Halo: Noble Freelancer

Part Twelve: Awkward Thanks

I show the others where the private rooms are and let them rest. I head for engineering. "(What are you doing here?)" Omega Aggressive asks curiously while scanning the big, lonely room. "Just trying to fix a problem with my robotics so I can do the Director's bidding and train these half wits." I answer turning on all the power to the facility and laying on a table.

The screen on the main computer lights up and starts every piece of equipment. "(But how will we fix you if the technology used is greater than anything here?)" he says pulling up the blueprints for my arm, face, and chest. "Halsey would have put some sort of fail safe for us." I reply. "(Fail safe?)" "The last thing she told us before we left, is that this is our home... And we are always welcome home." I say picturing all of Delta Team and I standing in the briefing room and her telling us that.

"(So that means she sent it here? But isn't she the one who sent you all off to die.)" "She did it to save humanity. Not to just leave us for dead." "Oh..." "It's okay, I don't expect you to understand." I finish before the computer screen turns black with a small print of white and an outline of a body frame next to it. She really did know I would return home.

A hidden panel opens from the flooring and has a glass casing rise from it. Inside is parts more advanced than anything here. That wasn't here before. She must have installed it after I left and then brought this here. The glass opens and robotic claws come from the ceiling and grab curtain pieces of metal. One that has a small laser on it scans my body and speaks in an ONI DOT voice, "Not prepped for safe repair." I sit up and look down. Shit, I have to take off my damn armor.

I get up and move to the back of the room where a small circular platform lights up in the center. Around it are stands for different pieces of armor and odd needle like things connected to the platform by a tube. I stand in the center and take the tool to remove my armor.

First I remove my arm and shoulder armor. The heavy metal slams against the platform and the weight is lifted from my arm. I feel free and lite. Next I remove my body armor and watch as it lands next to the others. I then use the tool to unlock my helmet and take it off. I carry the helmet with me to the table and sit back down. Taking off clothing under the armor and observing my fake covers that only pass as skin from a far distance. I poke at my hand. I can feel every flat sheet of metal and every joint in my finger. I should have died... No person could have lived through an explosion like that... So why did I?

I lay down and let the robot arms go to work. They scan one more time and give me something to rest. When I wake up, only small pain in my origins is left from them having to remove the metal lung, vocal chords, and part of my heart and main arteries to replace them.

I just finished putting on my fake skin sleeves when Connecticut suddenly comes through the door. I quickly turn around and put on my helmet so she won't see my face. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to walk in on you like this." Connecticut says embarrassed. I stay quiet. What do I say? She just walked in while I was half naked. "It's okay Connecticut... I should have sealed the door so no one could just walk in like that." I reply embarrassed as well.

"Well... Umm, I just came here to thank you for saving my ass back there." she says looking away but glancing over here for a couple seconds at a time. "You're welcome. It is my duty to watch over you... All of you." I respond turning to go to the armor platform. "What's that on your back?" she asks low. "What did you just say?" I ask a little breathless. "That thing, on your back... What is it, a tattoo?" she repeats.

I look to the ground and think. During Noble Team, when the Human-Covenant war had just hit New Constantinople, I was captured by the ninth brigade. "It's not a tattoo." "But what is it?" "An old battle wound." I hear her silently walk over to my position. "It looks like burns." "I told you it's old scares." She touches my back with her cold hand, I jump up a little and turn around. Grabbing her hand, not hard, I look down into her face that's still a little red from when she walked in. "Some things are best left alone." I say letting go of her hand and getting onto the circular platform.