A Strong Foundation, Can Birth Legends - Part 1

{2300 Hours September 23, 2517 / Epsilon Eridani System, Planet Reach, Unnamed Military Complex}

It had been a month since I had talked to High Command and gotten the rank of Lieutenant. Once we got to Reach, I had changed back to my child form. The new trait I got from the quest reward, Leader, increased my charisma and made it easier to influence my troops. It also boosted their morale whenever I had the trait active.

'I hope nothing happened to Admiral Stanforth' I think. The only communication I had gotten from him was a piece of mail that told me that my information had proven correct about Sloan. He had been apprehended by ONI. The board of Chalybs had been furious at that. Apparently they had negotiated and finally came to the compromise of allowing Chalybs to scan Sloan's brain to create a smart AI.

During this time I spent my time practicing my skills or talking with Halsey. We talked about a lot of things, such as the ethics and morals behind the spartan program, or about our childhood. I talked about my supposed childhood of living with only my mother after my father, Sloan had rejected us. I told her that my prophetic powers had scared him so he kicked me and my mother out. I said that my mother loved me a lot and worked hard to provide for us, eventually working herself to death.

Halsey talked about her childhood on Endymion and her mentor Admiral Ysionris Jeromi. She said he didn't approve of her working at the Office of Naval Intelligence, or ONI. Apparently he showed his disapproval every time he meets her. To me, it sounded like a doting father who missed their married daughter. I told her the comparison and she laughed at the thought, except the laugh sounded a bit like sorrow. During one of our conversations, she asked if she would have a child.

"I told you already," I said. "You and Keyes will have a daughter."

"You were telling the truth?" she asked.

"Yes," I responded. "You have already had thoughts about him, haven't you." Halsey didn't respond. "I know you thought his awkwardness back on Eridanus Two, when he was wearing civilian clothes, was cute." She blushed slightly at that.

"Didn't you say you wanted to train with Mendez?" She said, a little forcefully.

"I did," I said with a smirk. "I'll be going now. I can't wait to see you and Keyes go out!" I yell as I ran out of the room.

I smiled at that memory. The cold doctor was actually a softie inside.

"You're thinking of something rude, aren't you?" Said Halsey.

"Yep," I say. "You're quite a Tsundere." Halsey ignored my comment. She continued to play with her notes on her podium.

[Are you ready, Doctor?] a disembodied woman's voice asked.

"Almost, Deja." Dr. Halsey sighed. "Please summon Chief Petty Officer Mendez. I'd like you both present when I address them."

Deja's hologram flicked on next to the podium. The AI had been specifically created for Dr. Halsey's SPARTAN project. She took the appearance of a Greek Goddess; barefoot, wrapped in the toga, motes of light dancing about her luminous white hair. She held a clay tablet in her left hand. Binary cuneiform markings scrolled across the tablet. Dr. Halsey and I couldn't help but marvel at the Ai's chosen form. Each AI 'self-assigned' a holographic appearance, and each was unique.

One of the doors at the top of the amphitheater opened and Chief Petty Officer Mendez strode down the stairs. He wore a black dress uniform, his chest awash with silver and good stars, and a rainbow of campaign ribbons. His close-shorn hair had a touch of gray at the temples. He was neither tall nor muscular; he looked so ordinary for a man who had seen so much combat . . . except for his stride. The man moved with a slow grace as if he were walking in half gravity. He nodded his head at me, before pausing in from of Halsey, awaiting further instruction.

"Up here, please," she told him, gesturing to the stairs on her right. Mendez mounted the steps of the platform then stood at ease next to her.

[You have read my psychological evaluations?] Deja asked Halsey.

"Yes. They were quite thorough," she said. "Thank you."

[And?]

"I'm forgoing your recommendations, Deja. I'm going to tell them the truth."

Mendez gave a nearly inaudible grunt of approval - one the most verbose acknowledgments Dr. Halsey had heard from him. As a hand-to-hand combat and physical-training DI, Mendez was the best in the Navy. As a conversationalist, however, he left a great deal to be desired.

[The truth has risks] Deja cautioned.

"So do lies," Dr. Halsey replied. "Amy story fabricated to motivate the children - claiming their parents were taken and killed by pirates, or by a plague that devastated their planet = if they learned the truth later, they would turn against us."

[It is a legitimate concern] conceded Deja, and then she consulted her tablet.

[May I suggest selective neural paralysis? It produces a targeted amnesia - ]

"A memory loss that may leak into other parts of the brain. No," Dr. Halsey said, "this will be dangerous enough for them even with intact minds." She clicked her microphone. "Bring them in now."

"Aye aye," a voice replied from the speakers in the ceiling.

"They'll adapt," Dr. Halsey told Deja. "Or they won't, and they will be untrainable and unsuitable for the project. Either way, I just want to get this over with."

Four sets of double doors at the top tier of the amphitheater swung open. Seventy-five children marched in - each accompanied by a handler, a Naval drill instructor in camouflage pattern fatigues.

The children had circles of fatigue around their eyes. They had all been collected, rushed here through slipstream space, and only recently brought out of cryosleep. 'They must be taking it hard' I thought. Even I, who knew the future, felt a bit of regret. This would probably be their easiest ordeal. Even if this was necessary, it still hurt.

When they had been seated in the risers, Dr. Halsey cleared her throat and spoke; "As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, code-named SPARTAN II."

Halsey paused, I could see the regret and conflict in her eyes. 'She's trying to justify it' I think. I look at the children. They were so confused. A few of them tried to stand and leave, but their handlers placed firm hands on their shoulder and pushed them back down.

Dr. Halsey took a tentative step forward. "You have been called upon to serve," she explained. "You will be trained . . . and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies." A handful of the children sat up straighter, no longer entirely frightened, but now interested.

I looked over at John, subject Number 117, the first boy that was confirmed as a viable candidate. He wrinkled his forehead, confused, but he listened with rapt attention.

"This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents." The children stirred. Their handlers kept a firm grip on their shoulders.

"This place will become your home," Dr. Halsey said in as soothing a voice as she could muster. "Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it."

Her words sounded Patriotic. But they weren't true. Not all of the children would make it. Even if they didn't, ONI would call them 'acceptable losses'.

"Rest now," Dr. Halsey said to them. "We will begin tomorrow." She turned to Mendez. "Have the children . . . the trainees escorted to their barracks. Feed them and put them to bed."

"Yes, ma'am," Mendez said. "Fall out!" he shouted. The children rose - at the urging of their handlers. John 117 stood, but he kept his gaze on Dr. Halsey and remained stoic. Many of the subjects seemed stunned, a few had trembling lips - but none of them cried.

"Don't worry," I say. "They won't break. And if they do, I'll be there, putting them back together." I pause, "Injuries can heal, minds can be mended. But lives cannot be given back. This is necessary. No matter how unfortunate this is." I reach up and pat Halsey's shoulder, before turning around and walking out with the other trainees.

"Keep them busy tomorrow," I hear her tell Mendez and Deja. "Keep them from thinking about what we've just done to them."

"I pray to God that it will be worth it." I hear her whisper. "I hope your right about this, Alia."