2300 Hours, September 22, 2517
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, Planet Reach
Dr. Halsey has just finished signing the final form officially requesting a reassignment to the UNSC Magellan for the Lieutenant. Making him commissioned as a full Lieutenant in the UNSC, 'Now ONI won't go digging into him and the rest of the UNSC won't be looking into us,' she sighed as she concluded her thoughts while feeling a tinge of sadness at the parting of Keyes after so many months.
*knock* *knock*
Slightly miffed at the newest visitor she rubbed her eyes to check the time displayed on her data pad (2305) it read, "Come on in" she decided to go ahead and see who was visiting her at this hour. After the words left her mouth she could see Franklin Mendez, the man she had scouted to lead the program's training, appearing in her office so late. The Chief Petty Officer walked in and took a seat in the first chair and leaned back before greeting the doctor.
"Good evening doctor, how are you?" he spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. Deciding that small talk was useless Halsey responded, "Chief Mendez, please cut to the chase." The marine sighed and pulled out a data pad, "This is my official report regarding the progress of Candidate Sierra Zero Zero One, Aedan Hel, so far as you requested," he spoke while passing the report across the desk to Halsey.
Dr. Halsey then slowly began reading the report and as time went on, she became more delighted by what was said. In Mendez's own words, Aedan was "crushing" every task handed to him. Even though he had only begun training a few weeks ago he had already exceeded most physical benchmarks laid out for the Spartan-IIs, these benchmarks were supposed to be tested after the second month of training.
'Interesting,' Catherine pondered, 'Is it his pre-existing physical capabilities that have caused him to surpass the predictions for the class as a whole? Or could it be his genetic factors that have amplified his growth more than what I had previously hypothesized from his time with the insurrectionists? Perhaps it is a combination of both where his previous capabilities acted as a foundation, and that with the addition of training and proper nutrition, he is flourishing. But based on the report he rarely speaks and prefers to remain silent even when spoken to.'
Catherine had once again attempted to try and get 150 candidates instead of the limited 75 candidates but was denied once again. Most of these candidates were children who would be both physically and mentally built from the ground up to withstand the program and to learn how to be a soldier. She had considered each candidate, their medical record and aptitude test scores, their heights, weights, their intellectual grasps and physical prowess all quantified, and numbers crunched into an algorithm.
From the data Halsey had gathered and ran through multiple simulations, checking for consistency and reliability in each candidate's profile to ensure they wouldn't break during enhancement or training.
She decided to devise new training programs that unleash the full potential of each child, focusing not only on their physical prowess but also their intellectual capacity. She worked tirelessly, after observing the progress of 001, has decided that she will observe each candidate and tweak the program to suit their individual strengths and weaknesses.
"Thank you, Chief Mendez, for your report. Make sure that we are all prepared for the other candidates' arrival tomorrow." Halsey said.
"Yes ma'am." Mendez said. He then proceeded to stand up and walk out of the office and go back to his barracks room and get some much-needed sleep.
1645 Hours, September 23, 2517
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, Planet Reach
'Today ends at 1700 huh?' Aedan thought. I sighed, thankful that today's training would end a little early.
With that in mind, I began my jog to the concrete slab that Chief Mendez nicknamed 'The Grinder' for early morning physical training. I ran through the night on the dirt trail that had been expertly maintained just like the rest and made sure the dirt was soft and difficult to run on. The trail to the grinder was only a mile but the length was just enough to get your hamstrings and quads sore, making it much more entertaining when Chief decided it was time to switch from push-ups to jumping jacks or to lunges.
For the rest of the run, I turned off my thoughts and enjoyed the last moments of peace I had before training. The forest around me was quiet and the only sounds were my own, caused by breathing and the slight sound of my feet hitting the ground as for the past month I had been training to make less noise during my movements. There was a cool breeze that felt good as I had begun to start sweating. Eventually, I arrived at my destination and stood at my designated position and waited for Chief Mendez to arrive.
"At ease Zero Zero One, go and prepare for the arrival of the other candidates." Chief Mendez said.
"Yes sir." Aedan said saluting and later running over to the showers. After getting ready and walking out of the barracks another instructor guided him along to the amphitheater. "Just ahead is the amphitheater cadet. There you will finally be able to meet the rest of your class. They shall be arriving shortly."
Aedan nodded before walking through the doors of the amphitheater.
After taking a seat and looking around I saw Dr. Halsey speaking to her A.I. while looking over numerous screens. "How was today, Aedan?" Halsey asked. I turned and saw her looking at me from the main platform, I remained quiet and just shrugged at her before looking away.
"Alright Deja, bring them in now." Dr. Halsey clicked on her microphone as four sets of double doors at the top tier of the amphitheater swung open as seventy-four children marched in - each accompanied by a handler, a Naval drill instructor in camo fatigues. The children all had circles of fatigue around their eyes. They had all been rushed here through Slip-stream space, and only recently brought out of cryo-sleep. 'The shock of their ordeal must be hitting them hard,' Halsey realized. When they had been seated, Dr. Halsey cleared her throat and spoke: "As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN-II. You have been called upon to serve, 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."
"Now this may be hard to understand but you cannot return to your parents. This place will become your home, 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."
"Rest now," Dr. Halsey said to them. "We begin tomorrow." She turned to Chief Mendez. "Have the trainees escorted to their barracks. Feed them and put them to bed."
"Yes, ma'am," Mendez said. "Fall out!" he shouted. "Aedan! You will be at the front of the line. Lead them to the mess hall and make sure everyone is accounted for."
"Yes sir!" Aedan stated. "Come." Aedan started making his way to the door.
The children rose - at the urging of their handlers, many seemed stunned, a few trembling lips - but none of them cried. 'These were indeed the right children for the project,' Halsey thought. "Keep them busy tomorrow," she told Mendez and Deja. "Keep them from thinking about what we've just done to them."
All of the candidates started following and as they passed through the door Aedan had them sound off a number until they got to seventy-four. Once everyone was accounted for, he took them to the galley for some food and then back to the barracks where he told everyone to prepare their stuff for tomorrow and once, they were finished to get some sleep as training will begin tomorrow morning at 0530.
0500 Hours, September 24, 2517
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, Planet Reach
As I awoke and started getting ready a voice to my right asked, "hey why are you getting up so early?" Still waking up and rubbing my eyes I turned and looked at John 117 with a look of confusion. "We have to be ready by 0530. Go and wake up everyone else." He readily agreed after getting ready in the uniform of the day (training uniform). By the time we got everyone awake, in uniform, and on the toe line, the instructors were set to arrive within 3 minutes.
"WAKE UP TRAIN-" Chief Mendez and the various other instructors came blasting through the entrance doors only to stand just inside the doorway in shock. They looked around the barracks as all of the seventy-five candidates all dressed and ready in their training uniforms and standing at attention on the toe line. Shaking himself out of his awe of this display of military discipline and clearing his throat, "I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez, the rest of these men are your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times. You will respond to my questioning with a 'Yes, sir' or a 'No, sir' from now on. Now am I clear trainees?!"
"SIR, YES, SIR!" All trainees saluted.
Mendez pointed to the doors and announced, "Outside, trainees, Triple time.... march!" John led the others to file out the doors in an orderly manner onto a strip of grass outside of the barracks while Aedan took the rear. "Now then you all have exactly 8 minutes to get to the 'Grinder' if even one of you is a second late you all will be punished. The path is a nearly straight shot as you can see and there are signs marking the turns. Good luck, and don't be late," he finished and pressed a button on his watch, beginning the timer.
"Everyone follow me!" John yelled out to get the trainees' attention. Aedan ran as hard as he could to get there as fast as possible. As he arrived, he noted how many had arrived at the same time, and how many were still on their way. Everyone arrived with plenty of time to spare, Chief Mendez was waiting for the timer to go off *beep* *beep* "Nice work trainees," he said as he turned to one of the instructors holding the data pad and whispered something.
Chief Mendez barked, "You will make five equal-length rows. Fifteen trainees in each." He waited a few seconds as they milled about. "Straighten those rows. You know how to count to fifteen, trainee? Take three steps back."
Aedan went to the very end of the line, making him the 15th trainee in the first row. "Jumping jacks!" Mendez shouted. "Count off to one hundred. Ready, go." The officer started the exercise, and everyone followed his lead. One boy refused - for a split second. An instructor was on him instantly whipping a baton into the boy's stomach. The kid doubled over. "Get with the program, boot," the trainer snarled. The boy uncurled and started jumping.
Aedan after doing this for the last several weeks was able to do the jumping jacks with ease. "Ninety-Eight, 99, 100." Mendez paused, drew in a deep breath, "Sit-ups!" and dropped down onto the floor. "Count off to one hundred. No slacking. The first crewman who quits... gets to run around the compound twice-and then comes back here and does two hundred sit-ups. Ready....count off! One....two.... three...." Deep squats followed and then knee bends.
By this time Aedan had noted that most other trainees had started puking but that didn't earn them any respite as the instructors would quickly descend on them within a few seconds to make them roll over and continue. "Leg lifts." Mendez continued like he was a machine. As if they were all machines. The trainees couldn't go on- but knew they'd get the baton if they stopped. They tried with their legs trembling and only sluggishly responded.
"Rest," Mendez finally called. "Trainers: get the water." The trainers wheeled out carts laden with water bottles. The trainees each grabbed one and gulped down the liquid. It was warm, slightly salty, and tasted like the best water they have ever had. Most trainees were crouched on the ground, holding their sides, and no one talked. Their clothes were soaked through with perspiration.
"A good start, trainees," Mendez told them. "Now we run. On your feet!" The trainers brandished their batons and herded the trainees along. They jogged down a gravel path through the compound, past more cinderblock barracks. The run seemed to go on forever—they ran alongside a river, over a bridge, then by the edge of a runway where jets took off straight into the air. Once past the runway, Mendez led them on a zigzagging path of stone.
Everyone wanted to think about what had happened, how they got here, and what was going to happen next . . . but they couldn't think straight. All they could feel was the blood pounding through him, the ache in their muscles, and hunger.
They ran into a courtyard of smooth flagstones. A pole in the center flew the colors of the UNSC, a blue field with stars and Earth in the corner. At the far end of the yard was a building with a scalloped dome and white columns and dozens of wide steps leading to the entrance. The words NAVAL OFFICERS ACADEMY was chiseled into the arch over the entrance.
A woman stood on the top step and beckoned to them. She wore a white sheet wrapped around her body. She looked weird, old yet young at the same time. Then they saw the motes of light orbiting her head and knew she was an AI. Most had seen them on vids. She wasn't solid, but she was still real.
"Excellent work, Chief Petty Officer Mendez," she said in a resonant, silk-smooth voice. She turned to the children. "Welcome. My name is Deja, and I will be your teacher. Please come in. Class is about to start."
Several trainees grumbled out load. Deja turned and started to walk inside. "Of course," she said, "if you prefer to skip your lessons, you may continue the morning calisthenics." Everyone proceeded to double-time it up the stairs into the classroom.
Inside it was cool and refreshing with desks all around a central clearing. Trays of crackers and milk had been left out and I flopped into my randomly chosen seat with a sigh of relief. The milk was delicious, and the crackers, stale as they may be, were just enough to sate my growling stomach.
As the children settled in, Deja began to tell us about a battle taken long ago. The story of how three hundred Spartans fought off thousands of Persian infantries. The famous Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans made a stand against a quarter of a million Persians. The holographic depicted the brutal reality of war, blood sprayed, men screaming, and people died.
Deja's lessons were part of the Spartans' training program meant to teach us to employ strategic thinking. She also educated us in history, mathematics, and presumably other fields. Another lesson was about seven wolves taking down a moose, by working as a team. This served as one of the Spartans' earliest lessons about the importance of teamwork; that a wolf alone would be a far less effective hunter than if it were accompanied by its pack.
"Alright that is it for today trainees! Report back to the barracks to wash up and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be harder than today; you can be sure of that!" Mendez stated and then swiftly left to finish off his duties in his office. The seventy-five candidates then headed back to the barracks to shower and scrub all of the sweat and grime off of from the day of hard work.
1500 Hours, September 25, 2517
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, Planet Reach
"Today we will be doing the obstacle course a little bit differently. It may be your second day of training but today we will have a test," Mendez spoke as we listened at attention, "Today your mission will be to go through this obstacle course with your team; the members standing next to you in line, and reach the bell at the end of it. The winner will be the team that has all of its team members ring the bell first. Any questions?"
Cal, Daisy, Serin, and Jorge all turned to look at me and we all smiled at each other nervously. We then turn back to Chief Mendez as he proceeded to describe the test, "Today's test is called 'Ring the Bell.'" He pointed to the tallest pole on the playground. It towered above us, an additional ten meters or so above the others and had a steel slide pole next to it with cushions near the bottom. Hung at the very top of that pole was a brass bell.
"There are many ways to get to the bell," he told us. "I leave it up to each team to find their own way. When every member of your team has rung the bell, you are to get groundside double time and run back here across this finish line."
Mendez then took his baton and drew a finish line in the dirty sand at our feet. A familiar face raced his hand. John. "Yes trainee?" Mendez asked. "What do we win?" John asked expectantly. Mendez cocked an eyebrow and appraised him. "You win dinner, 117. Tonight, dinner is roast turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies, and ice cream."
"But," Mendez added, "for there to be winners, there must be a loser. the last team to finish goes without food." Just like that, everyone fell silent and stared at the others with caution. With a single sentence, Mendez had turned us all into enemies. So easy, a few moments passed before Mendez continued. "Make ready." We all prepared ourselves.
I sent a look at Cal, Daisy, and Jorge and said, "Follow me," Daisy gave me a curious look, Cal and Serin stayed silent, and Jorge just smirked. "You'd rather go hungry?" That seemed to get their attention.
"Go!"
Instantly, the pack took off. John, predictably, took the lead, his longer legs eating up ground as he went. Our squad was around middle of the pack in terms of speed but I was leading them down the path of least resistance instead of fighting the tide of bodies that got stuck at obvious choke points.
It was more difficult and left me panting and my limbs screaming, at one point Daisy was almost caught by a net launcher, barely managing to avoid it as I grabbed her collar and moved her out of the way. She gave me a quick thumbs up, I ended up being needed again by Cal as we crossed a dropping bridge, and she was too slow to cross and jumped I grabbed her hand and lifted her up and over.
"Thanks," she muttered out of breath. With no time for chit chat, we dashed, jumped, ran, leaped, and climbed our way through the Playground. Then we were faced with a bare sheet of concrete wall with no handholds in sight. "Argh, you screwed us!" Jorge groaned, not seeing my ploy.
I took up a spot at the base of the wall, crouching and holding my hands as a platform. "Jump!" I jerked my head back; Daisy took a second to realize what I was thinking. This wouldn't have worked with someone bigger; I doubted my ability to lift someone above a certain size.
"Okay..." She said with slight hesitation, before she sprinted towards me, and I lifted with all my strength as she landed on my hands and propelled her upwards. She collided with the top, scrambling for a handhold. For a second it seemed like she was going to fall but she managed to grab hold of a rope and pull herself up.
Seconds later, the rope was dropped down for us, and I assisted Cal, Serin, and Jorge before finally climbing over myself. They all three nodded to me as I crested the top, and proceeded to slide off the back. Above us, John was the first to ring the bell and drop down, a victorious grin on his face. We weren't too far behind, with this route being significantly quicker. Another group managed to reach the bell before us though, riding atop a large bucket they heaved on to ride upwards.
Below us, people floundered in the water and mud, while others fought for the right to be first. Forcibly, in some cases, ouch, I winced upon seeing someone's tooth go flying with a vicious punch.
Then we reached the bell, and I stopped, waiting for the others. I pulled myself up first and slapped the bell hard, Daisy after me, Cal after Daisy, and Jorge after Cal, and Serin after Jorge. We all jumped for the pole one after the other, sliding down the thing with a rush of exhilaration. We landed safely and we each ran to the finish line. Mendez looked at us with a neutral expression with a glint in his eye as he knew that we had gotten the point of the exercise. Without saying anything he checked off on a data pad and resumed watching the others.
After recovering somewhat, I looked towards the final contestants as they crossed the finish line last. Linda-058, Kelly-087, Fred-104, and Sam-034. "Good work, Trainees," Mendez said with a smile, there was something else to it, but I couldn't tell. "Let's get back to the barracks and chow down.... all except Team Three." Chief Mendez said, staring down at John, Linda, Kelly, Fred, and Sam
"But I won," John said, confused. "I was first." The shock on his face was evident.
"Yes, YOU were first," Mendez explained, "but your TEAM came in last." Then he looked towards the rest of the Trainees and said, "Remember this: YOU don't win unless your TEAM wins. One person winning at the expense of the group means that you lose."