quiet, reading into an oncoming communique from a UNSC FOB nearby Visegrad. She blinked, eyes widening as she listened into the chat. Elster had called up Halsey from one of the com terminals. And going by the way she looked, it seemed as if the mission to the Relay got a little dicey. She'd heard through the Battle Net that the Army had deployed Fireteams to the downed Relay, but...
Ariane noticed the faint switches in the AI's avatar color, denoting her emotional state. She shifted uneasily, her composure regained, then asked the girl, "You okay?" as she felt a pit in her gut. The AI hummed, listening in still. Elster seemed fine, if a little distraught, unlike Doctor Halsey, who was actively freaking the hell out at the presence of Covenant forces.
"Yep. Good news, we did just get a ping from a UNSC FOB..." The girl replied to Ariane.
"Oh! Can I go see her?!" Ariane replied excitedly, jumping to her feet.
"Sure... Doctor Halsey's already there..." Cortana nodded, wary. Ariane must've noticed.
"... I feel like there's something you ain't telling me..."
"It's best if they tell you themselves..." Cortana replied once more, then disappeared off the holographic pedestal. That caused the pit in Ariane's gut to deepen. Something wasn't right at all. She marched toward the door, opening it and running out into the main lab, to see Doctor Halsey. She was a lot paler than before, gritting her teeth while images played on the screen ahead.
Halsey sighed deeply, then said, "Hello, miss Ariane..." and waved her forward. Elster's face now materialized on the screen as Ariane ran toward her. The girl only paused as she saw the injuries sustained by her lover. Wide-eyed, Ariane leaned in to look closer at the girl, before Elster narrowed her lips and realized she must've seen it. Running a hand over the scratch, the Replika sighed.
"I'm okay, Ariane..." The tired girl stated from across the screen. She looked up at her apologetically, then stated, "Though I'm... Sorry. I thought we wouldn't be fighting..." as she noticed the girl's concern. The Replika sighed once more, rubbing her face, before looking to Halsey. The woman nodded from behind Ariane and Elster took it as her confirmation. "The Covenant are on Reach, Ariane. They're here..."
Ariane's face dropped, fear visible in those scarlet eyes of hers. She tugged at the collar of her new uniform, feeling it too tight. Panic began to set in as her heart started thumping away in her chest. Noticing this, Elster started, "Hey, listen. I'm okay... I'm okay. I... Sort of knew what I signed up for the moment I volunteered to help Doctor Halsey's people."
"You didn't volunteer to be a soldier, Elster, you volunteered for repair work..." Ariane replied softly, looking at her injured lover with tears welling in her eyes. She'd already gone through one combat mission without any sort of training. Ariane had, of course, read the manual pertaining Elster and her possible flaws, the one memo she thoroughly read to make sure she gave Elster as good a place to live as any. Her memory imprint was of a soldier from Vineta, but that couldn't... She blinked and her eyes widened.
"To avoid resurfacing of Gestalt memories, do not show or give LSTR Unit photographs, especially of soldiers during the war. Do not show Elster unit movies or let it listen to Music. Do not try to befriend the Elster unit..."
The words on that damned paper rang in her brain now. Had she done this to Elster? Had she awoken some godforsaken memories of hers by not letting her be? And now she thought herself a soldier? Elster called out, "I did volunteer for military duty, not Civilian Engineering, Ariane..." to wake her up. Blinking, the red-eyed girl looked upon her lover, who looked with sympathy at her, stating, "Nobody expected them to be here this quick, did they?"
"No," Halsey replied, marching up next to her, "I had you assigned to the least dangerous base in the whole of Vieri, in the whole of UNSC space and as close as humanly possible to CASTLE itself. I'd pulled so many strings to make sure..." The woman sighed deeply and shook her head, then gazed to Ariane and stated, "I had called in a few favors... The 'talk of the town', as the expression goes, was that ONI Materials Group had petitioned the higher-ups to take Elster away within an hour of the report of you being found arriving on Reach."
"What...?" Ariane blinked.
"They wanted to... To put it as nicely as I can, miss Yeong, they wanted to see what made Elster 'tick'. An android with the supposed repair, construction and mending capabilities outlined in the many manuals and documents found aboard your ship during the short search undertaken painted a rather vivid picture of her capabilities..." She stated somewhat apologetically, though her tone of voice remained the same. Ariane had understood what she meant from the get-go. To say she was horrified... But Halsey clarified, "I convinced ONI and HIGH-COM that it would be best to see those capabilities... Including the supposed 'Soldierly' origin of our dear Replika... On the field."
"... And, again, I did say I'd volunteer to keep you safe. You were there when I did," Elster stated from the com. Ariane paused, blinked and narrowed her lips, looking between the two of them. So, the choice had been between deploying Elster as a temporary part of a military unit, with the thought that the Covenant would invade maybe months later, rather than right now, or sending her to be disassembled...
The white-haired girl hummed, her shoulders sagging, "Two evils and you picked the least worst, eh, Doctor...?"
"I'd like to think so," Halsey replied softly, then sighed and asked, "With whose unit are you now, Elster?"
"Ma'am. NOBLE Team. SPARTANs, apparently," The girl replied. Both Ariane and Halsey took a pause and looked at her, before Elster clarified, "They asked Colonel Holland to transfer me to them. You'd have to ask Noble One and Two why, considering Two seemed more than capable with the technical items," and she looked back as someone called out, their voice muffled, "Seems they need me for a briefing, ma'am... Ariane. I'll see you as soon as I'm back, okay? We'll make it through this... I love you..."
"Okay... Please, stay safe, Els... I love you, too." Ariane replied, pressing a hand against the screen. Elster put her own hand against it and smiled faintly, before the com line switched off. Ariane sighed and bowed her head. She murmured, "This is awful..." as her fingernails scratched into the table. Worry washed over her like a tsunami. She looked to Halsey, to see the same feelings represented in the cracking mask of the woman.
She sighed deeply, however, seemingly pushing down those feelings right in front of Elster, before stepping up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. She said, "I only intended to keep Elster and you safe from the rest of the Office of Naval Intelligence... I swear to you, had I known the Covenant was coming this quickly, I would have kept her here."
"It's okay, doc..." Ariane trembled, staring at the darkened blank screen, at her reflection, "She's with SPARTANs, right...? I read some of the battle reports ya gave me and... If she's with them, she'll be alright. SPARTANs are your best troopers, after all..." and she paused as she felt Doctor Halsey's hand rest on her shoulder, followed by the doctor gently squeezing it. Looking at the woman, she could tell the steel-hearted Doctor Catherine E. Halsey was not used to having to do this. To comfort someone. And yet, there she was, doing it for a dumb girl who got bullied and was dating a robot. She nodded, her voice cracking, "T-Thanks..." before she burst into tears, wrapping her arms around the Doctor.
Stunned, though not unprepared for this kind of emotional outburst, the Doctor sighed, wrapping her left hand around Ariane, her right still gripping her tablet tightly. She let the girl cry her silent tears for a moment, feeling her hold on tight. She felt the hairs on her necks stand on-end, too. The air turned heavy, oppressive to some degree. She blanked, then realized that must've been the girl's Bioresonance kicking in. Halsey sighed, patting her on the head, then said, "Miss Ariane... Please... She will be safe with NOBLE Team. They are one of the best SPARTAN units in our ranks. And their newest addition prior to Elster is on-par with the best SPARTAN we have."
Suddenly, the weight in the air began to dissipate. Halsey sighed, relieved, as she patted the young woman on the back to comfort her. When all tears tried out, Cortana popped out and extended a compartment in which lay supplies. Halsey handed the girl a tissue from said compartment, then turned back to her work and stated, "We need to focus on our work here. I've nearly completed the last checks of the MJOLNIR MARK V sets I intend to give to the SPARTANs. Then, I can fully focus on understanding at least some fraction of your abilities..."
"... Will it help Elster?" She asked. Doctor Halsey arched a brow at her companion, who clarified, "If I learn how to use my Bioresonance properly. I can do menial stuff like raise a potted plant from nothing or lift stuff with telekinesis, but if I wanted to be of help to combat the Covvies, to keep Elster alive, safe, could I do it with your help, doc? If it meant understanding what I can and can't do...?"
Halsey hummed and looked at the girl, then nodded approvingly, "Yes. With knowledge on how your powers work, I will be able to combat any ailments or side-effects that may come with its over-use and I may be able to provide a boost... Perhaps a mechanical one, if given enough time..." as she lifted up her tablet and started writing out notes. Cortana chuckled, as did Kalmiya, while she worked.
"Okay. Let's do it..." Ariane replied, her face filled with determination.
Elster, meanwhile, sighed deeply as she took a step back from the coms console. She turned and marched up to the area where the Briefing was taking place. She saw the Nobles had formed a half-circle around One. Marching up to him, Elster joined the formation. Three gave her a welcoming nod, then listened in as Holland spoke, "... Doctor Halsey pinged my com just a second ago. She requested that Private Elster be treated with care. She was never meant to go into combat."
"She can hold her own pretty well. For a droid, anyhow," Commented Four in a whisper, looking at her. Five elbowed him in the shoulder.
"We understand, sir, however, Noble Two feels like she could provide an essential backup, considering her abilities in the maintenance and repair of electronics and equipment. She also notes her desire to have a reinforcement on the technical side of things," One explained calmly to the Colonel. A quiet hum reverbed through the speakers of the terminal, while Elster waited patiently to see what the word was.
"She's no SPARTAN, sir," Kat started as she stepped up to the com, promptly surprising Holland and Carter. She spoke in defense of the girl, eerily so "But technical expertise are necessary in our field of work, no matter where it is. And she's held her own next to Six and Five against the two Zealots that engaged them in the Server Room. Her fighting skills somehow match those of some of our Veteran Marines, sir, if not an ODST's."
That was dumb luck, Elster thought to herself. Though she did feel more and more reflexes kicking in with those strange flashes of memory. Whatever was resurfacing in her mind, it caused some degree of distress to the Replika. Holland, meanwhile, having listened to Kat's slightly-insubordinate questioning, replied, "I've reviewed your helmet camera footage from the mission and read the reports, Noble Two. The Private is still considered an HVI to ONI and the only reason we agreed to deploy her anywhere was because we thought the Covenant would not engage this early."
"If we promise we'll keep her safe?" Kat asked with half-a-mouth and half-jokingly, looking back at the girl.
Four snorted, then said, "Damn, I've never seen Kat this focused on getting someone inducted. Whatever you did, kid, you sure as hell woke up something in her..." words which got a glare out of Kat. Elster hummed, looking at them all bantering. The only one not really talking was Six, who was sat far away, after Four and Five. She stood between three and Four in the row.
"... I have a confirmed order from Doctor Halsey, signed by some of ONI's highest echelons, pertaining to testing LSTR-512's combat capabilities once again. Seems like orders change a lot around here." The man sighed, then stated bluntly, but rather absentmindedly, "Alright, Actual, I'm authorizing the transfer. You have your Number Seven for now, until either Doctor Halsey or ONI as a whole requests that she be reassigned somewhere else, or until your missions are complete," probably considering the situation.
"Sir, thank you, sir." One answered, looking back at Elster.
"We'll have new orders for you soon, I feel, Actual. Holland out," The man stated. The com line went silent, to which Carter and Kat both turned toward their newly-acquired teammate. Four gave Elster a pat on the shoulder and an approving nod, while the girl processed her nigh-instantaneous transfer. She looked at the datapad she had on hand as she heard it ping, before noticing the transfer notification. She thumbed it and sighed, signing, before looking at One and snapping a salute.
One saluted back and said, "At ease, Seven... Color me impressed command actually agreed to have you tag along with us. Hope we can rely on you for repairs to our armor and equipment."
"Sir, yessir," Elster stated.
"Easing my workload by a lot..." Kat commented with half a mouth, "Do you have any idea how many times Emile's broken his weapon...?" and that got a rouse and a snort from the shotgunner with the ghost face on his EVA helmet. Five also let out a laugh at that, while Six simply shifted his footing, looking at Elster and giving her a nod of approval.
"Let's start with introductions, then. I'm Carter, Noble One. You already met Kat, Noble Two. Then you have Nobles Three, Four and Five, Jun, Emile and Jorge respectively," Carter pointed out each member of the team starting with himself. Each SPARTAN gave a greeting to the woman, which she returned with acknowledgement in the form of a slight tilt of her head, "And Noble Six, our second newest."
Six looked to Elster for a few seconds, then hummed, "At least I'm not the only newbie. C'mon. I'll show you to the bunks and armory."
"Kat, order up a new armor set for her. Hers is damaged," Carter ordered as he craned his head toward her. Kat nodded, then looked to her.
"I'll see what I can sneak off an order. ODST or SPI, which do you prefer?" She quipped. The girl thought for a second. ODST armor was not that different from normal Marine armor, sans a few modifications made to ensure void-combat capabilities and survivability, including just slightly thicker plates of armor and cover over the whole body without impeding mobility. It would stop a needler round once. SPI, meanwhile, meant a Stealth suit of semi-powered armor designed and prototyped for Special Forces. Like SPARTANs.
"Can you even get her SPI?" Carter asked Kat, crossing his arms. Kat took her helmet off and arched a brow at the Commander, who waved it off and said, "Nevermind," before turning toward Elster again and stating, "I'd suggest that, then. Knowing Kat, she may even get you one of those fancy HEADHUNTER suits. I heard they're better than what we got in training."
"I'll take the SPI set, then. Mark II HEADHUNTER if you can make it happen," Elster looked to Kat. Anything to increase survivability. Aside from specialized motion sensors, the damn things had energy shielding. The girl recalled info on the HEADHUNTER set being included in the manuals she'd downloaded into her cortex. She had knowledge of how to maintain the photoreactive panels and the shielding within."
"Can't promise it'll be here by next mission, but alright. I'll help you mod it for your..." Kat looked down, "Legs."
Elster nodded, thankful, then walked with Six to their temporary barracks within the base. The rest of the team scattered around the base, to work on other matters. Jorge, however, walked with them, patting Elster on the back and stating, "Welcome aboard, Seven," with a smile hidden behind his bulky Grenadier helmet. Elster nodded in thanks, offering a half-hearted smile back. She wasn't okay by any metric or sense of the word. Not right now. Not at all. Her entire first squad was... Just gone...
... The images of Travis laying dead on the floor looped in her mind, intermixed with those memory flashes...