July 4, 2530, 1345 hours
Eridanus system, Asteroid belt, URF Station Jefferson
(Third person POV)
Down the long corridors of the station, two insurrectionist guards patrolled down, their footsteps echoing down the corridor, the lights on the ceiling reflecting off the metal walls of the corridors, as the two guards near a turn they are both sudden grabbed by the mouth and have their necks snapped.
Aedan and Fred drag the bodies of the insurrectionist to the nearby janitor's room, shoving the bodies inside the lookers, as the return back to the corridor, Kelly and John positioned themselves against the walls peeking out to see if there are any more contacts, Sam and Linda watched their rear.
"How long till we get to the reactor?" Aedan asked as he was nearing John.
"ETA's 7 minutes if we go in without resistance." John answered, Aedan drew out his DMR.
"Let's move along," Aedan said, walking down the corridor where the guards came from. John, Kelly, and Fred followed, while Linda and Sam checked the rear. They reached two turnings; John raised his fist, signaling everyone to stop. "Blue-6, scout ahead on the left. We'll go right," John ordered.
Aedan acknowledged with a HUD wink. He didn't know much about this station, only recalling it from Ghost of Onyx briefly. As Aedan moved left, his motion tracker showed the rest of Blue Team going the opposite way.
Aedan stopped at a sealed door with a command console beside it, but he wasn't skilled in technical duties or hacking.
Aedan looked around the place, searching for alternatives when he noticed a vent. He approached the vent and opened it. The vent was large enough for him to fit through, which he found fortunate. As he crawled into the vent shaft, he sealed the entrance behind him. The shaft divided into further directions as he proceeded.
After some time crawling through, he reached another vent hatch on the side, while the shaft continued forward. Aedan moved forward slightly to get a better view through the small gaps. The vent appeared to lead inside a storage unit, with him positioned at the ceiling. Below, he observed multiple individuals moving crates. One particular sight caught his attention: some of them were hauling what he identified as FENRIS nuclear warheads.
"That's not a good sign," Aedan thought. He recalled his old friend, Benedict Leroy, who was now a Lieutenant-Commander, mentioning some missing nuclear warheads during one of their previous meetings.
"It seems like Leroy's pursuit has reached its conclusion," Aedan mused as he continued to crawl. He did not want to remain in the same position for too long, risking discovery. Inch by inch, he approached the end of the vent, reaching another hatch.
Aedan slowly opened the vent and crawled out, finding himself behind a mountain of crates, all of which were military-grade. As he carefully observed over the crate, he realized that he had exited into the hangar bay.
"That's unfortunate," he thought as he observed the insurrectionist loading crates onto the docked pelicans, completely unnoticed. He quickly ducked down as two guards passed by his location. When he looked out again, he saw the same insurrectionist at the storage unit, hauling FENRIS warheads aboard one of the pelicans. "There are too many for me to handle alone," he thought as he placed his hand on the DMR slung over his back.
Aedan's COMs activated; "Blue-6, do you read, over?" John's voice came through the COMs.
"Affirmative, Blue-lead, reading you loud and clear," Aedan responded.
"Primary objective is cleared. Preparing for exfiltration. What is your status, over?" John inquired.
Glancing around the hangar bay, Aedan replied, "Currently located at the hangar bay. Possible extraction via captured Pelican is feasible."
"Roger that. We will move to your position. If possible, have a pelican prepped for immediate evacuation. We have ten minutes before the station's reactors overload. Blue-lead out," John said before the COMs cut off.
Aedan contemplated his next move, glancing around for inspiration. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. "It will either succeed or fail," he mused. Aedan discreetly approached one of the crates to check if it was empty. Upon finding an unoccupied crate, he climbed inside and secured the lid. Although the space was cramped, he had to tolerate it. As he adjusted himself within the confines, the crate toppled over, causing him to hit his head sharply. Fortunately, the lid remained closed. "Never again," he resolved internally.
Aedan then detected the sound of footsteps approaching his position. "What happened here?" a male voice queried. "Whoever stacked these crates did an abysmal job," remarked another male, who sounded younger. "Indeed, but can you blame them? These are stolen materials from the UNSC. If I were responsible for organizing them, I would handle them with extreme care," the older man noted. "Agreed, but have you heard the rumors?" the younger male inquired.
"What rumors?" the older one asked.
"That the UNSC has been employing these freakishly tall super soldiers," the younger one said.
"It's likely misinformation meant to mislead us," the older one replied.
"No, but even General Graves has some doubts now," the younger one said.
"Graves is always skeptical. Why is he moving those warheads? The Station is not on the UNSC's radar," the older one said.
"It seems unusual. A few days ago, I heard that the General ordered the Origami to a secure location, away from any potential UNSC detection," the younger one said.
Aedan was feeling concerned; if things did not go as planned, it would cause problems for him and his team. "Hey! You two stop idling and get that crate onboard. General Graves wants all of them shipped out," a more authoritative voice instructed.
"Aye ey, boss man," the younger man said.
Aedan felt the crate being lifted and placed onto a trolley. He noticed additional weight above the crate and became concerned about the possibility of suffocation. Fortunately, the crate was soon moved up a ramp. After the crate came to a stop, Aedan decided to exit after a few moments. He opened the lid and slid out, finding himself inside the pelican, although it was not the one carrying the nuclear warheads. Aedan took out his combat knife and cautiously approached the cockpit. As he neared the cockpit, he observed that there was only one pilot seated and going over the controls.
"You're back so early?" the pilot still focused on the controls said, thinking that his co-pilot had returned. Aedan actually felt bad but knew he had to do it and walked over to the pilot who was still seated, covering his mouth so he couldn't scream and, in an instant, slicing his throat.
Aedan dragged the dead body off the seat and placed it behind the seat, and took the seat instead, as he started going over the controls, trying to see if he still remembered how to fly it, his COMs came to life. "Blue-6 we're closing in ETA 30 seconds." he heard John's voice.
Aedan started clicking some buttons and getting the Pelican started, as he looked out the cockpit through the window, he saw as the bay doors were opened, his pelican was still docked but he worked on it to get it loose.
Aedan could hear some gun shots behind him coming from the hanger bay, "Blue-6, we're onboard, Punch it." John said.
"Aye aye," Aedan replied, starting the pelican and undocking it. He flew out of the station. John entered the cockpit. "How long?" Aedan asked.
"3..2..1..boom," John said. The pelican shook from a loud explosion behind them, but Aedan had flown just outside the blast radius in time.
"Sam handled it?" Aedan asked, continuing to fly.
"You're right," John confirmed.
Aedan chuckled. Though he missed the main action, he was happy to contribute. "Let's head home," Aedan said as he navigated the pelican past the asteroid belt. A Sahara-class heavy prowler de-cloaked, flew above them, and opened its hangar bay for landing.
July 28, 2530, 1123 hours
Epsilon Eridani system, Reach, FLEETCOM Military Complex
Aedan sat on a bench, gazing at Reach's unfamiliar sky, so different from Earth's of what now felt like a lifetime ago. Reflecting on recent years beyond their mission on Station Jefferson, he remembered parting with Kilo-2 four years earlier. Despite his reluctance, they gave him an emotional farewell aboard the Macron, attended by most of the crew, including Captain Rodriguez. He spent another year on solo missions, occasionally teaming up with SPARTANs like Naomi and Cassandra. In early 2527, he finally rejoined blue team. Most battles ended with retreats, allowing the Covenant to glass worlds or overwhelm them with more ships.
Over the past three years with Blue Team, Aedan grew even closer to them, adapting to their warfare style. He appreciated not leading for once. He stayed in touch with Kilo-2, now frequently used for special operations by NAVSPECWARCOM. By 2530, he knew Lieutenant Wildling had become their pilot, which Martinez probably disliked. When Aedan first led Kilo-2, he never imagined they would become elite. Recently, Cadmon informed him of his promotion to Sergeant Major. As Aedan closed his eyes, Sam sat beside him and remarked, "It's quite boring, isn't it?"
"Unless Command assigns us somewhere else, we will be here for a while," Aedan said as he opened his eyes. "What about John and the others?"
"John is at the gym with Kelly and Fred, and Linda is at the shooting range as usual," Sam answered.
"Aren't you joining either of them?" Aedan asked.
"No, I would not fare well against Kelly in the ring, and it is well known how proficient Linda is at shooting," Sam replied. Aedan nodded. "What about you? Why are you sitting here?"
"Just enjoying the peace before we get sent back into hell" Aedan said.
"You know, sometimes you act like a wise old hermit" Sam joked.
"I am a year or two older than all of you…." Aedan answered, he was as of 2530, 20 years old, only a few more months before he turned 21. All other SPARTANs were 19 years old with Kelly being the only one turning 20 this year. At least if he remembered the lore right.
"Age is just a number as they say" Sam said, Aedan laughed inside, that used to be an excuse that child predators use to use back in his universe, 'And prison is just a place' the thought came to his mind as Sam said that.
"Right....You ever wonder what life would have been like if you or…all the other SPARTANs never got, you know conscripted as kids" Aedan asked, he didn't know why but it felt right to ask this question to Sam in particular.
Sam stayed silent for a moment, "I have no idea" he said. To which Aedan raised an eyebrow, "I mean. It's been so long that I don't even remember where I was born, who my parents were or what my last name even was."
Aedan had always been interested in the Master Chief, the main protagonist of most Halo games. Reading the books provided him with a deeper understanding of the game's lore. He found the SPARTAN program intriguing despite its controversial methods.
"Do you ever regret becoming one?" Aedan asked.
"Not at all," Sam replied promptly. "Blue team is my family now, and so are all the SPARTANs, including you. If I hadn't become one, I might have missed out on all of you. The training might have been difficult, but as they say, suffer first, enjoy later."
"I don't think we're enjoying this war," Aedan said.
"Blame those covenant jerks for that," Sam replied.
A marine approached them. Without looking, they turned around.
"Master Chief, Sirs," the Private saluted.
"At ease," Aedan said.
"Sirs, I've been instructed to escort you both. Please follow me," he said.
"Escort to where and on whose orders?" Sam asked skeptically.
"Doctor Halsey, I've been ordered to bring you both to CASTLE base," the Marine said.
"Lead the way," Aedan replied, standing up with Sam.
They followed the Marine to a landing pad where a Pelican awaited. Once aboard, the aircraft took off from FLEETCOM and soon disappeared from view.
Aedan felt strange sitting in the Pelican without his Mjolnir armor, having grown accustomed to combat. Both he and Sam wore their PT uniforms. Aedan stood at 7'3", while Sam was an impressive 7'10 without MJOLNIR."
Aedan finally learned what would have happened if Sam had survived in the original universe, including how tall he would have grown. As the pelican approached Menachite Mountain in the Viery territory of Reach, Aedan noticed a drop in temperature due to the high altitude. He looked out the hatch at the highlands below.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Sam asked.
"Yes, they remind me of the Alps," Aedan replied.
"You've been to the Alps?" Sam inquired. Aedan recalled that for many people, Earth was only known through media and news.
"Once. I was born on Luna, so it's easy to travel to Earth," Aedan said, correcting his minor slip of the tongue.
"It must have been enjoyable," Sam said.
"Excluding the cold temperatures and occasional avalanches, yes, it was enjoyable," Aedan responded, to which Sam chuckled. As the pelican approached the landing pad and began its descent, both Aedan and Sam rose from their seats. Upon landing, they disembarked from the pelican, where a marine awaited them, greeting them with a salute. Following the marine inside the base, they entered an elevator that commenced its descent. Aedan and Sam waited anxiously as the elevator slowly descended.
When the elevator halted, they stepped into a long corridor constructed of Titanium-A. As they proceeded through the corridors, they reached the Omega wing, passing by personnel from naval intelligence who took no notice of them.
At the entrance to Dr. Halsey's office, the doors automatically opened with a hiss. Inside, Dr. Halsey was reviewing files on her data pad. Her office was modestly furnished, featuring a work desk, bookshelves, and several chairs.
"Ah, please come in," Dr. Halsey said while continuing to review her data pad. "I have been expecting you."
"Doctor, may we ask why you summoned us?" Sam inquired.
"I have an assignment for both of you," Dr. Halsey replied. "It involves an enhancement that will further augment your combat capabilities."
Aedan responded, "We are now quite interested."
"Good, now follow me," Dr. Halsey said as she walked past both Aedan and Sam. Aedan glanced at Sam, who shrugged and proceeded to follow the doctor. As they walked down the corridors, Aedan speculated on what new assignment the doctor might have for them. 'Could it be a new mission?' he pondered. They entered her personal laboratory, which contained an extensive display of Covenant technology on various tables.
"Quite an impressive collection you have, Doctor," Sam remarked.
"They are mostly junk," Dr. Halsey replied, as she operated a monitor while occasionally referring to her data pad. "During the past few days, since you have not been assigned to any missions, I took the liberty of further modifying both of your armors for specific reasons."
"Could you provide more details?" Sam inquired.
"Your armor has been upgraded with a built-in power plant or micro fusion reactor, replacing the nuclear fission reactors previously used. For you, Aedan, I have specifically modified your power core, which should now allow for at least 40 minutes of flight within an atmosphere. The situation differs in space due to the significant variations between planetary gravity and the conditions in space," she explained.
"So, we are receiving upgrades? Excellent," Aedan remarked.
"However, as a result of this, you will need to refrain from combat for a few weeks. Command has already informed the rest of your team. It will take a minimum of two weeks to fully modify your suits, and we also need to conduct testing. Therefore, you will be staying here at CASTLE base until then," Dr. Halsey concluded her explanation. "Additionally, Aedan, we were able to create a custom sword for you based on the energy sword you provided us."
Aedan and Sam were momentarily speechless. Receiving an armor upgrade and a new sword was significant, but remaining behind because of it was difficult to accept. "What about our-" Sam began to speak but was interrupted by Dr. Halsey.
"It has already been taken care of. Your belongings have been transferred here," Halsey stated, pausing momentarily as she turned to face them both. "Aedan, Sam… if there is one thing I know you both possess that others do not, it is the ability to do what is right rather than what is instructed. This quality, though unexpected in SPARTANs, will undoubtedly be beneficial in the future."
"I don't understand, doctor," Sam said, confused. Aedan, however, grasped her meaning and suspected the Doctor did too. Over the years, Aedan had become more independent, his decisions rarely questioned by Command, though he always prioritized saving lives. How this would be useful in the future remained unclear to him.
"In time, you both will," Halsey replied. "Now get some rest or get accustomed to the facility; this will be your home for a while." She resumed her work on the computer.
"Can we leave the facility if we want?" Aedan asked. Halsey paused briefly before continuing her work. It was an unusual question, but Aedan simply wanted to know if they were confined to the facility until needed.
"Make sure you don't cause trouble outside. We can't let the public know about the SPARTAN program," Halsey instructed.
Aedan and Sam nodded, leaving the lab. "So, what now?" Sam asked.
"I might as well prepare an apology speech for Kelly about why I'm not back at FLEETCOM," Aedan replied sarcastically, making Sam laugh.
"You should; she's going to flip out," Sam said.
"Why is she so worried about me all the time?" Aedan asked, annoyed.
Sam grinned. "That's just Kelly being Kelly," he said, withholding the full truth from Aedan.
Aedan shrugged as they walked through the corridor. They heard a young voice behind them, "E-excuse me, c-can you t-tell me w-where m-my mommy is at?" Turning around, they saw no one until they looked down to find a scared girl, about five years old, looking up at them. "A child?" Sam asked, confused. Aedan also wondered why a child was in a classified military facility without a guardian.
Aedan kneeled and asked softly, "What are you doing here, kid?"
"L-looking for m-my mommy," she replied nervously.
Aedan glanced at Sam, who shrugged, then turned back to the girl, "And who's your mommy?"
"M-my mother of course," she answered.
Aedan could hear Sam mutter an 'Oh my God' under his breath, bewildered at the sheer stupidity of the answer, Aedan scratch the back of his head, he forgot how innocent children could be at times.
"Alrighty then, what's your name? Maybe we can find out who your mother is that way" Aedan asked as he gave a girl a small smile to ease her up.
"M-Miranda…Miranda Halsey" the little girl answered.
Aedan and Sam both felt like they had been hit with a thunder bolt, both for different reasons, 'It can't be, right' Aedan thought a million thoughts going through his mind, he hadn't expected or even though of the chances to meet her, but now that he thought about it, he was technically her older brother, 'This is absolutely insane now that I think about it'
"What" Aedan heard Sam say, the girl, Miranda, looked even more nervous because of their reactions, "Did I just hear that right" Sam asked in disbelief, Aedan wasn't looking at him but he could feel his eyes widened.
"I think we all did." Aedan answered nodding silently
There was a moment of silence before, "DOCTOR HALSEY HAS A DAUGHTER!" Sam shouted as he held his head with both his hands.
"Keep it down Sam! You're scaring her" Aedan said as he pointed towards little Miranda who was scared and shivering because of Sam.
"Oh, sorry about that but…What the actual hell!" Sam asked, "How come we never knew about her?"
"Probably because we were too busy fighting, or that Dr Halsey couldn't bother us with her," Aedan explained.
"I guess that makes sense," Sam said.
"S-so d-do you know w-where my mommy is?" Miranda asked.
"Oh yes, about that," Aedan paused, unsure if Dr. Halsey heeded his advice. "She's busy working."
Miranda looked down, disappointed. "She's always busy, never spends time with me."
Aedan thought, 'Of course she would.' He was frustrated the doctor hadn't changed. Comforting her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Miranda. Your mommy works very hard. She talks about you a lot and loves you very much."
Miranda's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes," Aedan confirmed. Sam looked at him with confusion.
"How long have you known?" Sam inquired.
"Since Chi Ceti," Aedan responded.
Sam appeared confused and seemed to feel betrayed by Aedan.
Aedan thought he heard Techno Blade's voice in Sam's words, questioning his own sanity, 'Am I losing my mind?' he pondered.
They all stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what action to take next. Aedan glanced at Miranda, studying her from head to toe. He couldn't decide who she resembled, but there were faint facial similarities with Doctor Halsey.
"So... what now?" Sam asked.
Aedan stood up and reflected briefly. They, or rather he, could not simply leave her here. He understood the feeling of parental neglect, though his own parents, despite being in the military and often away, made efforts to compensate by taking him and his younger sister out. 'That's it!' he realized.
Aedan looked down at Miranda. "Hey, Miranda," Aedan called. She looked up at him, puzzled. "Would you like to go get some ice cream with your big brother?" he asked. Her eyes lit up immediately, and Aedan thought he saw sparkles in them, questioning again, 'Am I going insane?'
"Yes!" Miranda exclaimed excitedly. Aedan couldn't help but smile; it was always endearing when children got excited, especially about ice cream.
"Let's go then, you coming Sam?" Aedan asked as he walked with Miranda following close by
"I-well sure why not?" Sam shrugged as he walked beside Aedan. "Not to be a smart ass but…how are we supposed to blend in with our... you know massive height. And how the hell are you her big brother?"
Aedan did wonder the same, as he was already 7 feet 3 inches without MJOLNIR while Sam was an absolute giant at 7 feet 10 inches without MJOLNIR, "I got an idea. And when they found me, Halsey adopted me that way there were no problems inserting me into the program." Aedan said as he smirked a bit.
As Aedan, Miranda and Sam stood in the elevator heading down towards the garages with Miranda in between them, Sam was trying to adjust his new clothes, especially his pants, "God damn, Aedan where did you even these from?" he asked, Sam wore a brown biker style Jacket, with grey trousers and a pair of sports shoes.
Aedan who wore a black trench coat beneath which was his grey T-shirt, Brown trousers and a pair of derby shoes, "I have my ways" Aedan said. Miranda giggles, "Big tall uncle looks like a teddy bear." she said.
"A what now?" Sam asked baffled, "And Uncle?! I am not THAT old" Aedan couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"She got you there Sam." Aedan said
"I went from a SPARTAN to an Uncle and then to a Teddy bear." Sam recounted what had just happened.
"Talk about a glow up." Aedan said sarcastically.
As the elevator grinded to a halt, they exited into the underground garage, Aedan never knew this part of the base was even a thing, nowhere in the books had they mentioned a garage, and one that is underground.
They passed by many parked vehicles, civilian and military alike, "So what's our ride? I don't think taking a warthog into a city full of civies is a good idea, especially with a child with us." Sam expressed his concerns.
"And that's why, we're going to take this" Aedan said as he moved out of the way to reveal a M724 Mongoose parked. Miranda peeked from Sam's side as his big size was blocking her view, "A mongoose?" Sam asked confused.
"Yep, we're using this bad boy for your joy ride, now hope onboard." Aedan said as he hopped on the driver's seat and started the mongoose, "And Miranda over here" Aedan said as he motioned for her to come towards him
Miranda did as she was told and walked over to Aedan who picked her up and seated her in front of him, "Woah." Aedan heard Miranda say under her breath.
"Hopefully it can handle my weight." Sam said as he got on the passenger seat behind Aedan.
"Let's roll" Aedan said as he drove the mongoose forwards on the roadway and towards the underground exit.
July 28, 2530, 1546 hours
Epsilon Eridani system, Reach, New Alexandria
New Alexandria was one of if not the main population center on Reach and the most popular destination for tourists, and that's where Aedan and Sam headed with Miranda for their ice cream.
They walked down the streets of New Alexandria, which was bustling with activities, normal civilians going through with their lives, Sam looked around the place astonished, it had been the first time he had fully grasped how different civilian life was to the ones they were used to. "Wow" he said under his breath.
"Very different, isn't it?" Aedan asked.
"Yeah…. different" Sam answered. Miranda was also looking around amazed by the tall skyscrapers; she had never really gotten the chance to explore Reach even though she was born and raised here up until now. However, as the passed by more people, Aedan noticed them giving both him and Sam a weird look, as if they were different which was expected, seeing two giants with a five-year-old child would be raising a lot of questions for the average Joe living on Reach. As they walked down the street, they finally neared an Ice cream store, Aedan looked up at the name of the store, 'Khalid's Ice cream, that's a weird name' Aedan thought.
"Before we go in... how are we even going to pay for the ice cream?" Sam asked, it was valid question...one which Aedan had a very logical answer to.
"I have the credits...we do get paid after all" Aedan answered.
"Wait what!" Sam exclaimed...the concept of pay or salary was not new to SPARTANs...it was just that knowing that they got paid was..."How come I never knew that" As they entered the store was mostly empty, but they heard a voice that came from the counter, "Hohoho, two big men and a little child, welcome welcome" Aedan heard a man say, he had a Turkish accent.
Aedan looked at the counter and there he saw a man with a proud moustache wearing a traditional Turkish dress mostly, but what gave him away as a Turk was the red hat which had a moon and a star. 'Wait….no, no, no, it can't be, right?' Aedan though as he looked at the seller, Sam and Miranda had already approached the counter with Sam lifting Miranda up so she could see the flavors more nicely.
"Yeah, can we get three ice creams, I guess Strawberry for the flavor." Sam asked
"Cone or cup?" the man asked
"Cone would do fine." Sam said.
"Right away." the man said as he grabbed an ice cream cone, juggling it up as he took it out, as he grabbed his Ice cream scoop which was pretty long, Aedan had also reached the counter and simply awaited for the troll that he assumed the man was about to do. As the man put one scoop on the cone, holding the ice cream with his scoop, he handed it towards Miranda, "One for you little miss." he said As Miranda went to take the ice cream, the man simply twisted and started spinning the ice cream with his scoop, Miranda tried her best to grab the ice cream but to no avail. As the man handed Miranda the ice cream leaving it in her hand, he simply took the ice cream out leaving her with an empty cone. Sam simply had a dumfounded face, while Miranda was totally focused on getting the ice cream, Aedan wanted to laugh but didn't as he didn't want to annoy Miranda. "Come on Miranda, you can do it!" Aedan cheered on.
The Ice cream man simply took out the whole clump of ice cream placing it onto Miranda's cone, but the removing not only the ice cream but also the cone. "What?" Sam just questioned.
'And so, the fun begins' Aedan thought as he watched Miranda fully focused on getting her ice cream.
(30 minutes later)
The three of them sat on a bench outside the store, it took thirty minutes for all three of them to finally get their share of ice cream, Miranda was happily licking her ice cream, Sam was tired as he had his ice cream after all he took the longest to get his ice cream, while Aedan was enjoying it like a normal man.
"I learned one thing today… Ice-cream men are pranksters." Sam said as he licked his ice cream, which wasn't even like ice cream which melted but instead was sticky, "And what the hell is this ice cream, its stickier, like melted cheese, than normal ice cream."
"Just enjoy it Sam, we aren't going to get this kind of experience on the battlefield" Aedan said as he bit into his ice cream cone. "Miranda's enjoying it"
"You know, when I think about it, Civilian life is way too…. normal and peaceful" Sam said
"That's why it's called civilian life; they live in peace while we fight in hell." Aedan explained
As Aedan watched as the normal civilians went on with their day, he could only felt sorrow and pity for what would come I the next 20 years, 'Peace was never an option, as they say' he thought. As the three sat on a bench a random guy walked up in front of them and clicked a picture of them with his camera, the photo printing out as he did, he simply handed the photo over to Sam who looked at him confused, the man gave a wink and simply walked off.
"What just happened?" Sam asked confused.
"We got a free photograph." Aedan said, although even he was not sure what just happened.
"Here you can have this." Sam said as he handed the photo over to Miranda
"Pretty." Miranda murmured as she looked at the photo, she had already finished her ice cream.
"You can keep that as a memory." Aedan said, "It's always good to have photos of good times, it helps us remember the great memories we made."
"Well said Aedan." Sam said.
"Well," Aedan said as he grabbed Miranda and put her on his shoulders, "Let's head back then."
"You sure you can handle her like that?" Sam asked.
"Oh, don't be silly Sam, of course I can." Aedan said
"Woah, I'm so high up." Miranda said in awe, Aedan sometimes felt disturbed by simply how innocent children could be at times.
July 18, 2530, 1636 hours
Epsilon Eridani system, Reach, CASTLE base
As Aedan drove the mongoose through the underground entrance and into the tunnels, he heard Sam yawn; he was probably tired of the Turkish ice cream man making a fool out of him as well, which kind of damaged his pride. As he drove the mongoose into the garage and parked it where I was, he helped Miranda off the mongoose while Sam got out and stretched himself, "Good that was a tiring day, I'd rather be in a battlefield than try out that ice cream man again." Sam said.
"Did you have fun today?" Aedan asked Miranda who nodded, agreeing. "Well, that's a win then." As they walked towards where the elevator was, they were greeted by someone they were not expecting, "I was wondering where she vanished." Halsey, who was standing in front of the elevator said, she started walking towards them, "Do you know how worried I was about you?" she said looking at Miranda, who simply looked down averting her mother's gaze.
"It's alright Doctor, no harm came to her, we just took her out for some ice cream. And besides she got to hang out with her big brother and uncle." Aedan explained, "It's not a bad idea to let kids like her have fun…while there is still fun to be had." Halsey just sighed, "I guess you have a point there…but still." she said
"Alright, I'll be taking her away from here then." Sam gleefully said as he took Miranda into the elevator and left the garages.
"So…doctor, why exactly are you here? I mean I know you were worried about Miranda but…if you knew she was with us…why come here to check?" Aedan asked, he was skeptical of Halsey, he knew her from the books well and how there was always a reason for her presence.
"Always observant as ever Aedan… anyways, it's not me that will be explaining." Halsey said to which Aedan looked at confused.
"What do you mean by that doctor?" Aedan asked
"She means that I'm the reason she came to check if you're back." Aedan looked at where the voice had come from and saw Leroy, in his black Naval uniform walking out from the side.
Aedan immediately snapped into attention and saluted, "Sir!" he said
"At ease, Spartan." Leroy said.
"So, what is it about, sir?" Aedan asked.
"Troubling matters you could say, something which would be best discussed in private." Leroy said as he looked at Halsey, "Doctor."
"Follow me." Halsey said as she led the way into a different elevator, as the elevator grinded to a halt in a completely different section of CASTLE base, Aedan couldn't help but wonder what he was getting into once again.
They entered into what seemed like a briefing room with a Holotable in the center, as the three of them came to a stop, Leroy snapped his fingers and a holographic image popped up on top of the tale, "I believe you're familiar with the United Rebel front" Leroy asked.
"Yes, sir." Aedan answered.
"Good, now on to the report you submitted after Blue team's mission on Station Jefferson a few weeks earlier." Leroy paused, "You reported that you had witnessed and observed the insurrectionist transport a collection of FENRIS nuclear warheads, am I correct?" Leroy continued.
"Crystal." Aedan replied.
"Do you have any knowledge as to where they are taking those warheads." Halsey asked curious and concerned.
"Unfortunately, no, as far as I know they were taken on a Pelican and out of the Eridanus asteroid belt." Aedan answered.
"Anyways, other than the warheads, the Office of Naval intelligence has taken their liberty to examine and search the stolen pelican you and blue team used for your escape." Leroy said as he snapped his fingers again showing another Holographic image, this time of a Destroyer, "And as far as our leads go, it leads to the Insurrectionist destroyer Origami, UNSC records show that the ship was officially to be scraped on 2514 but mysteriously vanished, I guess now we found out why."
"Any leads on them, Sir?" Aedan asked. If he remembered correctly the Origami was mentioned only once in the books, that also in Ghost of Onyx.
"We're conducting a thorough search for the vessel; we don't have its exact location, once we do we'll deploy Blue team to take care of it, but the main aim will be to secure any intel regarding the FENRIS warheads, how they got it and where they have stored it." Leroy ended.
"Understood." Aedan said.
"Now finally onto the main subject." Leroy paused.
"Sir?" Aedan asked, he thought the Origami was the last part of this meeting.
"Since we have only you and SPARTAN 034 for deployment as of now, and since Doctor Halsey has reassigned both of you from blue team temporally, I have convinced Command to deploy the two of you to Eridanus II." Leroy explained.
"What?" Aedan said, he was confused why was it them that was beings sent to Eridanus, if he remembered correctly his and Sam's armor were still undergoing improvements.
"You see, we have been studying the covenant slip space patterns, calculating and predicting where they could and can attack in a given amount of time, and Eridanus is the most likely target in the next 2 to 3 weeks." Leroy finished.
"And that's why I have decided to add even more devices into your armor, one key particular feature is an in built-in translator, it's still in its early prototype phase but with what we have learned of their culture and military, it should be able to translate their dialect into ones we can understand." Halsey explained
"Is this another one of the upgrades the others will also be receiving?" Aedan asked.
"Unfortunately, no, the device is still an early prototype and a classified project for ONI, I was able to pull some strings to get one for you." Leroy explained
"I've been wanting to ask, what's with me getting all these unique and…better gear compared to the others?" Aedan asked, he had been wondering this since he first got his Mjolnir.
Leroy chuckled, "You could say the Doctor is simply worried that you might get killed without better gear." Leroy joked. "But in all seriousness, the tech you're working with is a steppingstone for further projects that the UNSC might initiate, in other terms you're the UNSC's reviewer."
"Wonderful, I get to test the UNSCs shit and in return if their new stuff doesn't work or things go south, I am the one that gets the damage." Aedan sarcastically said, although he was interested and even excited to test the UNSC's new gears and see if they're actually helpful.
Leroy chuckled again, "Take it as a blessing and a curse." he said, "You should know, Aedan, you have already made yourself a big name even among the SPARTANs. Vice Admiral Stanforth already seems to have taken a liking to you and your skills, your background is not even questioned so don't worry about ONI or someone unfavorable finding out about your time with the insurrectionists."
"Well, I do have many surprises up my sleeves or brain." Aedan said.
"Either way, keep on the good work, I'll see if I can get any leads on the Origami, good luck on Eridanus." Leroy said as he exited the room leaving Aedan alone with Dr Halsey.
"So…what now?" Aedan asked.
"Follow me; I'll need to conduct some tests and scans on you to see how much the augmentation actually affected you, your late augmentation could have some unknown drawbacks, one's I might not be familiar with, so come along." Halsey said as she led Aedan out of the room.
'Great….I hate medical tests….at least that hasn't changed over time in the Halo universe' Aedan though as he exited the room, 'I wonder how John and the others are doing....shit I'll have to make an excuse for Kelly or she might kick my nuts again' Aedan thought, unknown to Aedan, he had actually been getting very fond of Kelly, she was other than Sam his closest friend and one of the first friends he made after he arrived in this Universe.
Aedan hadn't had those weird dreams in a long time now, ever since Chi Ceti that dream had stopped, at least he hoped so, all Aedan knew was that the coming year would be one of the first major events covered in an actual Halo game he played, Halo wars.