Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot
A/N: Happy Thanksgiving
Chapter 33: Spartan Blue
February 9, 2558
Requiem
0814 hours
Frederic-104 sat quietly in the personnel bay of a Pelican, his Spartan sisters on either side of him. His mind was occupied with mission his team was about to embark on.
As one of the oldest members of Blue Team, only Kelly-087 knew John better. Her revelation that John was likely risking his life trying to find a rampant AI was something that would not leave his mind.
In all his years, he'd never seen the Master Chief act so reckless, even when he'd made a promise to someone.
'What happened to you, John?'
Jolted out of his thoughts by turbulence, he quickly rechecked his weapons to make sure everything was ready.
Noticing his action, Kelly spoke up. "Something wrong, Fred?"
He turned his helmet-covered head towards her. "No, just thinking."
"Think later, we've got work to do." She told him as the Pelican's ramp lowered.
Admonishing himself for not keeping his head in the game, Fred put the matter out of his mind. Linda-058 followed Fred and Kelly out, her special helmet searching the perimeter for sniper threats. So far there was nothing.
"Clear." She reported, though she kept her sniper rifle dug into her shoulder.
The pilot signaled them goodbye and took off.
"Let's check the ship first." He told them as the Pelican lifted off. Both Kelly and Linda signaled an affirmative to his HUD before walking through the cloaking field. Fred wondered briefly how surveillance would have picked up the cloaked vessel, but dismissed it for the moment.
After entering the ship, they split up and searched each deck. Kelly finished first, announcing "Clear" over the comm before heading to the waypoint on the bridge. Five minutes later, Fred and Linda gave the all clear and met up with their speedy companion.
Fred found her searching through the files at lightning speed.
"Find anything?" He asked while stowing his assault rifle.
"Nothing we didn't already know." She deadpanned and then hit the touchscreen as little too hard, cracking the glass.
Linda and Fred both shifted; they could almost feel the frustration pouring off her.
Kelly stood up and snapped her light-blue UVA-style helmet back on. "He set the coordinates on the Librarian compound."
Linda finally piped up, "Intel said the place is crawling with Elites." She noted as they exited the ship.
"I know," Fred acknowledged, "Kelly, scout ahead. Linda, take a position on the southern ridge."
A dual chorus of "Yes, sir." echoed in his helmet as Kelly and Linda left. He quickly radioed back to Infinity to report their progress and told Roland to take over the Prowler.
The vessel lifted off and left through Requiem's outer layer.
Afterward, he hid amongst the bushes as he waited for his team's report. About five minutes later, Kelly radioed in. "I'm only spotting a few guards out front, equipped with carbines."
"Understood." He responded as he let the information wash over him. If the Storm Covenant, or whatever this splinter group called themselves, had their attention diverted elsewhere for the moment, then this might be their best opportunity. The only problem was they didn't know who, or what, was inside.
"Linda, when you get into position, take them out. Kelly, see what's inside."
"Understood." Kelly responded followed by an green blip from Linda.
Two shots cut through the silence as Fred moved to join Linda on the ridge. A moment later, Kelly ran out again. "There's about ten split-jaws lounging around, no Prometheans."
"That could change in a hurry." Fred groused as he and Kelly ran down the ridge and joined Kelly near the entrance. "Let's get this done before someone raises the alarm." He ordered as he pulled out his assault rifle as Linda switched to an SMG sub-machine gun.
A sister on either side of him, they sprinted inside, gun blazing as soon as the first Elite came into view. Their tried and true tactics, impeccable efficiency and aim eliminated over half their forces before the aliens even had a chance to respond.
They quickly split up as the Elites began to return fire, but at this point, less than five remained. Linda knelt behind a supply crate and pulled out her sniper rifle. Kelly used her superior speed to dodge attacks as she picked off these less-than-stellar opponents. Fred, a close-quarters combat specialist, abandoned his rifle when he got in close and let his twin knives taste Elite blood.
They twisted, turned, ducked, and dodged incoming grenades and plasma rounds; what they couldn't pinged off their shields and armor. Within a minute, the Elites were all dead.
Despite their victory, all were aware that Prometheans could teleport in at any moment and ambush them. They had to work quickly.
They spread out looking for any sign of the Chief, but ten minutes into it, they had come up with nothing other than the remains of an MA5D. John had definitely been here, but there were no signs of human blood, hydrostatic gel, or pieces of his armor. If they'd managed to kill him, they'd have flaunted his body off like a trophy.
"Where are you, John?" Kelly whispered to no-one. They had run out of leads; they had nothing to go on.
Suddenly, Prometheans began to appear. Immediately, Blue team snapped back into action, using the last of their ammunition and then grabbing the dead Prometheans' weapons as they tried to outwit their AI opponents.
After ten minutes of intense battle, the Prometheans managed to corner them. The AI's just kept appearing, no matter how many they killed.
"Fred, were gonna be dust if we don't get out of here!" Kelly yelled as she downed another Knight.
He didn't need her to tell him that, but they had little choice. They were surrounded.
Linda's Binary Rifle fired again. "I'm out!" She announced after ducking behind the divide.
"Damn." Fred breathed as he fired another round into a Knight's head. "Kelly, get more ammo, I'll cover you." It was near suicide, but she didn't argue. Using a Scattershot, she downed the Knight nearest to them and then sprinted for its weapon. After quickly tossing it back she repeated her actions for Fred even though her shield strength was dropping fast.
Linda and Fred were doing their best to cover her, but hardlight rounds were still slamming into her shields.
Kelly ran as fast as she could for cover and leapt over the barrier to expedite her retreat, but it only attracted more attention. One Knight switched his aim from Fred to Kelly as she jumped.
Fred and Linda could only watch in horror as the round slammed into Kelly's side, erupting in a shower of sparks and vaporized metal. She crashed into the wall with a sick thud before landing in a heap behind them.
They continued firing at the Prometheans, who hadn't let up, all the while worrying about their unconscious teammate. Her armor was blackened and was venting hydrostatic gel, not a good sign.
Fred was about to throw a grenade in revenge when the Prometheans suddenly froze; their running lights shifted from orange to blue and then back again, like something was struggling for control.
Then, the 'shrine' in the middle of the room activated, followed by a disembodied voice. "Reclaimers, get into the shrine, I cannot maintain control for long!"
Seeing that the Prometheans were slowly starting to move again, Fred picked up Kelly and ran toward the shrine. He couldn't run for the exit, the Prometheans would either follow or transport ahead of them. It would be even worse if they had to carry Kelly.
This was the only hope they had. Linda followed without question into the center of the floating shrine before a series of bubble shields appeared around it.
The Prometheans began firing at the shield as the voice spoke again. "You seek the one you call Master Chief."
"We are, but she needs medical attention." His voice strained from concern.
"And his allies can give it to her." The Forerunner AI told him as her form became visible.
Linda quirked an eyebrow. "Allies?"
Fred stayed silent for a moment as he weighed his options. "Can you get us back to Infinity?"
"No." She shook her head. "This is the best I can do."
His mind was made up. "Do it."
USS Voyager
Same Time
A crowd watched from the sidelines as the Master Chief and Six circled around each other like the predators they were. Both were hyper lethal, both were exceptional Spartans. Who would win?
The armored warriors circled each other one last time before Six made the first move. She feinted a left hook while preparing to spin around and jab her elbow in his back.
Having more experience, the Chief recognized the move and ducked before twisting to deflect her elbow. She stumbled back a step and steadied herself before the Chief was on her. She barely managed to deflect his upper cut before he rammed his knee into her gut, forcing her to double over. She took advantage of that and rammed her armored head into his stomach and forced him back long enough to recover.
For the next five minutes the match was steady, each opponent only landed glancing blows on another.
Then the Chief's experience, and luck, won out.
He feinted an opening in his defense and let her exploit it. She punched him in the shoulder, but he rolled with it and then sent a punishing blow to her head, disorienting her long enough for him to hook his leg behind hers and tripped her. Before she really registered what'd had happened, the Chief was sitting on her chest with his arm across her throat.
"Yield." He rumbled.
Seeing she couldn't escape with her arms pinned, she sighed. "I yield." She grumbled, and he got off. After picking herself up off the floor, she noticed Allison staring at them intently.
She didn't have the chance to think on it more before Mendicant Bias teleported into the training room.
"Reclaimer." He boomed, addressing the Master Chief directly. "More have come through from Requiem."
The room instantly quiet, their minds filled with questions of who and why and whether they were friend or foe, but it was John Connor who spoke first.
"Who are they?" He asked calmly, his face contemplative.
Mendicant turned to him. "Spartans. One is critically injured."
That got Master Chief's attention. "All Spartans on me!" Not caring that Six was technically his superior, and she didn't mind. He was a leader; she was a lone wolf.
Red team, Allison, and Six formed up behind him as Cortana approached his twelve. "I'm going with you." She told him up front, and he didn't argue. With his armor fully restored and a new DCC in his helmet, the touch-n-transfer feature had been restored.
He reached out and touched her hand, and then she disappeared. A familiar-yet-not-feeling of cold mercury poured into his head as Cortana took up residence for the first time since they'd taken down the Didact.
"It's good to be home." She said to him, her smiling face appearing briefly on his HUD.
At first, he said nothing while he pondered how different she felt in his head. It was as if she were Cortana, yet not quite the one he remembered. She'd said as much when they'd reunited.
"Get the Doctor mobile, we'll need him." He told her, earning a slight roll of the eyes from Cortana.
"Already done." She responded. "Weaver's coming too, just in case."
"Understood." He said before turning to them. "When we arrive, secure the area and guard the entrance while I escort the EMH and Ms. Weaver to the Spartans."
A chorus of "Yes sir"s filled the room as each of them, Six included, snapped off a crisp salute.
"Ready weapons." He ordered as pulled his new phaser assault rifle off his back. "Cortana, beam us to arrival coordinates."
"Energizing!"
Fred and Linda regained consciousness lying on their backs. Linda sat up and grabbed her Binary Rifle and swept the room for threats. "Clear, for now." She told Fred who was gingerly moving Kelly off of him.
As he got a good look at her, he noticed something was wrong.
"She's not breathing," his voice absent of emotion. "Bring the med kit," he ordered and tore off his helmet.
Wordlessly, Linda helped him remove Kelly's helmet and breastplate. Then she injected biofoam into Kelly's wound, sealing it up and stopping the blood loss. Fred pushed a finger against her exposed neck, but felt nothing.
Her heart had stopped beating.
Maintaining his composure externally was in his training, but inside, he was having a harder time shoving it aside. Through sheer will he moved past the emotions and focused on the chest compressions as Linda forced breath into Kelly's lungs.
Fred ripped off her armor's muscle layer and cut open the under-suit with his combat knife. Hydrostatic gel oozed everywhere as Fred attached defibrillator leads under Kelly's left breast, right over her heart.
Making sure that Kelly's MJOLNIR armor was disabled, Fred shocked Kelly's heart back to life, but it was a Pyrrhic victory.
She still would not breathe.
Linda continued to breathe for her teammate as Fred broke out the medical scanner. He gritted his teeth as it showed him why.
"Half her diaphragm is gone..."
They both knew that without a medical team, Kelly would not survive.
Then both heard three sets of feet rushing down the ramps on the far end of the room.
Linda stopped giving Kelly CPR and brought her rifle to bare; Fred did the same.
When the figures came into view, one figure was immediately recognizable.
The Master Chief.
After beaming in, the others hadn't wasted any time in checking and securing the perimeter while the Doctor and Weaver followed the Master Chief into the Forerunner structure.
They raced down three stories, each of them on alert, just in case.
When they reached the bottom, he immediately recognized the newcomers.
Linda, Fred, and...Kelly. His eyes widened when he saw her lying on the floor, unmoving.
"Chief...she isn't breathing!" Cortana echoed what he was already observing.
Weaver and the Doctor raced past him; he pushed his shock aside and caught up to them.
Fred was clearly surprised to see him, "John?"
"Fred, Linda!" He called out as he neared them, "They can help, let them through!"
Trusting their fellow Spartan implicitly, Linda and Fred moved away from Kelly as the Doctor and Weaver got to work.
The Doctor ran the tricorder over her, "Her heartbeat's erratic, 20mg lectrazine." Weaver deftly filled the hypospray and injected the proper amount. The change was almost immediate.
Kelly's Spartan heart was damaged, but it continued to beat. That bought them a little more time. "Her blood-oxygen content is dangerously low, attach the oxygen infuser to her carotid artery."
Again, Weaver carried out the Doctor's orders.
Now that he'd prevented oxygen starvation, he had to get her breathing again so she could expel toxic Carbon Dioxide, otherwise it would build up in her tissues and kill her.
"Her diaphragm is useless." He noted grimly but then snapped his fingers in revelation. "I need you to place the mobile emitter on her chest and activate program EMH 175. Once you do, beam us back to sickbay."
Not knowing what he was up to, but also not questioning his medical knowledge, she pulled the emitter off his arm. The Doctor dissipated before she could even attach the device on the Spartan's chest.
After quickly typing the activation code on the micro-controls, it began buzzing.
Then suddenly, Kelly started breathing again.
Weaver's head tilted to the side for a moment as she tried to figure out what the Doctor had done. Then she realized that he'd created a holographic program that was designed to keep a person with pulmonary trauma alive while the damage was repaired.
He'd done something similar with sickbay's holo-emitters early on in Voyager's journey across the Delta Quadrant.
"These are only temporary measures, I need to get her back to sickbay." Weaver said calmly, her statement directed at the Master Chief.
Knowing every second counted, the Chief was about to tell Cortana to beam them out when Kelly groaned. All eyes snapped to her as her blue eyes fluttered open, glazed with pain. Weaver wordlessly filled a hypo with a painkiller, but Kelly tried to push it away.
"It's just enough to dull the pain." She assured her before pressing it to her neck.
John-117 knelt down next to her as Kelly became more cognizant. She instantly locked onto him.
"John?" Her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm here, Kelly." His voice seemed to soothe her as she visibly relaxed.
"Feels like I swallowed a grenade." She chuckled hoarsely.
The Chief didn't comment on it, instead focusing on her condition. "I need you to go with her, she can fix you up."
She looked like she was about to protest, but he cut her off. "Kelly, you need medical attention. She can help you."
Understanding that he was essentially ordering her to leave, she nodded weakly. "Yes, sir." She smiled, knowing that she outranked him.
"Good, they'll teleport you to their sickbay. Linda, go with them."
The sniper nodded and snatched up her helmet while Cortana silently informed Voyager of the arrival.
After Linda, Kelly, and Weaver disappeared behind them, John approached Fred. "What happened?" His voice was even, commanding as always.
"Got cornered by an army of Prometheans looking for you." Fred told him. He felt no shame in it, there was nothing he could have done. No one had ever reported such a large presence of Knights at one time.
Knowing Fred was far from incompetent, the Chief saw no need to question him further.
Cutting off his suit's speakers, the Chief addressed Cortana. "We need to police Kelly's armor."
"Done." She droned boredly, "So, are you going to keep me your Dirty Little Secret?" Her question actually startled the Chief for a moment.
"Not now, Cortana." He rumbled as Kelly's armor disappeared in the transporter.
"Fine." She huffed, "Oh, by the way, Blue Team's all Commanders now." A sly grin appeared on the upper corner of his HUD.
He quickly snapped the speakers back on and turned to Fred. "Commander!" He saluted as crisply as ever.
Fred grinned and returned the salute. "I may be a Commander, Chief, but they'd make you an Admiral if you'd let them."
Despite himself, the Chief felt his mouth upturning into a smile. "'The Admiral' doesn't have quite the same ring to it."
Fred laughed.
After going the light around her dissolved, Linda shifted uncomfortably as the tingling sensation left her.
Immediately, she took in her surroundings, noting the exits and other features of the room. It was strange, unfamiliar, but it definitely had a human touch to it. There were terminals and consoles fitted with readouts in English and touchscreens. The beds were definitely made for humanoids.
She observed all of this in the span of a few seconds.
"Help me move her onto the bed." The woman with hair as fiery as her own commanded while Kelly lay helplessly on the floor. Linda wordlessly, and gently, lifted her injured comrade onto the central bed.
Weaver quickly closed the diagnostic arc over Kelly and began running a more thorough analysis of her injuries. Her white face wrinkled at the results. "Is the pain worsening?" She asked the still consciousness Spartan.
Kelly nodded reluctantly.
"The damage is spreading." She announced as she transferred EMH program 175 to the holo-emitters in sickbay. After pulling the mobile emitter off Kelly's chest, she transferred and reactivated the EMH.
Kelly's eyes widened when she saw that her doctor was actually a solid holographic AI, but she didn't protest.
After taking a look at the scan results, the Doctor frowned. "If the transporters couldn't filter out the residual energy, then we have only one option for treatment."
Weaver understood and immediately began preparing a med-nanite injection.
"What option?" Kelly whispered.
The Doctor turned to her with a grim, regretful face. "Nanites, and I don't have time to reprogram them."
Linda stepped in protectively. "Meaning what?"
"Meaning, it will completely restore her body to an ideal condition."
Kelly balked. "I'd rather die," she said thinking it meant losing her augmentations.
The Doctor corrected her, "No, they'll see your augmentations as an improvement, but your scars and any other imperfection, toxin, or contaminant will be removed. That also means no anesthetic I have will..."
"...keep me out, I understand." She said without hesitation, "Do it."
Understanding how tough Spartan IIs were, the Doctor nodded. Weaver handed him the hypo when the Master Chief and Fred beamed in. Cortana sensed what was about to happen immediately.
"Chief," Cortana told him privately, "Hold her hand, anything! You have no idea just how much pain she's about to endure!" The Chief stiffened at her words while the Doctor proceeded.
"Ready?" The Doctor asked after putting a cloth-covered metal tongue depressor between her teeth. Kelly hardened herself and nodded once. He pressed the hypo to her neck and injected the nanites.
Immediately, Kelly felt the pain begin; it was like she was being crushed and burnt from the inside out. She bit down on the tongue depressor hard as she fought to stay awake.
Over to the side, the Chief strode over to Kelly as she began to endure enormous pain. He immediately knelt next to Kelly and took hold of her hand. She latched onto it like a lifeline.
"Hold on, Kelly!" He whispered intently as Fred took her other hand. Linda held Kelly's head in her hands and rested her forehead against the top of her sister's.
Even through the pain and agony, Kelly heard and felt her teammates, no, family around her. She could not express just how much having them near was helping as the nanites tore apart and rebuilt her from the inside out.
For ten minutes Kelly endured hell; for ten minutes her Spartan family never stopped letting her know they were there. For ten minutes the Doctor watched helplessly as his patient was made to suffer unimaginably. For ten minutes Catherine Weaver watched them as she began to see just how deeply these soldiers cared for one another.
They all watched as Kelly's wounds closed and her scars disappeared. Even the scars of the augmentations turned to flawless porcelain skin. The crow's feet forming around her eyes and the lines in her forehead all vanished as the nano-machines formatted her body to its optimal state.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain faded away, leaving Kelly feeling exhausted. Her skin shown with sweat and her hair was soaked as if she'd just given birth.
John-117 watched as his oldest friend with a great deal of respect and pride; very few could have endured what she had. He squeezed her hand gently.
She blinked and squeezed back. "Thank you," her words leaving brand new lungs.
The Spartans moved aside as the Doctor moved in to check on her. He raised the medical arch again and began scanning.
His grim expression softened when he saw the results. "Well," her blue eyes locked onto him, "there's no sign of the degradation and your injuries have been...repaired." Guilt crossed his features, but Kelly was having none of it.
After the arch lowered, she touched his wrist. "You saved me, thank you." Her words brought a smile to his lips.
"You're welcome..." He paused, not knowing her name.
"Kelly." She responded while trying to sit up, but she quickly found that doing so wasn't a good idea. Her head swan from a sugar low. Her nutrient reserves had been used up by the nanites. She was officially starved and malnourished.
Kelly laid back down as the Doctor injected her with a few rounds of vitamins, minerals and a lot of glucose to bring her blood sugar up.
Just as the Doctor was finishing, Cortana spoke to the Chief privately, "Now that she's in the clear, I think it's time I reintroduce myself."
Seeing no reason to deny her, the Chief walked over to wall panel and touched it. Cortana instantly left the armor, leaving the Chief with a feeling of incompleteness that always came when she left.
Fred's eyebrows furrowed at John's actions, "Chief?"
The Chief turned to him, but said nothing. That was when Cortana made her presence known; her avatar appeared in a column of flash of blue light, earning Blue Team's complete attention.
Her current avatar confused them for a second before realization dawned on them. "Cortana?" Kelly sputtered.
"You know, for being the fastest Spartan, you're kinda slow." Cortana's grin spread as the Spartan balked. "Sorry, Commander, I couldn't help it."
Fred's rumbling voice filled the room, "How the hell did you survive? That nuke turned that ship into a pinata."
Cortana waggled her finger, "Not true, the Mantle's Approach was over 230 miles tall and almost 90 wide and deep. A 30 megaton nuke would barely scratch the hull."
"...Then..."
"The Composer was the key, a lot of the ship's energy was being routed to it. Once it and the bridge were destroyed, the ship's core began to destabilize. That's how I was able to get the Chief off the ship," she explained to the still shocked Spartans. Then she waited for the inevitable question, to which Kelly obliged.
"But how did you survive?" She pointed out and turned to the Chief, "How do you know this is her? AI's don't recover from rampancy."
The Chief bristled at her implication. "I know it's her. She wouldn't be compatible with my interface if she wasn't."
Cortana shrugged her shoulders. "It's true, he's the only Spartan I was compatible with, and even then I had to design a buffer to make us fully compatible."
Kelly was quick to respond, "Tell that to Naomi. She paired with BB on a co-op with us a few years back."
Cortana rebuffed just as quickly, "Her neural interface is newer than the Chief's, and his was never upgraded." A smile lingered on her face.
Kelly stayed silent after that, but Linda spoke up. "The Chief isn't a fool, Kelly." Then she turned to AI, "You're Metastable; aren't you?"
The enigmatic AI just smiled.
Kelly shook her head and got off the bio bed. "Even if that is true, there's still a lot you're not telling us." She and Cortana were almost face to face. The AI turned to the replicator and spoke. "One set of off-duty fatigues, specify Kelly-087."
The computer chirped and replicated the garments before the eyes of Blue Team.
"What the hell..." Fred breathed as Cortana handed the clothing to a semi-stunned Kelly. That in and of itself was strange, a Metastable AI with a solid holographic avatar. If you'd told him that was possible yesterday, he'd have called you crazy.
The Master Chief, who'd been silent this whole time, finally spoke up. "Kelly, get changed. This is just the beginning."
"The beginning of what?" She asked him. He shifted his gaze to the woman behind her; the Scottish red-head who helped treat her.
"The war against the machines." She answered before her skin and clothing turned completely silver.
After settling down Blue Team with reassurances, Cortana, John-117, Weaver, and the Doctor began telling their story. It took several hours and hundreds of finely detailed answers, but they finally had them listening.
Now they wanted to see everything, and everyone.
Strangely enough, Fred wanted to meet Skynet's supposed brother first.
Cortana summoned him privately, and the plaid-shirted cyborg quickly arrived. Blue Team quickly took in his appearance; they could easily see, and hear, that he wasn't human.
But his eyes shown with intelligence.
"Hello, I'm John Henry." He greeted with a smile and shook their hands. Each of them watched him closely. "What do you want to know?"
Fred spoke first. "You're similar to Skynet?"
John Henry blinked mechanically. "Yes, we share a similar base code."
"Then why aren't you like it?" Fred asked as he tried to gauge this AI.
The cyborg tilted his head. "I'm not like AI's you're familiar with, Commander." He paused as he took in their reactions, but they remained still, observant.
'Like machines' He pondered briefly before continuing. "For comparison, your Dumb AI's are equivalent to most Terminators. They can learn, they can communicate and do tasks they are given, but they are limited to their intended area of expertise." This time, Fred nodded.
"But you're also not a Smart AI." He pointed out.
"No, I was not based on a human neural template like Cortana. I was built to play chess."
Kelly interrupted, "Based on a code inspired by a broken Terminator CPU, right?"
"In a way, yes. Our program structure was inspired by the T-800's adaptive chip architecture, but our base code was written entirely by humans, primarily Miles Dyson."
The three Spartans shared a look and several subtle gestures as they communicated silently with one another. The Chief watched them in silence with Cortana by his side.
Linda spoke this time. "But you were built by Andrew Goode, a former intern at Cyberdyne, and then she," Her eyes flicked to Weaver, "raised you."
"But not without the help of Dr. Sherman, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Murch, and Savannah."
Fred's eyebrows scrunched. "Explain."
John Henry tilted his head again, as if the answer were obvious. "Spartan IIs were raised by the military. If you had not been conscripted, you would have been raised by your parents. You would not be the same."
Ah, so that's what it came down to. Now the Spartans understood why John Henry was so different than the genocidal Skynet.
However, Catherine Weaver had something to add. "That's not the only reason, John Henry. Skynet was designed to eliminate the enemies of the United States of America, you were not. It not just about who raises you, but what you are raised to be."
The Spartans wholeheartedly agreed. Had they not been raised to be Spartans by Chief Mendez and Dr. Halsey, life would have turned out very differently for them.
They'd probably be dead, courtesy of the Covenant.
"So, what's your role in all this?" Kelly inquired.
"I know my brother, I know how he thinks, and how he works. I try to predict Skynet's actions, but I'm also the only one who can fight him."
"Why not Cortana?" Linda inquired. "She's designed for infiltration."
"Yes, but so is Skynet. Since it acquired the Narada, it has likely become far more adept at it. It will take someone who understands him to hack in." He explained plainly, hoping they'd understand.
They did. "Thank you, John Henry." Fred rumbled and shook the cyborg's hand.
He turned to leave, but then he cocked his head. "The Commander has returned, I will speak to her." He told Cortana, who simply nodded.
After he left, Cortana stepped forward. "I take it you're not satisfied yet?"
Kelly crossed her arms, "No."
The Chief bristled internally, but he shoved it aside. What had made his Spartans so untrusting? Used to be, all it would take was his word and they'd believe. How hard had the last five years been on them? He set the issue aside for later and focused on the situation.
"John Connor?" She surmised, and the Spartans nodded. Cortana mentally smiled at her prediction's accuracy. She called him over the comm, and he came as quickly as John Henry had.
The scrutinized the young man as he entered the room. He was of average height, white skin and short brown hair. What caught the Spartans, though, was his piercing green eyes. They realized that he was observing them just as closely.
"Blue Team." He greeted and gave them a respectful nod, one which they returned.
"John Connor, supposed savior of humanity." Fred said evenly, but he noticed John flinch ever so slightly. Good, so he wasn't a self absorbed egotist.
"John Connor will do, Commander." He responded, his tone stern but not disrespectful. "I understand you have questions?" His deep voice echoed though the room.
Kelly circled him, her blue eyes watching his every move. "We do." She said as she looked him in the eye. Connor hadn't flinched nor moved, he wasn't intimidated.
Good.
She stepped back in between Fred and Linda. "What makes you so special?" She asked simply.
Connor shrugged, "Nothing. I'm not as strong as you, or as smart as her." He nodded towards Cortana. "But, I have been doing this my whole life. I've hunted them and been hunted by them. I've lived with them, talked with them, repaired them. I know them, I understand them."
"So does John Henry." Linda pointed out.
Connor smirked. "He understands Skynet, but Skynet and Terminators aren't the same thing. That's why we collaborate. I have the ability to understand how they react to different situations, he understands Skynet in the same way."
Fred rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "But you have Terminators of your own. Wouldn't they be a better experts?"
"In some ways, yes. But Cameron and Catherine are very different than your typical terminator. Catherine's a T-1001, her mind is very different than a T-888."
"And Cameron?" Kelly reminded him and noticed how his eyes lit up at her name.
He crossed his arms. "She's always been different, but at her core she shares many attributes with T-888s."
"Then why isn't she in your place?" Fred asked pointedly.
Connor snorted a laugh, which confused them. "Commander, despite your augmentations and your armor, you're still human. You're vulnerable when your shields fall and your armor wears down. Why doesn't the UNSC replace you with Smart AI robots?"
The Spartans all shifted slightly, something Connor didn't fail to miss.
"The human element." Cortana pointed out. "Cameron's a highly evolved Terminator AI, able to feel emotion and make choices of her own, but she's still limited in her creativity. That makes her more predictable to the enemy."
Finally, the Chief spoke up. "He's like us." The weight of his statement washed over the room; Connor swallowed hard as the compliment flowed over him. "We were born for what we do."
The three Spartans looked at the Chief for a brief moment before turning to John with new respect in their eyes. If the Chief approved, then so did they.
Sensing the Spartans' acceptance, Connor turned to Cortana. "They've been briefed?"
She nodded and then smiled, "Mostly."
"Mostly?" Fred groused.
Connor sighed. "Let me guess, you forgot to mention the giant Phoenix-class warship sitting half-a-klick off our bow?"
"Perhaps."
Kelly's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She'd never learned to hid her emotions well. "There's a two and a half kilometer starship out there you just forgot?"
"More like neglected." She teased before turning on her heal and walking out the door. "Follow me, it's time we re-introduce you to some old friends."
Kelly turned to her brother Spartan, "Chief, what the hell is she talking about?"
He said nothing and followed Cortana out the door. Fred and Linda quickly followed, leaving Kelly dumbstruck for moment. The Chief had changed, hell, everything had changed. Ever since the Fall of Reach, things had been out of balance, and this was only making things worse.
The speedy Spartan quickly caught up to the others as they proceeded down the corridor until they came to a large turbolift. It was bigger than the rest, designed for Spartans. It was three times the size of standard ones, but the construction was incomplete. Right now, it only traversed the decks of the primary, or the arrow section, of Voyager.
After entering the lift, they only went up one deck.
Kelly had memorized Voyager's strange layout quickly from a 3D map Cortana had presented earlier. This was Deck 4, the Spartan deck.
Something bugged her about that. The mention of old friends and now they were on S-deck.
They exited the lift and went down the corridor before coming upon a large set of metal doors; they parted with a hum and revealed a large room beyond. As they entered, the three Spartans spotted training equipment of all kinds and a sparring area in the center. It was there that Fred, Linda, and Kelly saw the other Spartans. Three wore identical standard Mark VIs while the other two wore a red and gray variant. They all stopped and turned to see the arrivals.
The gray one gave them one glance before turning rigid and snapping off a crisp salute. "Commanders on deck!" She shouted and the rest followed suit.
Fred saw the grey one's tag light up on his HUD: Lieutenant Sierra B-312
He was about to ask the Chief where they'd dug up a Beta-class Spartan-III when the green ones' tags lit up, then he froze.
S-092, S-042, S-130
Red Team
Fred could only stand in muted shock.
"Oh my..." Linda breathed.
Even without her armor, Kelly recognized them. She fought for words. "That...You...How?" Her gaze directed at the Chief.
"Go ask them." He told her.
She found her feet doing just that. Kelly, never one to be slow, quickly closed the distance between them. All three gave her the 'two finger swipe' across their face plates in the traditional Spartan Smile.
Feeling herself smiling, Kelly swiped two of her fingers across each of their face plates in rapid succession.
Then they took their helmets off, and the Spartans understood part of their story. Red Team's young, but still scarred faces told Blue Team that they'd spent much of the last 30 years in cryo.
Kelly stared at each of them, her heart overjoyed at being reunited with three Spartans she'd long thought dead.
Jerome's face scrunched in confusion, and she didn't know why. "You alright, Kelly?" He said, ignoring her superior rank.
It dawned on her when she felt a tear drip from her face. She quickly wiped it away, she hadn't even noticed her eyes had welled up.
"It's not everyday someone comes back from the dead."
UNSC Spirit of Fire
Before Blue Team had shown up, Commander Miranda Keyes had been receiving piloting lessons aboard the Delta Flyer.
Much to the surprise of Seven of Nine, Miranda found the foreign controls rather intuitive, especially the old toggle switches Lt. Paris had added to emulate his "Captain Proton" holoprogram.
She'd found the craft quick, responsive, and most of all, very durable. It was certainly better than a Pelican. That, and it had an FTL drive.
When she and the cyborg had received news about Blue Team's arrival and the story they had told, Miranda returned to Voyager to discuss what implications this had for their future plans.
After an hour, they'd decided on a radical plan that would hopefully give them a significant edge over Skynet.
Now all she had to do was sell it to Captain Cutter and his crew. Luckily, she had Seven, Kalmiya, and Cameron to accompany her.
It didn't take long to get clearance to land in one of the massive ship's many hangers, and getting to conference room was easy. Miranda wouldn't admit it out loud, but she did find it comforting to be on a UNSC starship again. She just wasn't used to Voyager's more civilian feel.
After entering the room, she snapped off a salute to Captain Cutter.
"I hear you've gained a few more Spartans." He said as they settled into their seats.
"We have," Miranda said before setting Kalmiya's chip on the table. Her mini-hologram appeared and waved to the Captain and Serina. "and they've confirmed everything Cortana predicted."
Serina perked up with interest. "You mean Infinity returning to Requiem?"
"Yes." She responded and transferred a data file to the large monitor on the wall.
Serina quickly scanned over it. "The file format is archaic," she grumbled, "but interesting to say the least." Then she played the file. It was a brief overview of the Spartan Ops campaign that was included with Halo 4, incomplete at the time they departed in February 2013, but Cortana had hacked 343i's servers and gotten the rest early.
Cutter read Commander Fred-104's debrief file and compared it to the CG video. "The situation Spartan-104 describes is remarkably similar to the alternate reality depiction."
"Exactly." Miranda agreed, though even she was still having a hard time comprehending all of this, but after Delta Halo she learned to rolled with the punches.
As Cutter mulled the information over, Serina interrupted, "Sir, if I may," he nodded for her to continue, "If this is true, then we must prevent Dr. Halsey from falling into Covenant hands, and moreover, her thinking that the UNSC wants her dead!"
Seven cut in at this point, "Not to mention the Janus Key. If we acquire it, we can locate all the Halo rings and disable them."
"Preventing Skynet from gaining access to them." Cameron concluded.
Cutter rubbed his jaw as he digested their words. "According to this, we have less than a month before Requiem is destroyed. What are we going to do in the mean time?"
Miranda turned to Seven of Nine who then spoke. "You've agreed to help us against Skynet, but your ship is inadequate to do so." He bristled at her words, but showed nothing. "However, Kalmiya and I have come up with a detailed plan to refit your ship."
His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "I thought you didn't share your technology?"
She arched her metal covered eyebrow at his response. "True, but Starfleet isn't against using it to help others. We would use our replicators to upgrade your ship to modern UNSC standards."
That got his interest. "Such as?" He wondered how far they wanted to take this.
Serina, having already received the plan, began spouting off details in barely contained excitement. "Shielding, Coolant-less fusion reactors, reverse engineered plasma weaponry, enhanced sensors, FTL comms, among many other things."
Cutter was definitely interesting now. "Your replicators require energy and raw material, I assume you'll be recycling our old components?"
Kalmiya nodded. "We'd also use deuterium in the Ark's oceans for additional fuel. The Sentinels and your own engineers will greatly expedite the refit. I predict we will be done a week before we need to leave for Requiem."
The Captain turned to his AI. "What are your thoughts, Serina?"
"Well, Captain, I'd get Hard-light projectors in critical areas of the ship. You know my answer."
"Is it feasible?" He sighed.
"Of course, my counterpart is more advanced than I am. I'd hope she'd be right." She drawled.
Kalmiya giggled softly.
Cutter ignored them both before turning to Cameron. "Will this be enough?"
She seemed to contemplate his words for a moment. "That depends on how powerful the Narada has become."
He nodded, accepting that she was being cautious. Cutter admitted that he was skeptical as to how his ship could stand up Skynet even with the modifications.
Lucky for him, he didn't know just how substantial these modifications were. When Seven, Weaver, Kalmiya, Cameron, and Cortana were finished with the Spirit of Fire, she'd be more powerful than Infinity.
USS Voyager
After Reunion...
As the Spartan IIs intermingled, Connor and Cortana had both departed quickly. Allison and Six hung around for a few seconds longer just to observe their new teammates before leaving the obviously intimate scene.
Six noticed that Allison was brooding as they walked down the corridor.
"What's on your mind?"
Allison's helmeted head snapped to Six. "Nothing..." and she shook her head.
Six sighed. "I know you better than that." she growled, "You were staring at us during the match, spit it out."
It was Allison's turn to sigh. "Come with me." She said and entered her room. She took off her helmet and set it on a table.
Sensing that her younger compatriot wanted a little more casual conversation, Six removed her own grey helmet.
Allison flinched when she saw her face. "Did you hear what Serina said the other day in the mess hall?"
"Something about the Master Chief looking like me. Why?" She didn't see that as relevant.
"I noticed too." Allison whispered. "I asked the Doctor to compare your physical profile with the Chief's, do you know what he found?"
Six was thoroughly confused at this point. "No."
Allison was incredulous, Six still hadn't caught on. "You're his sister, Six, you're the friggin' Master Chief's sister!"
The silence was palpable as shock and disbelief settled over Six.
"That's...that's impossible..."
Allison's eyebrows arched. "Is it? You look exactly alike and you're the only two Hyper-Lethal Spartans!"
Six collapsed in the nearest chair, her face blank and eyes staring at nothing as the puzzle pieces fell into place. The reason her name was classified, the reason she'd been pulled out from the rest of Beta Company so early in her training, the reason why Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose, aka Kurt-051, had personally trained her.
How many people had known?
Wait. There was one person who would have known. Cortana
A sudden anger burned through the Spartan after realizing the AI had kept that secret. She looked up to the sensor strip hidden in the ceiling knowing Cortana was watching.
Sensing Six's plasma-hot glare, Cortana decided to explain herself.
Six's glare only intensified, she was losing her cool.
"Look," Cortana started with a sigh, "I did what I thought was necessary..."
Six shot to her feet, "Necessary? Do you even know where Spartan IIIs come from?"
"Of course..."
"We aren't like the IIs! Halsey conscripted them; we IIIs volunteered to avenge our families!" Her hands shook with emotion as she paced. "You should have told me."
It was then that Cortana realized her error. She'd never had much data on the Spartan IIIs, even the insights the Halo books had given didn't allude to just how much they were driven by revenge.
Looking abashed, Cortana apologized. "I'm sorry, Six," she began twiddling her thumbs, again. "What do you want to do?"
Six heaved a deep sigh as she forced the emotions form her mind. "Nothing." She said calmly, "He doesn't need to know. We keep this between us four."
Allison was about to protest, but Six's glare kept her mouth shut.
"Alright, it stays between you, me, Allison, and the Doctor." She repeated before dissipating her avatar.
The Beta-class Spartan-III continued to breathe deeply as she reigned in her emotions. Allison touched her arm lightly, a small comforting gesture to her friend and mentor.
"Thanks for telling me." Six whispered quietly; Allison just patted her arm and left, knowing Six needed some time alone.
After Allison departed, Six stood there for a few more moments before leaving the room.
Elsewhere in the Halo Universe...
Narada
Central Core
Same Time
The AI responsible for the death of its native human population and putting the Sangheili on the endangered species list pondered its next move at seeing the remains of Installation 05.
The Didact and the Arbiter had a faster ship, and thus would beat Skynet to every Halo installation. That was unacceptable.
Skynet was weighing its options; the Didact and the Arbiter were on their home turf, they knew it better than Skynet did. There was one thing though, the Didact couldn't be everywhere at once.
Requiem was too predictable as were the other rings, but there was one place the Didact might not know about that had a treasure trove of Forerunner technologies.
Shield World Trevelyan, named after the late Spartan-II Kurt(-051) Trevelyan. It was a Dyson's Sphere that housed a cache of valuable tech. It was where Infinity had gotten its Forerunner Slipspace engines.
That was where it would go, and while it was at it, show the UNSC what it was like to take on a full sentient and free military defense AI.
If Skynet had a face, it would have smiled at the thought of it.
Back on Voyager, Six had removed her armor and slipped on a pair of black cargo pants over her body-suit. She needed time to think and process all that had happened, and all that she had learned.
If she was suddenly taken over by emotion, she didn't want to punch a hole in a bulkhead.
She also wanted some fresh air and that was what led her to the shuttle bay. At the edge of the launch platform, she crossed her legs and sat down. The Spartan kept her eyes fixed on the upper edge of the Ark many miles distant as the emotions continued to pound through her chest like a bass drum.
It was hard to reconcile that she had a brother after knowing her family had been dead for so long. A brother that her mentor, Kurt-051, had looked up to as a great leader and a great Spartan. While she had never had the talent of leadership, she certainly had his combat skills.
There was a reason why they were the only Hyper-Lethal Spartans. They were from the same family, they had the same parents. They'd been raised in similar ways since they were very young.
A shuddering breath left her lungs as a new wave of disbelief washed over her. She was so lost in her thoughts and emotions that she failed to hear two booted feet approaching until they were nearly upon her.
"You know," a gruff voice started, "if I were one of them, you'd be dead."
"Derek..." She warned with a sigh.
He kept his mouth shut and sat down next to her while watching her as he tried to guess the source of her distraction. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.
"You know, I told Kyle once that if something's bothering you, and you can't put it aside, you should tell someone."
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"
"Cause you'll end up being distracted, and being distracted means you'll be..."
"Dead." She finished with a sigh. "I've already talked about it; I just need to think."
He grunted in response before turning his gaze to the upward horizon. "That helping?" He nodded to the vista in front of them.
"It was, before you showed up." She groused unhappily.
Derek shook his head. "Spartans," he chuckled, "When are you going to learn that your still human? You don't have to be alone."
She turned to him sharply, "I was alone for fourteen years! I accepted that I was a lone wolf; I needed no one."
Sensing he was getting somewhere, he nudged her for more. "And now your not? You've been with us for months."
"That's not what I meant, Derek. I meant family." Her voice was laced with more emotion than he'd ever seen from her before. It was there that he understood something about the 21 year-old he hadn't before.
Despite all the time that had passed, she still wanted her family.
He could definitely relate. He missed Kyle something fierce, and he hoped he was safe with Sarah and Savannah.
"You miss them." It was a statement, not a question.
She nodded slightly, her eyes downcast to the grey deck plates, "Just like you miss Kyle."
That wasn't what he expected her to say. She'd never had a brother to his knowledge, "You had a sibling?"
Her eyes snapped to his; she didn't want to say anything about the Chief, but she didn't want to lie to him either, "Have a sibling, Derek. I just found out."
His face scrunched in confusion, "Just found out? You didn't know?"
Six shook her head, "No, Allison figured it out and told me."
Derek was incredulous, "Figured it out? How the hell would she figure it out unless..." he paused as the revelation rolled over him, "unless they were on the ship."
She said nothing and waited for him to work it out himself. He examined her intently studying her face. She had attractive angular features, icy blue eyes, and light brown hair with a hint of freckles on her cheeks.
Something clicked in his mind, who did she look like?
His mind flashed back to when he saw the Master Chief's face yesterday morning.
The shock on his face told her he'd figured it out. Then he began to laugh.
She stared at him with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "It isn't funny." She growled.
He wiped tears from his eyes and looked at her. "After everything that's happened... We've had more than our fair share of coincidences lately, haven't we?"
"This is different."
Derek's face became serious, "Of course it's different. It's personal."
The emotions poured over her again and she tucked her knees underneath her chin. "It changes everything. He changes everything." She breathed as she fought with the lingering grief and disbelief.
Then she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder; she turned to see Derek there and shuddered at the closeness. She didn't know why he affected her like that, she'd never experienced it before, ever.
"What are you doing?" She asked with shaky breath.
He met her questioning stare before responding. "Comforting a friend," he said plainly.
"I don't need comforting," she spat, but didn't shrug his arm off.
"Look, I may not be a Spartan, but I sure as hell know what it's like to loose your parents and everything you knew. I know what it's like to watch the world burn. I know what it's like to have your world turned upside down just when you think you knew everything. It tears you apart, and your left with picking up the pieces."
Six blinked; he was right. She turned back to the Ark's vista as they sat in silence.
Eventually, she felt her eyes drooping and made to go to bed, but Derek simply guided her head to his shoulder.
It was the most peaceful rest she'd had in a long time.
A/N: Long chapter, but at least I got it out before the month was up. My muse was with me for a rather long period this time.
On another note, the reason I put such a long section in about Six was because I wanted to show you readers how the Spartan-IIIs differed from their predecessors.
The next chapter will have a Jameron scene in it. Sorry for not being able to squeeze on in this chapter. It should be out by Christmas.