Halo: Noble Freelancer

Part Two: Personal Matters

I can't believe what I'm seeing, what she was. A young kid, still needing someone to care for, but pushes everyone away. Taken from her family at a young age and taught how to fight. Disciplined and handed a gun at the age of 15 or 16 sum long years ago. All because of a scientist changing her mentally and physically.

They changed her mentally by beating what she thought was good or correct, which apparently wasn't, out of her. Changing how she seen the world she left and was being isolated from. Years of reprogramming and training. It was tough, but all necessary.

They physically changed her by scientists testing and enhancing her abilities. Making her grow faster but age slower. In reality she is 19, but she looks 15. Her height, without seeing her face, makes her look 25. Spartan augmentation changes a lot of things, but there was more than just the Spartan program inserted in that child.

Her first partner was her closest thing to family. They knew each other since the beginning of it all. Since the kidnappings and the training, the first battle and intensely difficult decisions they had to make. Decisions that meant the death of others so she could survive to fight again. I wonder if her own family would even recognize her...? Would recognize me?

The blue light turns on again. Who are you? I ask the blue dot. The picture disappears and the monitor suddenly shuts down. The sliding door opens, sounding like pressure being released, as a nurse walks through the door. The door remains open, why? It's only supposed to be open if someone is near it. But then I see. Four guards standing at attention in front of the doorway, holding a DMR in their hands and a pistol in the holster.

"Good evening." the nurse breaks my attention from the door. "Is it?" I ask. The nurse pauses and replies, "Excuse me?" "You said it's evening, is it really?" I clarify. "Oh," she smiles, "Why yes, it really is." I sigh deeply and look back to the door. The security officers are now in a circle speaking with a commanding officer. One of them glare at me. Then the door closes.

"Have you been taking your medication properly?" She sounds so nice and gentle. How... Annoying. I think before answering, "Yeah, some alarm goes off until I actually take the damn things." She stands from leaning behind the bed to connect something and looks at the monitor. The blue light is back on the monitor the very instant she looks at it. This time I notice a camera on the corner of the wall watching.

"Is that so? Well," she suddenly smiles and hugs her TAC pad, "guess we aren't alone." A slight chuckle turns fearful, I can see it in her eyes. Then she pulls up a stool and takes a seat beside me, "Tell me, quickly, before they find me, do you fight for the people or for the government?" she talks quick and pressed for time. I am very confused when she asks me this, "Slow down, what?" "It's simple, do you fight for the people of the human race, outer colonies and all, or does your loyalty lie within the Unified Earth Government?"

Unified Earth Government? She's talking the insurrectionist versus UNSC civil war now. What the hell is this woman caring about my opinion on this topic for?

"I, uh, don't have a side on this matter." I cautiously reply to her strange question. "Don't have a say? Oh please, you were a soldier weren't you? What side did you fight for? Surely you didn't leave everyone behind for nothing." she continues to press the issue. I sit myself up against the back of the bed and look her straight in the eyes, "Now you listen and you listen good. The war I fought was between humanity and the covenant, no one else. You hear me?"

My eyes glow with anger, "If I ever had to pick sides I'd pick the side with the most sense for my own cause. Obviously you wouldn't be there, not with the lack of sense you have to ask me such a question. I used to fight for one thing and one thing only, and you aren't in the position to know. Now if you had the sense to keep your head I'd drop this conversation and do your job so you can leave. Go ask some other patient your petty questions and piss them off."