((Wow, were you guys waiting for me before you posted? Sorry. . .))
Although Axel spoke quietly, Col. Yi's sensitive ears picked up what he said well enough to understand him. She gave a little of her attention to hear what he said, inclining her head slightly.
Banken had been working with Yi long enough that he was watching her more than anything else, and it was obvious that Axel caught some of her attention. He quickly opened up his ready-made hack into the local database and dredged up what little data was available on Spartan 010, sending it through in an encrypted low-power burst to the librarian-style glasses Yi was wearing (much like Dr. Halsey's glasses), where she would be able to read it without attracting any attention other than having a vaguely glazed-over look.
Jacob felt a finger wipe the blood on his face. He looked down to see Rae excited about all of this probably more so then any of them.
Axel had hit a nerve with Jacob when he talked about the Spartans that didn't make it through the enhancements. Jacob almost hit Axel then and there to break his jaw for such disrespect to the departed.
Jacob decided it was time for Axel to either put this pettiness behind him or just leave. So Jacob told Axel, "I will pray for your fallen comrades and you Axel but never speak ill of t our fallen friendslike that in front of me again or both of us will not walk away from that fight." Jacob made sure to highlight the Ours implying that Axel was no longer one of them. Jacob thought that would have to be something earned. Jacob knew he couldn't beat Axel in a fight but he knew he could seriously hurt axel if he needed to. Despite it all though Jacob still looked at axel as a brother and he felt that deep down Axel felt the same way.
After Axel had left Jacob could see Rae jumpy and giddy about the armor so much so she was screeching in his ear. It was deafening. Jacob waited for a little while before his number was called.
"Spartan Zero-Eight-Six," a man's voice rang. Jacob walked over the station he was lead to. He looked at the armor. He looked into the visor and secretly asked God to give him the strength to do what he must. He then went though the process.
The techs had already finished fitting Raevynn into her armor. They had her walking in circles and along lines in the floor to get her body accommodated with the new feel of things. She was busy walking along a red line and staring at her clumsy feet when Axel approached her. At first she was pleased with his presence, but as soon as she saw the nearly imperceptible look on his face, she knew his intentions were not as she hoped for.
One of Raevynn's hands balled into a fist. His words were like bullets hitting her one at time over and over. After all he had seen and been through, he still had the nerve to stand before her and insult her brethren. Her mouth opened to cut him off mid-sentance, but nothing came out, and instead he finished, turning and leaving her to deal with her anger.
As he opened the door, and started speaking again, her blood boiled with rage. Raevynn exhaled deeply as she realised she had been holding her breath. As she inhaled, she took a step forward, and ignoring the techs warnings marched towards the door that was beginning to shut behind Axel. Raevynn was forced to quicken her awkward pace to keep up with the boy. She slipped her hand into the small space left between the door and the wall, and pulled it open again, squeezing inside just in time to stop Axel.
Her hand grabbed hold of his shoulder and spun him to face her. Raevynn's eyes bore right into his with a stare that could kill. She stayed this way for a full three seconds before backhanding him across the side of his face.
"Who gave you the right?" She snarled. "Those Spartans sacrificed more than you'll ever give in your entire life time. It's you who doesn't deserve to attend that funeral. Infact I wont allow it." Raevynn paused, then leaned closer to his face before speaking again. "You're nothing, Axel. Nothing but a clean simple coward."
"I did." He said simply. "No one gave me the right to do anything, I chose to take it myself." He looked her up and down. "At least you have the nerve to stand up for your people and what you believe in. That's more than I expected of someone like you. And you dont have to worry about allowing me to do anything, for one thing I out rank you so you can't tell me what I can and cannot do involving military circumstance, and as I told you before, I don't intend to go. I went through that ordeal twice, I don't feel like going through it again."
"Your Spartans, whether you believe it or not, have sacraficed far less than those at Onyx. You, your brothers, and your sisters were taken against their will. The Spartans that were under my command volunteered for the operation. Your Spartans posess natural genetic superiority. The ones from Onyx did not, but they chose to fight for what they believed in regardless. Your Spartans live a life of luxury compared to most people, whether you see that or not. You work harder, but you get a lot more in return." He paused.
"At least you got to experience your childhood." He said. "Pleasant or not. Spartans at Onyx did not, their first enhancements sped up their growth so they would reach full maturity at the ages of eight and nine. Our training was far more dangerous, to the point of death the first day some arrived. The kids I see here have made less literal sacrafices, and they have an easier time doing the same tasks to boot. You all get to ride into combat in a several billion dollar piece of hardware called MJOLNIR. The armor Anton and Selena wore..." He said, reaching to his side and holding out a pair of blood stained dog tags. "..was far less augementing."
"Five hundred." He said the number. "How many of your Spartans are there? Less than one hundred. I see most of you are still here. Five hundred other Spartans, put into combat with in a far more perilous situation at a far younger age are all dead, because they grew up and did their job. They sacraficed thier lives."
Wordlessly he took off his helmet, and began removing the armor on his chest. "Tell me Raevynn." He said, using her name. "How does someone who's only been in live combat once, fighting poorly equipped rebels for only a few minutes have the guts to tell a legion of souls about sacrafice?" He held out his arm, now partly void of exterior armor. "Looks nice dosen't it?" He said sarcastically. "It's not the first one there. I lost my original to a plasma sword on Serandi Six two years ago. That was my third mission."
"You're still alive. I wish I could say the same for my own Spartans..." Placing last part of his chestpiece on the floor, he undid the left side of his under armor, revealling a still healing wound, covered in medical applicants. "You know the only reasons I'm not wearing my old armor is because there wasn't enough of it left for me to wear. I had a hard time believing there was enough of me left to wear this one." He began re-applying his armor.
"Something you need to learn Raevynn, is that I dont respect you and your Spartans is because with all the extra money, supplies, and capability you were given... somehow you've managed to stay in the lifestyle I left behind when I was ten years old. Your still here, nice and safe at home while my own family was up there. Fighting, and dying for their people."
"The last of them died a few days ago in this star system." He handed her the dog-tags. "Our objective was protecting the security of Reach's location. The Covenant we were fighting had found out, and were using our own flagship to try and transmit the information to their people. You should be grateful." He said, quietly. "They died making sure to-be legends like you would have a future, because they knew you could make more of a difference, and so did I. That was thier last sacrafice, and only one of mine." He finished, applying the last piece of armor moments later.
"You don't understand, at all, do you?" He looked at her with a confused expression. "I dont have anything to be afraid of anymore, because I'm already dead."
"Are we done?"
Abbra grinned faintly at the armor, she didn't seem as inclined to it as everybody else. So they had lived through everything so far, this only signified it was time to begin killing. Her conscience would no longer have any jurisdiction over her actions. She heaved a sigh, listening reluctantly to Axel. Still, she did not hate him like all the others seemed to. They didn't understand, she herself couldn't comprehend or begin to imagine what he was going through. It was frustrating to be confronted with a problem you could not solve, especially when that problem is a person. Irregardless, he was family.
A metallic taste lingered in her mouth, her saliva was hard to swallow. Her mind made a point of reminding herself not to get to attached to anybody. Although reluctantly it knew the task was an impossible one. "One twenty four." A dignified, feminine voice rang. Abbra followed, her response lacking conviction.
The tecks suited her up quickly, so much so that she found herself surprised. The suit constituted a strange feeling, one which she could not define. Power perhaps, although she never had anything to base such a feeling on. "One twenty four, please look at the light until it turns green." She glanced up from her hands, the hands which would shed the blood of thousands of creatures, and agreed, allowing herself to be put through the required paces.
Parker looked around after his helmet was placed on. It felt odd, but not stuffy and cramped. He moved his arms around a bit, but had trouble with his left, cybernetic arm. He muttered aloud as he moved it around. "It feels stiff, like I was laying on it funny."
He turned to the Colonel. "I have no idea if it's normal to the suit, or if something's gone wrong. What do you think?" As he waited for an answer, he realized he should've answered with a title in his last sentence.
Raevynn shook her head as she turned her eyes away from the boy whom she hardly recognized any more.
"You must take me for an idiot, Axel. Because you've witnessed first hand as the lives of 'your' Spartans were thrown away, that makes you worth something more than the rest of us. If you ask me, five hundred is nothing more than a sad waste of blood and flesh. Your stories are far from impressive, they are sickening. They only help to prove that the Spartans here are going to be far more prepared than you ever were. And instead of drowning our enemies in a sea of our blood, we'll be around to see the results of our efforts."
Raevynn then turned to face the door. "You are not dead, Axel. You're dying. And I'm sorry. I truly am."
The young Spartan then pushed open the door and stepped back into the large room where almost everyone was finished suiting up. The patient tech who had been helping her earlier, swooped down on her instantly.
"There you are, one one six." He patted her thickly armored shoulder and pointed in the direction of the man in the wheel chair she had spotted earlier. "See that man? His name is Fhajad, he works for section 1 of the ONI. He's designed an A.I. that's specially formatted to cope with your suits needs. Not to mention your own. Seeing how you're perfectly capable of walking, you can go see him now." The man finished and gave her another push in his direction.
As Raevynn made her way towards the wheelchair confined man, she couldn't help but notice how tall he was. He must have been in some sort of accident to have landed himself in such a condition.
Although her mind raced with curiosity, she forced herself to ignore this, and came to a stop in front of the man. Saluting him, she noticed how strangely fast her arm moved, and nearly smacked herself in the face. Feeling a little embarrassed, she hesitated before making another move. Fhajad must have noticed this, because he started speaking before she had a chance to say anything at all.
"You must be one one six." He replied, before rotating his chair around to face a computer screen. "Please, have a s-seat." He stuttered, waving his hand in the direction of a nearby stool. "This will only a take minute."
Raevynn scooted the metal chair closer, surprised by how easily it moved. She sat down and watched as Fhajad's fingers tapped effortlessly across the computers keyboard. Every so often the man would twitch, but it didn't slow him down at all.
"Here it is." He finally spoke, swiveling to face a large panel next to the computer. Seconds later a transparent green hologram flashed into view over the panel. It was a man draped in robes with short bumpy hair. Lines of numbers and data ran up and down the length of his body. "This is Gautama. He will go straight into the neural implant in the back of your neck."
Raevynn reached to feel metallic surface that now permanently resided behind her head. Before this, it served no purpose. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous about putting something inside of her neck.
Fhajad pressed a button on the panel, and Gautama faded from sight. He placed his hand in front of one of the ports on the side of the panel, and waited until a shining green disc popped into his hand.
"Here. Insert this end first," He pointed, "and push. The disc will slide right in, and you will instantly feel the presence of your A.I. S-stay relaxed, it may be alarming the first time around." He finished and handed the green disc to her with a smile.
Raevynn plucked the device from his fingers and turned it over in her hands. Although it wasn't very large, it was almost frightening to imagine this object nestled inside the back of her neck. Nevertheless, she didn't hesitated. She reached around the back of her head and pressed the disc into the appropriate implant. There was a loud ringing in her ears, and an ice cool chill rushed through her head, causing her to grip the edge of the stool.
"You'll probably need t-this." Fhajad's voice sounded somewhat distant as he handed her a tissue. "Gautama will activate your HUD, and run you through it's schematics."
"Hello Raevynn." A voice came from inside her head. It was unnaturally clear and easy to understand. She knew right away that it was Gautama. "I'm activating your heads up display. Never mind the noise." he chimed. Fractions of a second later, an array of numbers, letters and symbols scrolled across her vision, followed closely by various clicks, beeps and other strange noises from inside her head.
Both Raevynn's eye's illuminated at random intervals. In return beads of blood started to roll from them. The Spartan dabbed at her face, amazed by the strange event unfolding inside her head.
"...war never is impressive Rae!" He shouted as she walked away. "Did you really think we had a choice? We weren't asked to go to combat!" He hesitated. "We were forced..." He finished with a whisper.
He blinked as the doors closed. Given the choice he would have wanted his Spartan's to have had more time. Time to prepare, time to train. Time to live... He always looked back. Always regretted his choices. He never really did stand up to higher powers. Maybe he was a coward, and if he wasn't his people would still be alive?
His eyes started to sting so he shut them, but that didn't stop anything. Looking down, he forced his eyes open. Gazing at metallic hands through a sea of tears and golden glass. Hands that had brought the seal of fate into the lives of countless creatures, and held up the right of life to others... and he couldn't even keep them from shaking.
He never did give many words of kindness to them. The hands slid out of his view as he looked up, at what? The wall? At nothing? Maybe at time. Looking back at familir faces, faces he would never see again. Looking back at what life was like as a child, even during his first year at Reach. But that was all gone now. Gone because the reality was Axel wasn't that important. Gone because he's failed to have the impact on those around him that he could have. After all, he only was thirteen years old.
His hands balled into fists, the same time as his faceplate was filling up with tears. He shook his head, none of this made any sense anymore. There was a sound like mild thunder as Axel's fist plowed its way into the wall, through the metal into the soft electrial underneath. Oblivious, his other fist found it's way into the wall beside its partner. For now, metal would be the victim of his wrath.
His hands slipped free of their own carnage as he slid to his knees, head hung in overwhelming emotion. The scream that escaped his lips held no anger, no valor. Only the bleeding sadness of a young teenager who's world had been murdered in front of him. He looked up to see sparks drifting from his destruction. He didn't care though. Didn't move, not even to acknowledge the people that had come to see what was going on. He simply sat on his knees, staring at the ground, oblivious in all senses.
sorry this maybe kinda short
Spike walked up to the armor that fitted his body type and his specialties. The techs fitted it and had him test it and he passed his body got used to the armor very quickly. Then all of a sudden Spike heard someone say
"Hello there spartan 024."
Spike looked around the room up and down left and right but there was no one near him. Was his mind playing tricks on him or was he just going crazy.
"Who's there and where are you?"
Spike said in a normal tone. Still looking around. A little holographic person appeared on his helmet screen and now Spike was losing it he was crazy.
"Hello my name is Asoska and i am your A.I. If you don't know what that mean im am your artifical intelegence. I will help you with what ever you need help with and I will also help you with directions, stratagies and adive. Where I am located is in your helmet I am programed into your helmet so you can see and talk to me when ever you need to."
Asoska said taking a scan of Spike's body.
"Well ok so now I know that I am not crazy. I think calling me by my name would be easier than calling me by my subject number all the time. My name is Spike."
Spike said standing awaiting a reply or orders for what to do from someone else. While he was waiting he checked out his body in the armor and thaught he looked pretty badas$.
"Spartan One-One-Five? Follow me please." Parker saluted to the Colonel before he ran off, following a man wearing small, square glasses who lead him towards a bunch of computers that had different names and stats. They arrived at one of the computers, and the man motioned Parker to sit in the chair next to him.
Once he took a seat, the man entered some numbers and codes until a certain program was opened. A hologram with an odd looking A.I. appeared on the screen. He wore no shirt, and had teeth that looked like wolf fangs.
The man turned to Parker "This will be your A.I. His name is Alavaka. You will insert him into the neural implant in the back of your head." Parker waited as the man pressed some more buttons and a green holo disc came into view. The man grabbed it and handed it to Parker. "Put him in this way first and push. Your enhancements will take it from there. I must warn you: Alvaka can be snappy and rude at times, but don't let that distract you. He is a loyal A.I. and does things when asked."
Parker took off his helmet and inserted the disc into the implant into the back of his neck, gripping his seat when a loud ringing and cooling chill went down his spine. A clear, but snappy voice appeared.
"Hello Spartan-One-One-Five. Or should I call you Parker? Whatever. Listen, I'm going to activate your HUD for you, so just relax. I don't want you freaking out after I activate it, or else I'll get very mad. Oh and you might need a tissue nearby. Here we go!"
Alavaka began the activation. Parker watched as numbers and symbols began to appear infront of his eyes and hearing several clicks and beeps were heard only by him. When his eyes began to bleed, the man handed him a couple of tissues and he dabbed at them. This A.I. was snappy, but atleast he got the job done.
Spike took off his helmet and looked around. He rubbed his head then let his arms down to his sides holding onto his helmet by the chin in his fingertips. Spike walked over to his squad leader Rae.
*Salutes*
"Squad leader may I ask how you are doing today? and also isn't that capture the flag game we all been waiting forever for suppost to happen today? All I know is that me and you on the same team means unstoppable."
Spike said looking over his armor once more then over Raes.
Wise finally come out of the testing lab inside his new armor, hitting himself in a head like an idiot of some sort it took awhile til one spartan finally spoke in curiosity why he was doing that.
"Because this suit sucks, I got an itch on my nose and I can't scratch it!"
Wise never figured to take the helmet off but then again he didn't have too as one of the tech workers came out in a hurry to give him the disc for his A.I.
(sorry finish later g2g)
Jacob's helmet slid on over his face to confirm the suit had been put on. It felt awkward and familiar both at the same time. Maybe it was just the fact that Jacob knew this is what was going to happen ever since he saw the armor.
The lab tech began to ask Jacob a series of questions like how did the armor feel? Was it hurting in any places on him? Jacob answered in a phase of head shakes of yes or no.
Finally the lab guy took Jacob over to a terminal. He began to patch in on a keyboard until a pinkish hologram of a women appeared dressed in robes. Jacob thought the little girl was kind of cute.
The lab tech finally told Jacob what it was. He said, "This will be your personal A.I. unit and will assist you with your HUD, as well as offering technical assistance, and finally she will be someone to talk to out there on those lonely nights and when I mean talk to I mean she will probably do most of the talking for you." He let out a little laugh and continued, "By the way her name Ambapali."
The hologram then disappeared and the tech took out a small metallic disc. He said, "There should be a place to insert this in the back of your neck." He handed him the disc, "Once you put her in your HUD screen will come on line."
Jacob took his helmet off and then put the little circle into the slot on the back of his neck. Jacob felt a kind of rush when it went in. Then Jacob heard a sweet and energetic voice.
"Hello there Spartan Zero-Eight-Six, Oh that just won't do I'm calling you Jacob from now one. Yeah I like Jacob a lot better than those stupid numbers. Anyways I guess I'm supposed to get your HUD up and going there, By the way your kind a cute. Well then let's start this up shall we." Ambapali then began the start up process the screen began to flow with numbers and symbols and beeping was going on inside Jacob's head. Ambapali didn't miss a beat though, "So what is your favorite color mine is pink. Oh what do you like to do for fun because I'm pretty sure whatever you like to do I'll like to do as well. Oh it just feels so good be able to walk around and move around instead of being in that little cramped computer having to stare at eh same wall over and over. But I'm sure you never have to deal with that your a soldier so I'm sure you've seen many things and haven't been very bored. Oh I have a great idea lets....." Ambapali paused for a second and there was nothing but dead silence. "You don't talk much." Jacob just put his helmet on and began to walk into the obstacle course. Then she continued, "Well then I guess I'm going to have to work overtime and do the talking for both us because that is what I do I help out in any way I can and by the way when going through the obstacle course make sure to take every precaut......."
Jacob interrupted her for a little bit by saying, "Ambpali." She replied, "Yes what can I do for you because I can be very helpful." Jacob said, "I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship."
She added, "Of course it will be because I'm just the best and so are you and of course the best are going to be the best and do the best things............................."
She continued to speak long after Jacob had entered the Obstacle course and the doors shut behind him.
Yi remained silent as she finished the scan. If he wanted an answer he could make it clear who he was speaking to first. These Spartans WERE less disciplined than proper soldiers ought to be, but it wasn't as bad as some of the reports had indicated. Most of the fireworks seemed to center around Axel-010. Parker's suit--in spite of the missing arm--was in perfect condition, and showed substantial improvement over the Mk V Spartan armor.
After Parker saluted--properly, no less--Lucente caught Yi's eye. Raevynn-116 was inserting a data disc into her helmet. A tall man in a wheelchair was watching her carefully.
"Fajhad. . ." Banken whispered, with awe. The man was one of the premier geniuses of the UNSC, and even a little digging showed that he was involved in the Spartan project at some point. Unofficial speculation said that he was a Spartan who had been crippled by the enhancement process.
When Yi began to walk toward the squad leader, it took Banken a moment to summon enough nerve to follow.
David stood silent among the rest, watching the suits and as the squad members were one by one picked out of the line and to a individual room where they was given their new toy. Remaining calm, David heard the relaxed voice calling for him.
"Four O' Four, come here, please" The man said, and David didn't hesitate for even a second, walking up to the average built man who took David away into another room, where he was given a black undersuit the very moment he walked trough the door. The man walked trough the room, arranging with the armor that was located in the center. Relaxed, David undressed and put the new undersuit on quietly. It was a little bit itchy, but he ignored it and continued like normal. He was a bit fashinated of the feeling he got, wearing it. It felt like he wore nothing at all at that point, as he shrugged.
"Good. Don't move and remain calm while me and my partner here will attach the armor onto your body. Once the process is complete, remember to relaxe. It will feel a bit strange, but it will be your armor adapting after your body" He said as piece after piece was attached to David, who was kind of excited to finaly see himself in an armor like this one. He was given the helmet too, and as he put it on, the way of looking at the world changed. He did not longer look at the world from human eyes, as he felt more like a robot at this state. Which was cool by him. He ran his hand in front of his eyes, watching it move.
"Now, relaxe. It will take a few for the armor to adapt to your body." The man said, and David took a deep breath, looking into the wall and doing nothing. After a few moments, it was all good and the man patted her on the shoulder.
"You are ready for the final piece of art now" He said, as he was given a small electronic device.
"The answer to your ponderings what the thing in your neck does is hereby answered. It is a contain-area to an artificial intelligence unit. David was a bit uncomfortable with the way the man put those words, but he figured these people knew what they were doing.
"Take your time" He said and patted David on the shoulder as David walked out of the room.
He arrived to the rest of the group, and not until then did he run the AI into his neck. For a moment, it definatly felt like he was a robot, as digits, words and codes was shown before David's eyes, who stood silent watching everything happen. After a while, the AI appeared in front of him and in a mannered way introduced himself.
"Good afternoon, Four-O-Four... My name is Mara and I will take you trough the tough parts of life, that you might be incapable of handling on your own.. My duty is to help you with any questions you might have, and I'll start by describing the hud you have right here.." He paused for a moment, waiting a response from David who stood there, quiet
"Are you listening to me, kid?" He asked, a little bit annoyed...
"HEY! KID!" He said annoyed to David, who placed his hand over his head, and the world started spinning rapidly..
"So.. Warm.." David muttered, before everything turned black. David fainted and fell to the ground unconcious.
The armor did not seem like a cold metal suit, but a part of her. It adjusted within the first moments of slipping it on, and already she was walking. Abbra waved her hand, shock coursing through her veins at the speed. She cocked her fist and jabbed at air, stunned at the significant change. Within seconds the tech that had originally swept her away was back, and leading her away to accompany her other Spartans. The mood of the room was one of patience and wonder, with a fair deal of underlying anxiety. “So one twenty four.” The tech said with a click of her tongue.
“Abbra. Call me Abbra if you don’t mind.” She smiled at the woman under her helmet, but the look staring back at her was one of little amusement. Immediately she had regretted what she had said, and bowed her head down. The woman rolled her amber colored eyes, and sensing remorse she continued.
“One twenty four, the man in the wheel chairs name is Fhajad. He is employed by section one of the ONI. I have been informed that he has engineered a unique A.I. for you, and one for the other members of party. It will accommodate you, and your armors needs. Now you can put those legs to good use and get over there. I believe he is expecting you.” Abbra chuckled, to the womans confusion. Not because what she said was amusing, but the look on her face so absolutely sour, it looked as if she had just indulged herself in dozens of lemons. Without a single word, Abbra pranced over to Fhajad, desperate to get away from the thin lipped, acidic faced woman. Gracefully, she brought her hand up and saluted him. He acknowledged her, and began speaking.
“Ah, one twenty four.” He said, peering over his shoulder to study her for a moment before turning back to his computer. “H – Have a s-seat, it will be quick.” His hands tapped which had been placed close to him invitingly. Quickly, she scrambled onto the seat, fighting down nerves as she watched him. His fingers contained the grace of a dancer as they glided across the key board, he made it look effortless. On the rare occasion, he was bothered by a spasm, but never once did it interrupt his work.
“Excellent.” He chimed, and turned to Abbra, seizing her full attention. “T-take a look.” He beckoned towards the screen of the computer. Etched on it was the translucent blue figure of a man, outfitted in casual wear. He would have looked Asian with his high, well defined cheek bones, if it weren’t for his messy pale brunette hair and calm, almost animalistic eyes. It was odd she could make out the features of his face, even as random sequences of numbers glided up and down his form. “His name is Danton, and he’ll f-fit nicely in the neural implant in the back o-of your neck.”
Abbra grinned gingerly, not wanting to think that there was any kind of hole in the back of neck. And especially not the fact that she’d have to put something into it! The thought of it made her shutter a little, insert a person into the back of your neck? She didn’t even want to touch the metal dilation, although her protesting was never voiced, she did not feel too thrilled to do it. The man pressed a button, and Danton vanished. In to little time, Fhajad was handing her a gleaming blue chip. “This end first.” He reminded her with a small grin, his voice urging her to be careful. “And j-just put a little pressure on it, you’ll feel him in no time. Just stay calm, it can shock some people. But I-I wouldn’t worry, Danton’s pretty sharp, he’ll take care of everything.”
Slowly, as if she was afraid it was going to bite her, she picked up the disc. Waiting a painstakingly long time to insert the tiny disc, she placed it accordingly. Suddenly there was a defining buzzing, followed quickly by a horrible chill. Her teeth chattered, and she lost her balance, practically falling off the stool, and wheezed in extreme discomfort. “Here.” Fhajad said sympathetically, placing a tissue in her hand. “You’ll w-want this soon enough. Your HUD will be activated by Danton, and don’t worry; everybody gets that unpleasant sensation your feeling.”
“Greetings one twenty four.” The words were friendly, but it sent shivers down her spine. “I’m Danton, although I’m pretty sure you already knew that. Let me be the first to state that it is a pleasure and an honor. And I’ll be the sole person – thing really that’ll be helping you. So I honestly hope we get along. By the way, I’m starting up your HUD, two seconds. By the way, don’t be alarmed by anything. I don’t believe it’ll hurt in the slightest.”
Abbra did not mind not being in control, she followed orders as well as giving them. She had complete faith in her new convoy, although she was surprised that the second he finished his sentence the process had already started. An overcast of numbers and letters came into sight, flickering and changing so quickly they morphed into obscure shapes. Accompanying it were strange, profound noises from inside her head. She remained unaware of her surroundings, blindly wiping the blood which drizzled from her eyes away. She closed her eye lids and although she longed to rub them, she knew it wouldn’t be a very intelligent thing to do. “And…We’re finished.”
Axel watched as the last of the images floated through his chaotic mind, the Elite Commander that had gotten his troops killed, one High Warlord Shxzalor, some of the Spartan III's from Reach. The Lieutenant that had been in charge of his well being while he was recovering from his initial injury to his eye. He blinked suddenly. They all had one thing in common, which was they'd taught him an important lesson. Above that most had taken the time to deliver in it in a kinder way, with the extreme exception of the Covenant.
He looked at the timer in his armor, ten minutes had gone by. He looked in the direction of the other Spartans, they would be done getting ready by now. Shaking his head slighlty to clear it he rose to his feet, stopping when he came to see the two sparking holes in the wall. He frowned, that wasn't good. The tech's would be here soon enough to fix that, he wouldn't worry about material things. There were other problems to be solved right now.
"On angels wings..." He said softly, seemingly at random.
"Pardon?" The voice was boyish, from his left.
Axel turned to see one of the younger tech's, one of the few who'd not bothered to leave, or perhaps had just shown up. "On angels wings." He said again, firmly. "It was... part of a phrase my mother often repeated to me."
"Oh." Was the only reply he got.
His eyes drifted as he sifted through memory. "She wasn't very religious, but she did believe in angels. In her own way. What she liked to tell me was that we were all angels in our own way, and we were all the guardian angel of others. Whether we come through is up to us." He looked back up at the young technician. "At least, that's how I remember it. What little I do."
He turned to look at the two formations in the wall again. "I'm sorry about that." He said. "I wasn't my self. Haven't been, for several months now. I hope it dosen't take up too much of your time." He finished, looking back at the man. "Anyway I think I should surrender myself to proper judgement for now." He turned and continued in the direction of his initial destination.
Minutes later...
"Lieutenant I want you to get in touch with whoever is in command of this installation and stop trying to save my career, I made a lot of mistakes and it's time I was handed the results. For now I'm giving up my command status, I wont be surprised if I'm brought down to the lowest rank they can give me, considering."
"Alright." The reply came. "They wont kick you out, you are a Spartan after all I dont think they want to lose you."
"Good, I don't want to lose myself either. It's not very pleasant. Send me a report on thier training activities after they finish, I have a lot of time to catch up with. Besides, I'll need something to read where I'm going."
He emerged from a room wearing the armor. The doctors had told him to walk around and get a feeling for the suit before they could start anything more. He walked around the suit at first seemed like a foreign entity on him but soon he started to feel like it was a second skin. He visor was very particularly different from the others in the sence it was more developed for his eyesight and the suit seemed to be bigger than normal. He used the mind qualities of the suit to control its movement. He then proceeded to use his body to move the suit and noticed it was harder and hurt slightly when he did it. He went through the different vsions the suit's visor had. First he used the night vision then he switched to infrared and finnaly to the limited technology of the X-ray vision. He ran down the hallway and back and was much faster than normal. "Someone throw something at me I want to test the suits reflexs combined with my own." He waited for someone to comply with his request.