A/N

Hey, y'all! I'm back (finally, right). I wanted to say I was sorry about leaving y'all with nothing for ages. School got hectic as shit along with my job, so... My color guard director also won't tell me what team I'm on, which just another cap to the growing pillar. Anyway, here's thirteen, and I'm already working on fourteen. Also, if y'all remember from a couple chapters ago, I'm still willing to take suggestions for either chapters, tag-along shorts, or personal OC's. Just PM me if you have any questions.

Thirteen

As soon as the Spartans had gotten to the gym, Tai had walked over to the punching bags and started railing it in on them. The enhanced soldiers watched on as the teen continued to lay into the punching bags. Even in her apparent rage, her stance was proper and her fists never stuttered. With a deep sigh, Frederic walked over to the punching bags and slowly forced the teen to come off the bags, placing most of his weight against them to a standstill.

Tai attempted to turn and lunge at him, but instead ended up falling to her knees. Frederic went down with her and drew the smaller girl to his chest. None of the Spartans were the most socially adept people on the planet, nor did they understand how to properly handle the emotions the teen was showing, but that didn't stop Fredric from attempting to calm the hurt girl down.

Frederic could feel the cotton of his shirt being soaked in tears, could feel the teen's shoulders hitch with every stuttering breath, but never once did she let her anguish be heard. Tai had curled her hands into the fabric of Fred's shirt and let herself be held for a couple of minutes before she drew in a large breath and slowly sat up and away from the teal Spartan.

Her cheeks and nose were a splotchy red and there was evidence of her crying by the tear tracks staining her face. Tai quickly brought her hands up to her eyes and harshly whipped away the wetness. Frederic gave her a once over, his blue eyes trailing over her form. Deeming her steady enough, he slowly loosened his grip on the kid, but keeping one hand on her shoulder.

When the teen managed to calm her breathing, the Spartan stood to his full height and looked at Tai. "Doing better now?"

Tai nods. "Sorry you had to see that." She says softly, not trusting her voice after what had happened.

"Hey now, don't apologize. We may not know what you're going through, but we know people who have and we know how to deal with it."

The other Spartans came into a close-knit circle around the pair, blocking out any other people who may have wandered into the room at the wrong time. Tai glanced around at the eyes looking down at her. She had always hated being looked down on, but she couldn't help but feel as though a weight had been lifted from her chest. A weight that she'd been carrying since her experiments and subsequent abandonment. The enhanced soldiers around her wouldn't judge, it wasn't what they were created to do. They may not understand what Tai was going through, but they did know she needed their support.

"We wanna help, little one, but we need to know what's going on in that head of yours before we figure out a plan." Linda states gruffly. She wasn't normally the one to try and start the conversations, that was mainly Kelly and Frederic. The Chief couldn't help but think that this kid had somehow wormed her way into the hearts of his team. And maybe his own.

Tai looked down, her icy eyes staring holes into the ground she kneeled on. Could she really trust the Spartan's with her most horrendous secret? She had trusted them enough to let them into her lives. They hadn't given her a reason to not trust them. A loud sigh came from the teen before her blue eyes locked onto Linda's.

"Doctor Halsey and her assistants are the reason that I'm here right now. And not in a good way. When I was little, maybe three, I was taken to a lab of sorts to have some tests run on me. Tests done by Doctor Halsey." The nineteen year-old took a shuddering breath before continuing.

It took a bit, but finally, just about an hour later, Tai was sitting fully on the ground against the gym's walls, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. She wasn't looking at the Spartan's, but she could practically feel the fury radiating off of them. Although, Tai had the feeling that they knew about everything she'd just told them, or at least most of it. They didn't seem too surprised when she brought up her damaged past.

The silence that rang about the gym was almost suffocating to the teen. She just wished they'd say something. Finally, she glanced up, her once bright blue eyes dulled. Her breath caught at the looks of absolute rage that seemed to burn in the Spartans' dark eyes. She had seen the Spartans in battle, hell, she'd fought alongside the Chief when they'd first left Talian, but Tai had never thought that expression would be for her, aimed at the people who'd traumatized her so long ago.

Tai couldn't understand why these amazing people would even try and help her. They didn't fully understand normal human emotions, they weren't made to. And yet, here she was, four larger than life Spartan's surrounding her, trying to calm her down. Tai felt something warm crawl into her all-too black heart. A feeling she hadn't had since her adoptive parents.

John looked over his Spartan's. Somehow, this kid had managed to wedge her way into their hearts. She did what no one else was willing to do. Tai had made… friends… with the Spartan's. And in turn, they'd gotten protective of her. He'd gotten protective of her. His green eyes glanced over the forms of his team, taking in the expressions of unadulterated rage. This kid had become more meaningful than they'd ever thought a civilian could.

The stars were bright as Tai looked out at them, the fluorescent light making her face glow. The teen had been sitting still for close to an hour, her mind buzzing with the fact that her "mother" is gonna be on the next ship. It had been close to fifteen years since she'd last even thought of her biological mother. In all truth, she was… scared… of facing her mother. The last time she saw her mother was when the lady had abandoned her on Talian.

Tai had hoped and prayed to any Gods that she wouldn't ever have to come face to face with that bastard again. The Gods' had a cruel sense of humor, apparently. The teen could feel the presence of someone behind her. She hadn't heard anyone enter the room, though. She waited until the person was in her peripherals before turning her head to face them.

The Chief had gotten worried when the teen hadn't shown up to the mess hall after the rest of his team had brought the girl back to reality. He figured he'd find the firecracker-like girl on the star deck. Frederic had told him that she was often found there, and he'd been right. The teen had tucked herself into a corner of the star deck, her knees drawn up to her chest, her chin resting lightly against them.

John stood at the entrance of the room for a moment, just studying the girl before he came in. Her red hair was tied into a small ponytail, the hair having grown out during the months she'd been on the battleship. Her face was red and the bags under her cerulean eyes were dark, like she hadn't gotten sleep in decades. When the girl looked up at his presence, he moved further into the room, coming to stand beside her.

She didn't look at him for a while, not until he came close enough to be seen without her moving her head. Tai looked up, her bright eyes dull and watery. Frederic had done what he could for the teen, but even the Chief knew that the toughest of soldiers had bad days. But, Tai wasn't a soldier, she may have acted like one, like a Commander, even, but she wasn't meant to take this burden that John could tell was weighing on her. Sure she'd seen her fair share of the war, maybe more so than the rest of her group, but that didn't mean she was invincible, no matter how much she tried to seem so.

John had seen many soldiers and marines alike fall because they tried to carry a burden by themselves. He'd seen the best of Spartans killed all because they had refused to let someone else shoulder some of the weight on their backs. He refused to let this flaming girl go down like that as well. She had wormed her way into their hearts, and he knew his Spartan's would never forgive themselves if something happened to her. He'd never forgive himself.

Tai may not have been a true Spartan, or even a marine, but she was all the same a warrior. She was part of their team, and they wouldn't let this shining light dim because of something that was unforeseeable. No matter what happened within the next couple days, or even on the Infinity, they'd let nothing befall the brightest of stars. They couldn't.